GRRR! Relative Visiting.

[Mhera]

My grandma is over to visit and she's renaming all my guinea pigs according to what type of coat they have compared to horses! I've had these pigs a while, and it's driving me nuts!

Not that horses are bad, but they're MY guinea pigs, I like the names I gave them, and if she thinks we're gonna call them horse types for the time she's gone, .

Also my iguana keeps trying to bite everything that moves, if he actually does bite something he lets go in surprise. He tries to kill his reflection, which he discovered existed when he came in my room one time. Now my room is his favorite place, and scratches at the door to come in every day. He's worse than a dog, really. When I let him in or out during floor time I gotta keep a close eye on the pigs. My room is swiftly turning into a zoo. Just gotta keep the snake from moving in though.

[sophistacavy]

You could try re-naming her according to what type of hair she's got compared to guinea pigs. 0_o My grandma would be a texel. =]
Wow, how big is your iguana? I heard that they can get up to 6 feet in length. I guess at that point you couldn't use a cage anymore, more like a dog crate at night maybe xD Does he poo everywhere? L0l, good luck, your iguana sounds like a doll though nevertheless, maybe he's just hungry or something.

[Tserisa]

Iguana!

I had a rescued 4-foot iguana named Moses. Her owner didn't even know she was a girl! She was best. She thought she was a velociraptor, and her glare could take anyone down!

Unfortunately, people don't realize that iguanas are obligate herbivores, due to a misunderstanding published years and years ago. Almost all the pet stores feed them insects as babies, and it is constantly perpetuated that they eat insects as juveniles. They should never eat animal protein, including as babies. It causes long-term organ failure.

Her previous owner fed her meat. Bits of chicken leftover from dinner, steak, and so on. She died only a few years after I rescued her of liver failure because of it.

It was heartbreaking. She should've lived many many more years.

[sophistacavy]

Oh my gosh I didn't know that at all! I mean, I've never had an iguana before, so I had no reason to know, but I'm going to go to all my pet stores near me and tell them that in person :-[
Yeah, I always thought you were just supposed to feed them vegan like our piggers are!

Do they make good pets? How likely is it that they'll reach 6 feet long? Do you even need to get a "cage" for them at all? I don't know if they're agile like dogs and piggies are, so I don't know if I ever got one, walked in to my house, and put it down (like you would with a dog, cat, etc) if s/he would run off real fast and hide under the sofa.....I'm going to go find an iguana forum, any suggestions for good iguana forums?

[DC Piggies]

On the topic of annoying things that relatives do:
I'm not really mad or anything, I just want to bring this up. It really annoys me when my friends and relatives see my guinea pigs and say "Oh, you have a hamster?" Sheez people, haven't you ever seen a GUINEA PIG before?!?!

[Tserisa]

Iguanas make great pets -- but only for certain people. I would not recommend them to the average pet owner. There are many easier care lizards out there. Unfortunately iguanas are also one of the most neglected and in need of adoption and rescue. So many people dump them when they get big, and in terribly poor health.

4 to 6 feet is pretty typical, depending on gender. They all get big. Not only do they have huge size requirements, but they have many other specialized requirements, including UV full spectrum lighting and heating.

One of the main problems is building a huge enough cage that also provides them with the proper lighting. This is why free-ranging iguanas is problematic. UV lightbulbs have a very limited range. The good spectrum is only within a certain distance of the bulb. Therefore, for example, hanging them on the ceiling and then letting the iggie run around the room just won't work. Without the proper lighting, they can get metabolic bone disease and many other problems.

They also need tropical temperatures, with basking spots, all carefully regulated in terms of heat.

All that AND tons of space and exercise!

Also, their primary diet is fruits and veggies. Lots and lots of fresh veggies. It needs to be prepared every morning. Some people just aren't up for that.

In terms of the diet, it's terribly sad that it's still perpetuated. They are indeed vegan, like guinea pigs. It is all traced back to a single sentence by a guy named Swanson who was simply guessing, and hadn't put any research into it. Now, so many books on iguanas contain the information that is directly contradicted by research and study of iguanas.

Animal protein and green iguanas

"For years, it was thought that iguanas were omnivores, consuming both animal and plant matter. While there have been some observations of some individuals eating insects and carrion, most have occurred in places where iguanas have colonized nonnative habitats, or in highly disturbed native habitats. Long term research into many different populations has shown that this is not a species-wide behavior in iguanas in their native habitats."

"The only sentence in Swanson that refers to juveniles is: 'Very young iguanas are probably almost entirely insectivorous, but I have made no personal observations on their feeding habits.'"

http://www.anapsid.org/pdf/onepageigcare.pdf

Iguanas: Your iguana came from one of many countries in Central and South America

"Despite the information commonly found in the pet literature, field and lab research has repeatedly shown that iguanas are not omnivores - the are strictly herbivorous and should be fed as such in captivity."

The Iguana Den - Iguana Diet
The Iguana Den - Iguana Diet - What Not To Feed

"1. Animal protein of ANY kind - cat or dog food, meat, cheese, insects, money biscuits, etc. Iguanas are obligate herbivores. Their bodies physically cannot process animal proteins. Feeding animal proteins puts a huge strain on the kidneys and liver and lead to an early death from kidney or liver failure."

Feeding Iguanas

"Iguanas are strict herbivores.Although many iguana care books and a few people still recommend iguanas be fed insects and other animal protein based foods, the Green Iguana Society would like to stress that iguanas are strict herbivores (plant eating only). The myth that iguanas in the wild have been seen eating insects can be explained in a number of ways, but the fact is that they usually only eat insects in the wild by accident along with a piece of vegetable matter or by necessity when no other foods are available."

Animal Protein Issues

Unfortunately, this has been repeated over and over as fact rather than speculation, leading to poor iguana husbandry.

Some of those sites have forums. They have tons of great information.

[PiggieMamaKelly]

As far as your grandma goes- I say don't sweat the small stuff. She's just giving them little nicknames.

[PixieStix]

I agree, don't worry about your grandma. Just be happy she's interested in them and paying attention to them. I don't think anyone expects you to rename your pigs. Out of curiousity, what are the names she's giving them?

Now, I know nothing about iguanas, only met one a couple times, but I think it would be best if you DON'T let your iguana in your room at floor time at all. Pigs shouldn't be allowed around other species, even if you are watching.

[Tserisa]

Yeah, iguanas have very powerful tails and claws... even if they aren't intentionally trying to hurt anything.

[Amsley246]

Bahaha! How long is she staying? Got to love grandparents! My Grandmother calls everything a rat, regardless if it's a hamster, mouse, guinea pig ect. I just let it slide, she's old haha! 9 times out of 10 she gets me and siblings and cousins names all mixed up. My best friend's Boyfriend has a grecko named Oliver (we call it Ollie behind his back because he gets mad when we don't call it it's proper name) She also has a rabbit named Winston.