Reptiles Articles

Article / Updated 11-20-2024

You have to use your own judgment in selecting your reptile or amphibian, no matter where you buy it. Choose one with bright eyes, an alert demeanor, and no visible injuries; and if you can see the animal eat a food item you can readily obtain, choose that one. An animal that refuses food may not be hungry, may be too stressed to eat, or may have something seriously wrong with it that you can't see. Wild-caught versus captive-born Whenever possible, buy or adopt captive-born animal as opposed to those that are caught in the wild. Those that are captive born won't affect any native populations. You aren't removing anything for any wild gene pool, and wild populations aren't affected at all. Captive-born young are already acclimated to life in captivity. Snakes, for example, that have been raised in a rack system, where each cage is as deep as a dishpan and the lighting comes through the ends of the translucent pans, not from above, are used to these surroundings. They feed and breed quite well in them. Captive-bred animals are often much easier to feed. For snakes, they're already used to prekilled lab mice or lab rats. If the mother snake is accustomed to an odor of her food, or even if she's accustomed to the odor of a food item she won't eat, her young consume that food more readily. Is there any other difference between wild-caught and captive-born herps? Sometimes the captive-born animals cost more. It seems odd that you can buy a ball python caught in Africa and imported into the United States for less than a captive-born ball python, but both care and money have been involved in producing that cute little U.S.A.-born baby. The U.S. breeder has paid his or her U.S. taxes and electric bill, and paid for his car. That person has also spent a lot of time coaxing his ball pythons to eat, cleaning cages, cycling the snakes so they'll breed, and incubating eggs. Male versus female Is there a difference between a male and a female pet herp? None that most folks have ever been able to see. Sometimes, one gender is a different size than the other. Sometimes they may be different colors. As a general rule, however, one sex doesn't seem to make a better pet than the other. The only time that gender may make a difference is with green iguanas. The adult males can become aggressive toward their female keepers, and that's "leap off a branch and repetitive biting" aggressive. Adult versus hatchling Buying an adult herp puts you on the fast track in terms of maintaining that herp and possibly breeding it. The animal is adult, which means it has survived the mortality period of youth. (No matter where you get a herp, hatchlings have a high mortality rate. Not every one of them survives to reproduce.) Once acclimated, an adult animal can reproduce, which means that you won't spend two years or so caring for it until it's physically large enough and capable of reproducing. Buying an adult herp doesn't mean that you won't have any problems. You have no guarantee that your adult herp will accept whatever foods you offer him. For example, our stubborn friends, the ball pythons, are one very good example of "I won't eat and you can't make me," whether adult or hatchling. You also have no promise that the animal will breed, even once you acclimate him. If you can get your adult herp to eat, however, feeding him is easier than feeding a hatchling. For example, some hatchling snakes are so tiny that they can eat only pinkie legs or anole tails, and snipping off the legs of frozen pinkies and tails off anoles is way down on anyone's list of fun things to do. Some dart frog tadpoles eat only infertile dart frog eggs, a real challenge for even the most devoted herper. Young salamanders eat blood worms or tiny bits of pinched-apart earthworms. (There's just no other way to divide an earthworm into 1/8- or 1/4-inch frog- or salamander-mouth-sized pieces other than pinching them apart with your fingernails. Earthworms are just too slippery and wiggly to cut apart with a paring knife.)

