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How cruel!!!

R

revxus

New member
How cruel!

You know guys, this is about the saddest story I have encountered.

Today I was at work, doing my job as a new hiree. Anyway, after work I found two boxes outside the store, they were moving as if there there an animal in there. I checked it out... opened it up and there lay an adult green iguana and a baby iguana. Both on the heat rock, which didn't provide any heat at that time...

I couldn't leave them there, so after talking with the store manager and several employees - I took the liberty of taking them home with me under temporary care because, I don't have space for these guys. I have too many, and the responsibility for these are something I am not prepared for.

I've read I nead at least 150G tank... and that I cannot afford anytime soon. =(

I hope I can find a new home for these guys... though me and my wife are getting attached to them.

This is Junior, the baby. He's about 4" with tail
Junior%20and%20me1.gif


And this guy is Lucky, the adult.
Lucky%20and%20me1.gif


Junior is now inside a cardboard box, resting n his heat rock - and his eyelids are closing, he looks very relaxed and this makes me very happy...

I know I should ask such a dumb question, but could it be possible that my baby cornsnake can cohabit with Junior for the time being? Why would it be a threat?
 
Firstly,
respect for taking on the responsibilty for these guys. Someone has to but its just unfortunate that the original owners were so irresponsible.
Do you know if there are any cameras near your building? It might be possible to get video of these people on the way to abandoning these animals. They need prosecuting IMO.

I have no experience with Iguanas but I have heard that heatrocks can be very dangerous. Id look into getting a different form of heating if there is any way you can afford it.

Please let us know how these boys get on.

Jack
 
Sorry m8 - I'm not experienced enough to say whether or not it would work, but can't imagine it would be a good idea. Would have thought it would cause huge amounts of stress to the snake! But as I said - I don't know, so will leave the more experienced brethren to get back to u on that.
Just wanted to say good on ya for taking them in. It's sad that there are so many ignorant and irresponsible a**holes around who treat animals like some disposable commodity to be tossed aside when they are bored.
I hope u manage 2 find a good home for them soon. Good luck!

Blue
 
Definitely NOT! They would not do well together!

For one, they require different husbandry methods; environment, food, etc.

For two, the snake would be totally stressed out.

Also, corn snakes like to eat lizards. Your snake may not actually be able to eat the iguana, but it might try...adding to the stress factor and possibly causing your snake to get hurt.

I would definitely NOT house them together!!!
 
*Applauds you for taking them on* I'm glad you managed to take them on, what a shame! Some people are so ignorant!

As for housing with your corn, I wouldn't have thought that would be a good idea. Have you any other viv you could use?
 
Thanx everyone for all the responses - I have found many interested people who are willing to give them a good home, and now the hardest part is to decide who is best suitable, in my opinion and my wife's, to take them in.

My brother requested the baby, but he's had many other pets in the past and all of them have been turned back into the SPCA, or animal pound. So I really not considering his request as an option.

My wife wants to keep the baby, and I want to keep the adult - *lol* - and since I work for Petsmart I can purchase a big tank at a discounted price.

About the cameras, there aren't any, just camera dummies to make it seem "secure." It's too bad, but, they're in a good home now. They are in boxes, with the heat rocks, and I have been maintaining the heat rocks at decent levels to avoid skin burns.

When I look at these animals, I can almost see and feel their sadness through their eyes. They're both very friendly. Last night after the pic was taken with Lucky (the adult) he started licking my neck, almost like a dog showing affection! I thought it was very cool, and if these animals can show any kind of affection, it is probably through this same way.

I don't know much about Iguanas, but I am finding out more and learning as I go. Hopefully, a good decision can be made soon.
 
Hmmmmmm...........think we can all see where this is going! lol
Hope you and your wife enjoy the new additions to the family.!

If you DO decide to keep them, it sounds as if they've found a good home.

Good luck m8

Blue
 
Green Iguanas are definitly no joke. Thank you for taking them in.

I have a almost 6 foot female named Roxy. Let me tell you know, throw away any idea of a "tank" that you have. It will last MAYBE (if you are lucky) less than a year for the baby iguana. Within three years or so you will need a cage that is at least 5-6 feet high, 3-4 feet deep and 4-6 feet long. At least. My females cage is 6 high, 6 long 5 deep. And she has outgrown it. I am not just saying this because I am some iguana freak who believes they need something bigger than a tank. They MUST have something larger or else their life and health will go down.

