Tuesday 28 February 2012

Wish me luck!

I have no idea why, though it might be the fact that I moved house, but it seems Zorro has decided it's time for mating season. He's not full in it yet, but the early signs are already there:
Less relaxed
More aggression towards me
Eating less
Trying to bite into anything that moves
A lot of jumping to the glass when he sees his reflection (not so much snout banging. Yet!)
As usual, it came over night and I'm rather upset about it, because I wanted to avoid him going into mating season at all costs. Trying a hormone implant for the first time. That seems a little bit too late now. We had planned March/April as he normally went into season in May.
All I'm hoping for is, that he'll not get as mad as he was the past two years, so he'll not hurt himself.

On the other hand, as you can see from the picture above, he's in good health and a proper dinosaur. Big and beautiful, a little cheeky and definitely impressive.
I can still touch him and give his cheeks a good massage, but it'll be a matter of time when he turns into the lethal animal he becomes for the next few months. I can honestly say that I'm not looking forward to it and all I hope for is that he'll be fine and as calm as possible.

Wish me luck that I don't need to see the vet surgery this year. I'd be utterly happy if I don't.

I know I posted this before, but I will not tire of warning people off those animals:

Iguanas can become 25 if kept well and they become big, too. Zorro is 6.5 and almost 5 feet, 6kg
Males in particular can become very aggressive towards female owners. Even if you had them since a baby and they are tame. As soon as they reach maturity, they can turn. Zorro was tame before and turned from one day to another.
They need a good and healthy diet, it's not as easy as opening a tin for a cat. They are animals with special requirements. One should be certain they can commit to care for such a pet.
They have razor sharp teeth and a fully grown iguana can easily bite off your finger when attacking

BEFORE you decide to take on an iguana, do your research and think long and hard. No point getting one when you will give the animal away because it's getting too big or aggressive. If you are sure you can commit, think about rescuing one, there are plenty of abandoned adult iguanas in need of a loving home.

If you have questions or are uncertain, please contact me. You'll find my e-mail address under 'about me'.

Do not get an iguana because they are cool or cute! They are living animals and need an owner to have good knowledge and understanding of those fascinating creatures.

8 comments:

  1. good luck Stella.At least you know how to properly care for this creature it has a great home with you.

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  2. Maybe he just needs to get laid. That usually calms most creatures down!

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  3. LoL Gorilla, well, yes. I wish I could be certain with him. :-) How are you, by the way?

    Thank you, Sheilagh. Well that should be expected after over 17 years of caring for iguanas. I wish I could give all of them abandoned ones a good home. :-(

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  4. I've been watching you from my tree-house, Stella!

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  5. "opening a tin for a cat"

    Hmmph someone must have never owned a panther before because when I feed Derek his food,I have to wear gloves and push his Science Diet to him...lest I wake him up. And nothing is more scary then waking up to a 20 pound panther laying on your hip....with his purring being the reason you woke up.
    And don't get me going on the pure,stark terror of getting a burger at Burger King and not bringing home 2-3 French Fries...
    No,I think I rather deal with a grumpy iguana who is morphing into Mr. Spock during Pon-Farr then a ball of razor claws and fur.

    open a tin for a cat indeed....



    *Zorro looks beautiful,btw.

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  6. Hi Stella. First let me say I'm so glad for you that you've finally moved away from those troublesome neighbors. Second, I love the picture of Zoro, he is fantastic. His face has such personality. Good luck with the mating issue. :)

    MaryAnn

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    1. Thank you, MaryAnn.

      Yes, he has a personality, that boy.

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