Article / Updated 11-20-2024

In the wild, reptiles and amphibians (collectively known as herps) tend to be wanderers, moving about during their active time. (Some herps are active at day, some at dawn and/or at dusk, and others during the night.) Herps are pretty basic creatures; when they wander, they're either looking for a spot to thermoregulate (warm up so they can have normal body function, or more rarely, where they can cool down because they're already just a bit too warm); to procreate (if it's breeding season); or to find food. Reptiles and amphibians: Food preferences The food that reptiles and amphibians prefer depends entirely on its type — carnivore, herbivore, or omnivore. These three commonly applied terms indicate the feeding preferences of animals and, in this case, of reptiles and amphibians. The terms give you some basic guidelines on what to feed your pet. Carnivores eat flesh (or meat). Typical herp carnivores are all the snakes, tegu lizards, monitors, and crocodilians. Typical dietary items are mice, rats, birds' eggs, insects, and fish — all eaten raw, of course. Herbivores consume only (or primarily) plant materials. Green iguanas and some tortoises are examples of the vegetarian herps. They eat foods such as chopped collard greens, romaine lettuce, chopped squash and bananas. Omnivores consume both meat and plant material. Bearded dragons and many aquatic turtles are examples of omnivores. Typical food items include crickets, mealworms, earthworms, chopped veggies, and romaine lettuce. Occasionally, you see more specific terms in place of carnivore or herbivore, including the following: Folivore: An animal that eats leaves. Iguanas are good examples of folivores, and in the wild, they roam the treetops of the forest, noshing on whatever leaves look the most tempting. Insectivore: An animal that eats insects. A chameleon is a good example of an insectivore, as is the anole. Their diets consist basically of crickets and mealworms. Piscivore: An animal that eats fish. Crocodiles are piscivorous, although not exclusively. The matamata turtle, called by its original South American name, lies in wait until its fish prey swims by and then it inhales and slurps in dinner. For captive herps, bait-store minnows fill the bill (er, the mouth). Before you bring home a reptile or amphibian, think about what kind of food you're willing to feed it. For example, someone who's squeamish about feeding rabbits to a snake shouldn't buy a Burmese python. Burmese pythons start out pretty and small and you may have to feed it mice or rats, but they don't stay small. As they grow, they need bigger and bigger food items. Insectivorous herps need live insects, specifically crickets or mealworms. Most people are probably comfortable offering that menu. Piscivorous creatures eat fish, meaning bait minnows or perhaps goldfish. Again, serving those items probably wouldn't bother most people. Carnivorous herps need to eat meat, and for snakes this generally means rodents (or birds, to a lesser degree). But you don't have to feed your snake or other herp live food. Tegus, snakes, turtles, and larger monitor lizards will thrive on a diet of prekilled mammals or birds. And you don't have to do the killing. How much to feed reptiles and amphibians The amount of food you offer will vary, based on the size of your pet and its natural feeding patterns. For insectivorous herps, give as many insects as they'll consume in