Is my iguana sick?

Question

He wont eat out of my hand he just closes his eyes when i put it near his face. He spends almost the whole day under his basking and uva light....that's all he does he seems lazy..

The other day he went into his soaking bowl i put in his cage and stayed there for 11 hr

I recently (2days ago) bought a iguana from my friends little brother for 30$..he is about 2 1/2 years old. I knew they werent treating him right at all so that's one of the main reasons i wanted to take him in.For his lighting they only had 1 regualr 40 watt bulb you would find in a nor household lamp. for the water...they rarly had any in his cage and when they did it was in a tiny bowl.... so he was rarely bathed. his feeding was always the iguana pellets you would find at a local pet store.

He is extremly agressive and tries to bite me when go near him i think its because all of the little kids scaring him. He seems to be doing alot better with me petting him and picking him up now that im been trying to tame

Answer 1

you need to handle him more and if he bites start to wear a glove and give it a bath try to put it high in the air it says in my book i have iguanas for dummies its a great book buy it on eBay for a dollar its great

Answer 2

The behavior you describe is fairly common for an iguana.  They can bask for hours at a time and many times they are just flat out lazy - other times they won't sit still for anything!  If the iguana has just moved in the last few weeks, he is still adjusting.  Iguanas are creatures of habit and really hate change.  The eye closing when you get near them is also normal.

At 2 1/2 years, the window is almost closed as far as taming.  Do try to handle him as much as you can.  Its possible his mood will improve now that he is getting proper care.