These lizards need an amazing amount of exercise, food and go to the bathroom like horses when they are larger. Roxy can eat up to 4 bowls of food on a hot summer day and her crap is larger than mine.

They are powerful, headstrong and need constant handling and disipline of a sort. Constantly. I suggest getting yourself either "iguanas For Dummies" By Mellisa Kaplan (not my fav) or even better "Green Iguana: The Ultimate Owner's Manual"
by James W., III Hatfield. Excellent books.

Good luck and I hope you make the right choices, but you are saving two lives that would otherwise be dumped.

bmm
 
bluetattoo: I don't know where this is going, really, just considering my many options at this time. I am also going to contact our CALM animal zoo here, maybe they'll be interested in caring for them.

bmm: If yours has outgrown its home, where do you keep it? I have a small 2 bed, 1 bath apartment with a large kitchen, I don't think we can have it roaming around like a dog or cat, although that wouldn't be a bad idea, unless it cannot be trained to "poop" where designated.

I'll keep you all posted on the outcome.
 
They can definitly learn to poop where you want them too, the fastest thing to teach them to crap in is a kitty litter pan half full of water. Iguanas almost always go to the bathroom when in water and they can learn fast to go in the pan, and prefer it. Roxy goes in a pan, but also knows to go on a square of newspaper, although one square isn't really enough to catch it all anymore. lol. A couple people have trained iguanas to go to the bathroom in the human toilet although this takes a lot of work and "training" and in the end iguanas really only do what they want to do in most cases, or what they are used too. They hate change.

She still lives in her cage right now, but is allowed to roam around once per day, soon I am hoping to give her a bedroom to herself. frankly, I will never have another iguana. I LOVE Roxy but the amount of work and space they take is too much for me.

bmm
 
The contrast between the green iguana and the corn snake is very interesting. As babies, the iguanas are a lot of fun and relatively easy to care for. You can enjoy holding them and they are relatively inexpensive in a small cage. But when they grow up, they can be a real problem as pets, especially for small children. They get so big and unmanageable, that except for the true iguana afficianados, there are a lot of people who abandon the animals. The humane shelters won't even accept them.

Corns, on the other hand, are not quite as good of pets when they are little hatchlings. You have to be very careful with the care, they don't particularly like to be handled, they hide all the time, and some of them will nip at you. As they grow up, they quickly become gentler, and more fun, and are wonderful for small children to hold.

So why are all these people buying iguanas?
 
I'd put green iguanas at the top of my list

of pets that shouldn't even be in the pet trade! Granted, they are cute, neat pets as "juvies," but they get HUGE and then nobody wants them! The one pictured on your should is no adult, it will double that size in two years!


The sad part is, most won't live to get that large. I'd estimate 90% of greens sold at pet stores and shows live less than a year. I can get stats on that soon, possibly from arbreptiles.com.

HERE IS WHY THEY ARE POPULAR:
They are cheap. They sell for 5 bucks at shows, and are often free with a "starter kit" from pet shops. The starter kit is a ten gallon tank, screen lid, astro-turf and heat rock! That's like me selling a deli cup with a wadded up paper towel in it as a starter kit with the corns I sell!

I volunteer with my herp society and nature center's animal rescue, and green iguanas and w/c ball pythons make up almost all of our "rescues." Most are either too far along in declining health or have gotten too large for their keeprs to work with anymore. We have one fellow with a huge room for adult iguana habitat, and he can't handle any more. The running joke is that we are going to have to start eating these things if they keep coming in. If pet shops were honest about what iguana buyers would be in for down the road and required proper caging and supplies with purchase, these things would hardly ever be seen.
In other words, the supply would be limited to the demand of people who are actually capable of taking care of these animals their whole lives.
 
have to agree with elrojo. they should stop selling them at the stores or maybe put a minimum size of say 2' before they are allowed to be sold. kinda of like 4" minimum for turtles although from what I've seen at reptile shows this is ignored. lot less incentive to sell if they have to be raised for awhile first.
 
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