a half hour, repeated twice daily (for chameleons) or daily/every other day (for frogs and salamanders). The good news is that you don't have to stand there and watch your herp eat the crickets or mealworms — you can tip them in or put them in a small dish and put the dish in the cage. Of course, crickets will crawl all over the cage, but the herp will follow and slurp them up. When feeding earthworms, start with one earthworm, neatly nipped apart into head-sized pieces with your fingernails; when all of those pieces are gone, you may need to offer a second. For herbivorous lizards, offer a pile of chopped veggies as long as the animal's body and twice as wide, and check later that day to see how much remains. Veggies don't have a lot of protein, so your herbivorous lizard will eat a lot. For snakes, tegus, and other carnivorous herps, offer a prekilled mouse or food item no larger than the animal's head. If it's readily eaten, offer a second. Feeding prekilled animals to reptiles and amphibians What are the advantages of using prekilled rodents instead of live prey animals? Prekilled rodents are often more readily available, easier to store, easier to use, acceptable to almost all (yes, a very few snakes do still insist on live food) rodent-eating herps, and sometimes cheaper. Using prekilled prey accomplishes several things, all of them good. The majority of herps readily feed on prekilled prey. Using prekilled prey removes the disgust that many people feel tossing in a live creature, only to have it devoured by another creature. No one enjoys seeing an animal in terminal distress. The prekilled animals available in your pet store are humanely killed and then frozen. They don't suffer, and neither will your herp. The process of offering prekilled food is pretty simple and painless: 1. Thaw the mouse or rat (or rabbit, nutria, chicken, or quail) in warm water for half an hour or so. The larger food items need longer to thaw, up to an hour with a water change every 20 minutes or so. 2. Blot it dry. 3. Put it in your pet's cage. You may want to wear gloves when you do this, in case your herp lunges toward the food item. By feeding your snake/tegu/herp prekilled food, you remove the risk that your pet will be injured by its intended prey. Why is it important not to offer live food? Offering a live rodent to a captive snake in a small cage can be very different from a snake or a monitor ambushing and overcoming a rodent in the wild. In the latter case, the herp is already in an active hunting mode, is probably well camouflaged, and will be the one to pace its encounter with prey. In the cage, if the prey rodent (or bird) happens to turn the tables by darting toward and startling the supposed predator, the predator will probably shy away. And, following that, if the prey and predator are left alone for any length of time, the intended prey is apt to start chewing or pecking on the snake or lizard. Every veterinarian has had an instance where an owner has brought in a grisly remnant of what had been a perfectly healthy snake or lizard that now has no eyes, displays exposed ribs, or is missing a tail. Can you feed live food to your snake? The answer is yes, but only if you check the snake every 15 minutes and then remove the food item if it isn't killed and eaten within 45 minutes. But you need to examine your motives here. Why would you want to feed your snake live food when a chance of injury to your pet exists?

