Dum question but is very important?

Question

when my mom said i coulnt get an iguana i asked why and it wasnt the fact i already have a beardie and two res turtles but becuase she says they smell and cant take any more smell iv nevr smelled anything strange from my two res and my beardie did smell up her cage with the pee soaked sand but then i switched to reptile carpet and the prob was taken care of.

but she's the only one that complians no one else even notices i do edmite that a dirty cage can smell up a room but its nevr like that for long.

so in an igs case i have a few questions revolving around what i just said

does the fact that there vegetarian's ake droping's smell less

i know they could be agressive but can a hhatchling aup to a 3 footer cuase serios damage (ofcourse i know a 6 footer can but im just revolving around those size groups)

and finalyare theyhard to take care of

keep in mind i know the answer's to all these questions but my mom dosent beleve me so i need u 2 help.

Answer 1

It's not a dumb question

Have you let your mom read any information about iguanas? Iguanas poo can become some what large (med size dog). If the iguana is given the proper diet, proper care the poo does have a little smell, butttttt iguanas usually poo in water, after they are taught to. Oh and you can get a whif of it when you're cleaning out the tub at times, but as like say a major stinky smell that will fill the room up, no. When iguanas have health problems there poo can have a sourish smell. Personally a cat/dog poo can stink worse then an iguanas, sorry mom. I've only got my iguana for reptiles so I don't have a BD poo smell to compair to, just dog/cat poo smell.

I'm thinking your mom just doesn't want a possible 5-6ft iguana roaming threw the house. Don't know your income so maybe extra heat to keep the iguana warm, she's thinking "Oh great the electricity bill will become higher". Could be other reasons that she's not telling you in a way, and just thought that she'd use the poo smell as the best way of saying no.

Mom might have a really good smeller, I know when my nieces make a mess in there dypers, I can smell it across the room when nobody else can, so maybe that's why she can smell where the others don't.

W/ iguanas it's best not to use sand/bark/moss because they can cause blockage, which will need to be surgically removed and or cause the death. Using newspaper (unprinted if possible) is one of the safe floor coverings, so if your iguana poos you change the newspaper right away, less smell lurking in the house. Iguanas poo also does have a trace of Salmonella, of course I'm sure you know what to do to reduce the risk of getting.

Iguanas do need large enclosures also, so maybe space is a factor into way she said no. An iguana will need in time 6-7ft tall x 8-10ft long x 4ft wide enclosure.

Those tail whips can leave good marks on your skin ... Iguanas teeth yes when they are older can cause more damage then when they are younger. Never under estimate that tail.

Iguanas can and can't be hard to take care of .. it all depends on what you call hard. Iguanas need food daily, multiple times a day, of good staple greens (collard, mustard, turnip, endive, to name a few), and maybe that's another thing you're moms thinking food to feed another reptile along w/ vet bills. Daily to every other day bath. UVB tubes, heat, humidity. The time that you do need to spend w/ an iguana to possibly have it like you. You're the iguanas slave, and you have a 50/50 chance that you're iguana may like or may never like you, and that's usually when iguanas end up in shelters. It all depends on also you "social" life, plus something to think about college who will be taking care of the iguana. Then theres the health problems, say you give your iguana the best care, the best UVB, the best organic food (not that you have to give your iguana organic food), the biggest living space, then 10 yrs down the line, the iguanas kidneys are failing.

I don't wanna say "yeah mom let your son have an iguana" ... And this is the part you'll probably hate me, but you are living in your parents house, if they say no, they say no, like I said you'll probably hate me for saying that. Again, you're mom may have other reason then the poo stinks.

I'm sure you do have these links below, but please mom do read, but in the long run it is you're house.

Sites for you to read:

http://www.greenigsociety.org/ - http://www.iguanaden.org/ - http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/index.html

A great book to read and have on hand:

Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan

Answer 2

I bought a hachling ig and I have to say I haven't smelled him once. They don't smell at all. Sure if you leave the cage for a long time with out cleaning it it will stink, but wouldn't anything? Anyway, they don't smell unless you leave their cage dirty for weeks (I've never left it for that long but it's never strong when I clean it. I clean the tank once/twice a week). I don't know if it has anything to do with being a veg, I know my hamsters would stink and all they ate was seeds and pellets. Though they were hamsters and not igs.

As far as aggression, the babies can't hurt you. Their bites can't break the skin and feels like a sand paper hand shake (finger shake, their mouths arent that big) But when they become adults they can give nasty bits that would require stitches. However, they are very easy to tame. Teach it the meaning of "no" and teach it not to bite or whip its tail. I've been hit by a four footers tail before . . . it hurts like a *****, but you can tame them. You can even litter box train them (I haven't bothered but I hear a lot of people have done it).

Also only males will be aggressive no matter how much training you put in to them. When mating sesion comes along they want competition and females, of any species. Though that is with pretty much any male animal that goes through a mating sesion rut.

They arent hard to take care of but they are expensive. You will lose alot of money for your ig. ( A 55g tank for the hachling and 6x4x5 cage for the juvinile to adult, food, water, cage decorations, etc.) But spending time with and feeding/cleaning is fairly easy . . . if you use newspaper and get a nice ig like mine who only poops on one side of his cage and refuses to climb into his food bowl while eating. Lol, but every ig is different. Their p**p doesn't stick to anything so it should peal off and wipe up easy. When they shed they tend to be less tolorent of handling but put them in some warm water and they might be fine with being held.

Good luck and I hope that your mom will let you get one.

Answer 3

yes their p**p smells worse sorry to say i own one and spot clean as soon as i see it or else you'll regret you left it their. but not really a 3 footer could cause considerable damage with it's tail but other wise than that no. but the tail could leave you blind if it hits you in the eye.

Answer 4

no there droppings will still smell the same and a hatchling can reach up to 3 foot and they are kinda hard cause they need alot of heat and usually die for me lol