Article / Updated 11-20-2024

Sometimes, being a herp owner seems to require more knowledge upfront than you might have. You can discover a lot, however, about what to expect from your herp by watching him as he feeds, sleeps, moves about his cage, and interacts with you. Becoming familiar with herp behavior is a learning curve, but it's not a steep one. Here's a quick list of symptoms that you ought not to try to correct on your own. Your veterinarian is your best friend, and she or he can help your herp and, in so doing, help you. Rasping breath and wheezing Typical symptoms of a respiratory infection are wheezing, bubbles visible at the nostrils, and a gaping mouth. Your reptile has the equivalent of severe pneumonia, and he's distinctly uncomfortable. By the time you see these symptoms, your herp has passed the point of being able to get rid of this infection on his own. Snakes have only one functional lung, so they have no backup at all. Take him to your vet, correct your pet's day/night cage temperatures, and (for arid-land species) perhaps decrease the humidity in the cage. Swollen limbs Puffy arms and legs are one sad symptom of metabolic bone disease (MBD). With MBD, the bones in the body become weakened because there isn't enough calcium in the diet, and the herp hasn't been able to sun. In an effort to restore strength in the weakened limbs, the body adds fibrous tissue to the muscles. This extra tissue puffs up the limbs, and they look chubby. With UV, calcium supplements, and a proper diet, the strength can be restored to the bones, but certain deformities, such as a curved spine and shortened jaw, are there to stay. Take your herp to the veterinarian, buy some UV lights, read up on this disease, and provide a better diet. Prolonged failure to feed Some herps are reluctant feeders, and this habit can drive their owners right up the walls of their own caging. Temperature and seasonal changes may affect feeding habits. If, during warm weather and a natural long day cycle, your pet fasts for a long time, take it to a vet. Follow these guidelines: A snake fasts for more than a month A lizard for more than three days A turtle/tortoise for more than a week A frog or salamander from a temperate area for more than two weeks A frog or salamander from tropical areas for more than a week Mechanical damage Sometimes, a body part on a herp breaks, due to trauma. Damage can be as minor as a broken toenail or as serious as a broken back. The good news is that with proper medical care and a good diet, recovery is rapid and complete. Cracked shell on a turtle: This problem can be a real sleeper. Turtles can sustain considerable damage to their shells and survive. On the other hand, they can suffer a hairline crack and die from an infection. From the outside, you can't tell what sort of damage has been done inside. Don't take a chance. Take the turtle to your veterinarian; he or she has a host of ways to repair broken turtle shells. Burns: Herps can be burned by lying against exposed light bulbs or exposed heating elements, or by a hot rock that gets too hot. Their skin doesn't react to burns the way mammalian skin reacts. Your vet will treat the burn and deal with threatened infections. (Burn-damaged skin shouts "Welcome!" to bacteria and other infectious agents.) You'll need to locate the equipment that caused the problem and remove it or shield it against your herp. Bites: Reptiles bite each other. They tend to get lively ("Get that thing off my leg!") during breeding season. Males fight, shoving each other around and adding biting to the action when shoving doesn't produce a clear-cut winner. Males hang on to the females with their teeth before and during copulation — when you don't have hands, you gotta make do. Intended prey can bite herps. For example, a chick designated as food may peck a herp, or a mouse or rat left in the cage may nibble a herp, which is why prekilled prey is recommended. Bite damage can be extensive, particularly if it occurs on the head or in an area of limited circulation, such as the tail. Infection is a typical result. Your veterinarian will assess the damage and fix what can be fixed; surgery may be needed. Broken limb or tail: Captive lizards, larger lizards in particular, may break a limb in the day-to-day routine of their lives, but this injury should not occur under your safekeeping. If your lizard has broken a limb, take the animal to the veterinarian and assess the diet you've been using. Your pet may be suffering from metabolic bone disease (MBD), which weakens the bones and makes them subject to breakage. Fungus on an amphibian or turtle Fungus spores are everywhere. Like salmonella, fungus is an opportunistic infectious agent. If the skin of an amphibian is damaged or breached, or if turtles are kept in dirty water that isn't changed regularly, the spores are right there, ready to move in, hatch, set up housekeeping, and pop out thousands and thousands of their own tiny spore babies to populate their new home. Cleanliness is critical, so keep all herps that live in water under very clean conditions. Any signs of external fungus (you don't know what's going on inside the animal) need prompt evaluation and treatment. Swollen eyes on a turtle Swollen eyes are usually an indication of a vitamin imbalance and/or starvation. Clean the caging, offer fresh food and sunlight, and get an evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment plan from your veterinarian. External parasites Ticks and mites are an irritant and can be dealt with by using anti-tick and anti-mite medications. If the problem is severe, or if your methods don't end the problem after two weeks of use, talk to your veterinarian. Ticks can harbor diseases that other animals can contract, so don't mess around with this problem. Remove and kill every tick, and if the problem is mites, treat your animal appropriately. Unresponsiveness Herps that are unresponsive are close to death. If your herp sleeps a lot, if he doesn't pull his leg back from you when you take it in your fingers and give a gentle tug, if he lies in his cage without moving or feeding, you get moving. The cause may be any of the following: Starvation: Either the herp hasn't been fed, or he's been offered the wrong foods and refused to feed as a result. Avitaminosis: Your herp is lacking one or more vitamins. Temperatures that are too cool: The animal literally cannot move; his muscles are shut down until he gets warmer. Dehydration: The herp has too little moisture in his body. Either he hasn't been offered water he can drink, or he can't drink because he's been too cold, too long. Whatever the cause, if your herp is unresponsive, take him to the vet pronto!

Article / Updated 11-19-2024

Collectively, reptiles and amphibians are referred to as herps. That term comes from the Greek word herpes, which literally means crawling things. The term is applied equally to reptiles and amphibians. From herp comes herpetology, the study of crawling things. A person with formal training in herpetology is a herpetologist. Someone who likes herps, keeps them, and works with them but lacks the formal training is a herper. If you like damp environments (or if you want a pet who likes things wet), then an amphibian is right for you. Because they breathe partially through their skin, amphibians must have moist, clean caging, which requires careful monitoring and frequent cleaning to avoid ammonia buildup or a bacterial bloom. Otherwise, your pet dies a nasty death. The following list explains some factors to consider if you want a pet amphibian: Caging. Amphibians need caging that can hold moisture but also can be easily cleaned. In most cases, this means an aquarium, usually a 15- to 20-gallon size. Moisture is provided through water (the tank itself or a container within it is filled with water), or the substrate in the tank (sphagnum moss or dampened paper towels) is moistened. You can supply additional moisture with a hand-held sprayer or a misting system. You'll want to add a screen top to the terrarium/aquarium, but you don't need to worry about adding lighting or keeping the tank or its inhabitants warm. Amphibians like it cool; the tiger salamanders, for instance, trudge through snow as early as February to reach the ponds where they hope to meet a mate, which says something about amphibians' tolerance of cold temperatures and their sex drive. Because amphibians are quiet creatures, they won't tear up an elaborately planted terrarium the way a lizard or snake might. The smaller amphibians, like the brightly colored dart frogs, look like animated jewels in a fern- and moss-bedecked tank. Cleaning an amphibian tank is an important aspect of keeping these creatures alive. The smaller the amphibian, the less waste it produces, and the less work it is to maintain the tank. You have to tear down and reconstruct a 20-gallon dart frog enclosure maybe twice a year (although the water dish will need to be cleaned daily). In contrast, a bullfrog's enclosure needs daily water changes or filtration and twice-a-week partial water changes, and the moist sphagnum in a tiger salamander's cage needs rinsing at least every other day. Feeding: Amphibians eat insects, small fish, and earthworms. All are readily purchased from bait stores or pet stores; the insects and earthworms can be mail-ordered. Crickets need to be housed in an extra aquarium. You can toss a few into each amphibian's cage as needed. Mealworms come packaged in a plastic container with a snap-on lid; store them in your refrigerator or move them to their own hideaway filled with oat bran and rolled oats — at last there's a way to use up that oatmeal! — with a few slices of apple for moisture. You can buy earthworms in lots of 500 from a hunting/fishing supply firm and store them in a refrigerator. Size: Amphibians that are generally seen in pet stores are usually beautifully colored and fairly small. You can certainly go out and find big amphibians. Some of the aquatic caecilians, for example, will easily reach a 2-foot length, but few people want a retiring pet with the animation and appearance of a gray rubber hose. The pet store amphibians range in size from the fist-sized horned frog to the 3-inch-long red-spotted newt to the thumbnail-sized dart frog. You can certainly find more exotic amphibians. Your store can order them for you, or you may want to see what an expo can offer. Their easy-to-handle sizes mean the animals require less food. Amphibians don't require the amount of food that a larger, more active creature, such as a green iguana, needs. Cost: Amphibians are inexpensive. The dart frogs as a group run about $40 to $60 each, but this is at the high end for all amphibians. The more unusual horned or tomato frogs cost around $50, but the majority of amphibians range from $15 to $20 each. Amphibians breathe, to a lesser or greater degree, through their skin. This is why they need moist, very clean caging, why the cages must be cleaned so frequently, and why you must wash your hands before handling them. Most skin diseases in amphibians are fatal. As a rule, amphibians are retiring and nocturnal, which means they aren't as responsive to a human as is a tortoise. Amphibians tend to lay massive numbers of eggs; if you plan to breed your amphibian, you'll need to plan how you'll raise up to a thousand young, or you'll need to dispose of the excess eggs.

Cheat Sheet / Updated 07-07-2023

Reptiles and amphibians make unique pets. They have few emotional demands, but they do have precise physical needs. And because pet reptiles and amphibians are in cages and can't seek food on their own, they depend on you for the right nourishment. Some reptiles and amphibians have considerably long lives, so be prepared for that. (Reptiles and amphibians are also known as herps, from herpetology — the study of reptiles and amphibians.)

Cheat Sheet / Updated 04-26-2022

Before you bring home your new pet iguana, purchase all the necessary supplies and equipment, and make sure the enclosure is roomy enough for your iguana’s size. Daily baths are part of iguana care, so be sure you know how to bathe your iguana correctly, and be on the lookout for certain conditions that require a trip to the veterinarian.

Article / Updated 08-22-2018

You can house your terrestrial turtle or tortoise in a number of ways: glass aquariums, commercially designed reptile cages, home-built wooden enclosures, and plastic swimming pools. However, before you decide which type of cage to use, you need to figure out how large it should be. In addition, you need to make the cage escape-proof. Size matters Terrestrial turtles and small tortoises are active. In the wild, they forage for food and like to explore, climb, burrow, and dig in leaf litter. In captivity, their cages (often called terrariums) must allow them some of these same activities. Consider these guidelines for choosing the right size for an enclosure: For terrestrial turtles: Allow each turtle 3 square feet of floor space for each 8 inches of turtle length. For example, if you have an adult box turtle that's 12 inches long, it should have a minimum of 4-1/2 square feet of space to roam. If your turtle is captive-bred, this much space will probably work just fine. However, if your turtle is wild-caught, you may need to supply even more room before your turtle adapts to captivity. For small tortoises: Tortoises need even more room. Small tortoises need a minimum of 3 square yards of floor space for each 12 inches of length. For example, if you have a leopard tortoise that's 12 inches long from nose to tail, you need to supply an enclosure that's 9 feet long x 9 feet wide — in other words, a small bedroom! A 6-inch pancake tortoise, however, can do quite well in an enclosure that's about 4-1/2 feet square or in one that's 2 feet wide x 9 feet long. Choosing the proper materials Most adult tortoises and terrestrial turtles, when housed inside, are kept in either a plastic swimming pool or a homemade enclosure. A plastic children's wading pool works well for many turtles and small tortoises. It's cheap to purchase, easy to replace, and easy to clean. Unfortunately, it does take up floor space — you can't just set it up on the counter! A homemade cage is as good (or bad!) as you are a carpenter. A simple wooden box with four sides and a floor can be a great cage. Be sure to paint or seal a wooden cage with a nontoxic paint or water sealant; otherwise, it will absorb wastes and become dangerous to you and your pet. Housing terrestrial turtles or tortoises in all-glass aquariums isn't a good idea. Because the tanks are see-through all the way around, the turtles are constantly visible and suffer from the stress of being so visible. (Just imagine yourself living in a glass house!) They often beat themselves against the glass, hurting themselves in an attempt to escape. If you do decide to use an all-glass aquarium, cover three sides with paper or cardboard and provide plenty of hiding places. Many commercial reptile cages aren't made specifically for turtles or tortoises. Wire cages aren't suitable because tortoises and terrestrial turtles will either hurt themselves on the wire or tear up the cage. In addition, wire doesn't hold in the heat needed for many tortoise species. Plastic reptile cages, on the other hand, can work for smaller species or hatchlings. These cages are solid; have a molded plastic top, bottom, and three sides (with no seams); and usually include Plexiglas or glass sliding front doors. Plastic reptile cages are easy to heat, easy to clean, and easy on the wallet. However, they're not at all suitable for adult animals of larger species. Preventing a great escape No matter what kind of cage or enclosure you use, it must be escape-proof. Box turtles are wonderfully inventive escape artists! The males, especially, are quite tenacious. Don't assume that your adorable little pet won't climb; given the opportunity, it might! Make sure that the sides of the cage are high enough to prevent escape and are as vertical as possible, with no slanting sides. Don't pile cage furnishings (covered in the following section) along the sides or in the corners. And every cage, even a swimming pool, should have a cover of some kind. Hardware cloth (mesh screening) of 1/2-inch squares works very well. If you're building a wooden enclosure, make the height of the sides twice the length of the turtle. (If your turtle is 6 inches long, for example, the sides should be at least 12 inches high.) Plus, cut a triangular piece of wood for each corner and fasten it at the top of the corner, making a small triangular roof. If the turtle tries to escape by using the corners as a brace, it will be unable to do so. Feel the heat, baby After you decide which type of cage or enclosure you're going to use, you need to decide how you will supply heat. Consider providing more than one source of heat, such as an incandescent light (which provides warmth and a place to bask in the artificial "sunshine") and belly heat — heat underneath your turtle or tortoise. An incandescent light is a good source of heat, and you can position it anywhere you want over the cage to make a hot spot. Test the temperature of this spot by putting a thermometer in the light at a position where your turtle may rest: The temperature should be at least 85 degrees for most terrestrial turtles and even 90 degrees for many tortoises. If you have a glass aquarium, you can use an undercage heater for belly heat. These heaters attach to the bottom of a glass cage, sticking to the glass, and can be positioned at one end of the tank, providing a heat gradient. However, never use one of these heaters on a plastic cage (it will melt or crack the plastic) or a wooden cage (it could start a fire). If you have a plastic or wooden cage, you may want to use a heat rock for belly heat. Bury the heat rock in the substrate so that it doesn't overheat and burn the turtle's or tortoise's lower shell that covers the belly). ( Substrate is the stuff you spread around on the floor, like shredded newspaper, bark, or alfalfa pellets.)

Cheat Sheet / Updated 03-27-2016

Your shelled pet may not have the warm fuzzies of more ordinary choices, but turtles and tortoises definitely have a cool factor that mammals can’t touch. As the owner of a turtle or tortoise, you enter a world with a whole new vocabulary and a different set of records to keep.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

Iguana communication is physical. Their words are formed by the arrangement of their body and body parts (posture), movements (stylized walking, strutting, bobbing), and use of three-dimensional space (where they're in vertical space, seeking height or flattening out). Iguanas, then, have developed a limited (in human terms) vocabulary, one that — like some spoken languages — has some very subtle nuances in pronunciation. They're easily able to communicate with other iguanas in this language of the body. Although iguanas are able to learn some spoken words or sounds that we make (such as their names or the sound of the refrigerator door opening), they can effectively communicate to us only in the language they know best. It's up to us to learn to read their language — interpret their postures and movements — to understand what they're saying. Once you learn their language, you can also use some of their "words" to talk to them. Posture The usual iguana-at-rest-but-alert posture is rather like a dog. The body is flat on a surface with knees bent, feet back, and forearms flat, but the head and neck are raised. From this position, it's easy for them to go to sleep. Sometimes they doze with their head up but eyes closed, but usually the head goes down onto the surface they're lying on — or on their arms or resting on some object. When they're in deep-sleep mode, their fore- and hindlegs may be extended back along their sides ("the swimmer" position); some may even throw one of their legs up over their tail. From the sphinxlike starting position, it's also easy for them to raise up into an alert crouch or into a full standing position. The crouch may be in response to something that mildly startles the iguana or to some serious petting by you, as the iguana arches its back to meet your hand. When two iguanas, generally two males, are battling one another for dominance, the one giving up adopts the "surrender" posture. It almost looks like a dog soliciting play: The forelegs and hands are on the ground, elbows slightly flexed for rapid movement if necessary, the body is low to the ground, and the hindquarters are slightly raised. The head and neck are plastered to the ground. This is the subordinate iguana's way of signaling that he is lower than a worm and of no threat or competition to the dominant iguana. For now. The dewlap The dewlap is more than just a solar heater; it's part of the iguana's communication system. When it's tucked up tight or flared stiffly out, you can read the iguana like a book. When the dewlap is tucked up under the chin, an adult or juvenile iguana is signaling submission or a state of nonaggression. A baby iguana who's trying to present as nonthreatening a profile as possible keeps his dewlap tucked up tight, too. When dewlaps are relaxed, they flop down and sway when the iguana moves. In large iguanas, especially males, the dewlap is long, wide, and luxuriously silky, hanging in folds like a curtain. When the dewlap is rigidly extended, its leading edge actually slants forward a bit. This flaring out is used both offensively and defensively. Offensively, it may be part of a threatening gesture, a warning that here is a big iguana not to be messed with. It typically occurs when something or someone new enters the iguana's environment. Being unsure what it is or what type of threat it may present, the iguana issues a preemptive warning first. When the flared dewlap is combined with the tall stance, laterally compressed body, and erect nuchal and dorsal crest, the iguana is seriously working at intimidating someone or something. If the iguana is at a level higher up than the object of its intentions, it may also lean over to make sure that the object gets the full effect of the posture. Funnily enough, iguanas on the floor lean over, too, trying to intimidate the person or animal standing over them. If they're presenting this posture to you, and you lean over them, some keep leaning until they flop right over. The swagger The swagger is a male thing, carried out by an iguana threatening, or trying to court, a human or another iguana (or dog, cat, stuffed toy animal, and so on). In this stylized walk, the body is compressed laterally to make it look taller, and the lizard stands on straightened legs. As the lizard walks, the tail is slightly arched up behind the hind legs and may be swished from side to side. The dewlap is fully extended downward. When approached, such iguanas lean over away from you or circle around you, attempting at all times to present the biggest possible broadside profile to you to maintain their threatening or "come hither" look. Tail twitching The tail twitch may be part of the swagger, or it may be done when the iguana is at a standstill. The last half of the tail twitches, much like the tail of a cat that's stalking a bird or ball of yarn. This movement seems to signify a condition of mixed motivations — like when a male iguana wants to attack its female human keeper to mate with her but knows that such an action won't be received with the same spirit in which it was intended. In such a mixed-emotions state, the iguana may be hunched up, the body in compressed and broadside presentation, but with the head down, dewlap semirelaxed, similar to the submission/subordinate position, with the tail twitching slowly back and forth. The eyes Eyes wide open or eyes wide shut, iguanas are quite expressive with their deep brown to light hazel eyes. The one look that every iguana keeper becomes familiar with is the infamous "iguana glare" or "stink eye." Whether delivered straight on or thrown back over the shoulder, the glare is the primary way disgruntled iguanas put their annoying keepers in their proper place. Iguanas also communicate with their eyes closed. When the eye closest to you is closed but the other eye is open, it's actually a sort of compliment. It means that the iguana is comfortable with you but is keeping an eye out on what's going on around him. When you first get your iguana, chances are he'll spend a great deal of time in your presence with both eyes closed. This is his way of escaping from the overall stress of the situation, with the new home, people, noises, smells, routines, and strange new foods leading to sensory overload. He closes both eyes as a way to reduce the stimuli and shut everything out. As time goes on, and your iguana becomes acclimated to you and his new home and family, you'll find that the closing of both eyes happens rarely. Eventually, you'll see that it most often happens when you're engaged in a petting session — and the closed eyes and relaxed posture reflect iggy nirvana. You'll also find that it happens when they've insinuated themselves among your fragile bric-a-brac, and you have the nerve to start yelling at them as you move everything away to extricate them.

Article / Updated 03-26-2016

An iguana can be injured several ways. Sometimes the injury is obvious; sometimes it's not. When the injuries are minor, you can often treat the injury yourself, but knowing whether an injury is minor — or knowing when it goes from being a minor problem to a major one — is the tricky part. If you're new to iguanas, or you've never encountered and dealt properly with the condition before, don't fiddle around with it. Take your iguana to a vet immediately. The longer you wait before taking your iguana to the vet, the bigger the risk to his health. Abscesses Abscesses are pockets of infection containing solid pus. They commonly occur as a result of injury to tails, toes, necks, and legs, especially when two iguanas are kept together and one gets bitten. Rostral abscesses occur when an iguana repeatedly injures its nose or snout by banging it into hard surfaces. However, abscesses don't necessarily occur at the site of an injury or immediately after an injury. In fact, they may occur months after an injury or when there has been no injury. Abscesses need to be treated by a veterinarian who may recommend administering a course of antibiotics first and then surgically removing the abscess. Despite being removed and being treated with antibiotics, abscesses can form again in the same place within a very short time during the recovery period. As a result, two or more treatments may be necessary. Burns Burns are most frequently caused by heat sources: hot rocks, under-the-tank heating pads when used without a substrate layer, human heating pads when they're the only source of heat, and overhead heat lights and ceramic heating elements. The burns may be mild, with just a small blister, or they may be severe enough to cause death by the time the keeper notices them. Although you can treat minor blistering and burns at home by soaking them daily in povidone-iodine and applying a burn ointment, it's best not to guess at the severity. Even with moderate burns, the iguana must be seen by a vet. Serious burns destroy skin, result in heavy fluid loss, and leave the iguana highly susceptible to invading bacteria. This, in turn, can lead to a raging, possibly lethal, systemic infection. You know the saying "Once burned, twice shy"? In the case of burn victims, it's "Once burned, forever susceptible to burns." If the burn is on the iguana's belly or pelvis, do away with all bottom heat sources for the duration of the recovery period. Once the burn is healed, you can use a human heating pad in conjunction with overhead or other radiant heat sources, but the pad will have to be covered with a thick terry cloth towel. Iguanas require a warm environment, not just a hot surface, to successfully and safely thermoregulate their core body temperatures. If your iguana is found hugging a light or light fixture, or if it never leaves its pad or rock, that's a sure sign that the enclosure is too cold and that you're watching a burn about to happen. Fix the situation before it becomes a problem. Claws — broken or torn off Iguanas climb by using their claws as well as their toes. When walking, climbing, or jumping, they may jerk their toes instead of disengaging them, resulting in a broken toe, a ripped-out claw, or both. The same may happen if the claw is trapped in a tiny hole or fissure in a piece of wood. Sometimes the claw may still be attached to the fingertip by the underlying fleshy structure or a tiny shred of skin. Removing the claw at this point is best. If just a tiny shred of tissue is holding the claw on, you can quickly pull it off; otherwise, you should take your iguana to the reptile vet to have the claw cut off. If the claw is gone, dip the toe tip in warm diluted povidone-iodine and let it soak for several minutes. Top the tip with antibiotic ointment. For the next couple of days, repeat the medicated soaks and apply the antibiotic ointment to the tip at night. Depending on how much of the nail matrix is left, the claw may or may not grow back. If it does grow back, the initial regrowth will be slow. Keeping the iguana's claws neatly trimmed and reducing or eliminating the fissures and small holes in climbing and basking branches that can trap claws will help prevent future occurrences. Trimming off the ultra-sharp tip projecting off the main claw won't hinder his ability to climb. Crusty mouth Sometimes, usually in the morning, you may find a mixture of serous fluid and saliva encrusted around the edges of your iguana's mouth. It may be thick and hard enough to have glued your iguana's mouth shut. The cause is usually a minor injury to the gums, as from the stem of a leafy green or a small chunk of squash. Biting cage wire, thin branches, your favorite ballpoint pen, another iguana's tail, and other hard objects can also cause minor mouth tissue injuries. Remove these deposits by wetting a cotton-tipped swab in warm water and then twirling it against the deposit to gently loosen and move it away from the mouth. Then check inside the mouth, looking for signs of petechia (tiny red lines indicating bleeding in the tissue) or plaques (patches of tissue that may be yellowish, whitish, or greenish in color). If you see no signs of the plaques or petechial hemorrhaging, then there's nothing to worry about. You may have to remove the crusts a couple of times a day for a few days, but the injured tissue heals quickly in a healthy iguana, and you don't need to treat the area with any topical antiseptic. Stubborn, recurring crusty sores on the rim of the mouth may mean an infection. If so, your iguana needs to visit a vet for evaluation. Petechia, plaques, and regularly occurring crustiness may indicate a more serious underlying injury or infection, so you should see your reptile vet before the infection gets worse or spreads. Dried food deposits look like crusty mouth deposits and are just as easily taken care of with a wet cotton-tipped swab. Iguanas generally grab and gulp their food, smearing food and juices on their face and dewlap. The result can, at first glance, look like your iguana's been bleeding or has other injuries. You can relax once you realize that your iguana is wearing the day's strawberries, raspberries, or blueberries. Because iguanas also walk in their food, check their toes daily and remove any bits of food found stuck on them.