Day 5 and he still hasn't come out. I did hear him moving around yesterday. :o

Finally. He came out. He was laying in the sun in the kitchen. I quickly picked him up and put him in a warm tub. He's in his tank now with some food. ;)

He acted a bit ornery today. I guess being free for 5 days was new to him. But as he gets older and bigger I'll give him more freedom. I still have a few leashes around here but he'll have to grow into them. He's just too tiny to try right now. I have tried making harnesses from string and pins and actually used them a few times to take the babies to the beach. They did enjoy themselves. They used to swim in the lake with me too. They stayed right with me while I was in the water. They were like human babies. :hug: Not really but close. :winky:

Late yesterday I notice him thrashing around in his tank. Then I looked at him. He was completely covered in white. I picked him up and peeled him like a banana. That's what was causing the thrashing. He was trying to get away from the itching. He calmed right down after that. :D

Have been reading your Story of Bella with great interest, even though I have zero experience with reptiles. I'm curious about his reaction when you try to get him out of the tank. Are you above him, and reaching into his space? Maybe he doesn't like being 'come at from above'.

You say he really appreciates his time out of the tank. If he had a way out of his own, say, a branch to climb, do you think he'd readily come out? It sounds to me like he simply doesn't like being grabbed at, or reached for.

I have thought of that but there is no other way. When I do try to get him out I talk to him and pet him to calm him down. Eventually he stretches up the side of the tank so I can fold my hand around him. I wish there were another way but there just isn't.

Also I have noticed with the light behind me I am just a big, dark shadow coming after him so I stand to the side so he can see me.

Sparky, his name is Bela', as in Bela' Lugosi. It's a male name. I changed it when I realized he was a boy. :winky:

He has really seemed to have changed. He seems more affectionate towards me. He kisses me a lot more. Stays with me a lot longer too. :hug:

His tongue is getting beefy. :D That's a sure sign that he's healthy and growing. :D

He's such a sweet boy. :hug:

He seems to understand me now. When I say " You want to go bed?" He gets all excited. He lays on my chest and fall to sleep and when, after a while, I put him in his tank, he starts trying to climb out to get back with me. :( I feel bad that I can only take naps with him, he's just too little to try to stay in the bed all night. He might run off. :o Yep, right off the edge of the bed and thump onto the floor. Then he'd hide again. It's just in their nature to run and escape and hide. :o

Similar reaction when it's time to take a swim, goes poopie almost immediately. I let him swim for a bit then take him out after about 10 minutes. I scoop out the poopie with a cup and water my plants with it. No waste. :D You should see my plants. :winky:

Guess what he likes, candy. :D Just a taste on my lips. :rolleyes:

he sounds so cute! what kind of candy does he like?

Caramel. He just licks it. Yes, he is so cute. :hug: He gets so excited when he tastes it. :D AND he has really calmed down in the past month or so. He it starting to LOVE me. :rolleyes:

He does like blackberries and grapes. Doesn't like watermelon at all. Will eat cooked cauliflower, green beans and peas. Of course he has his usual collard greens. I give him extra veggies a few times a week of which he dives into and gobbles them up. :D :wink:

3 times during the night he came back into the bed with me. I had to get him, he was scratching and clawing to get out. I had to calm him down. He has started sneezing. They sneeze to let you know they are happy or pleased. You can barely hear it but they sneeze. He is still sleeping but I'm up. I have to prepare his food before I get him. :D

Oh my, he pooped in his bed last night.... Had to clean it up and put a clean bankie in there with him. He can't sleep without his bankie. :wink:

Hi Wiix,

I am so glad you enjoy your iguana so much!
I enjoy your sense of excitement and pleasure sharing your space like this!

Fun to read your updates!:D

Warmly,
DejaVu

There isn't much to get excited about these days. It's just nice to know there is another heartbeat in the house. :hug:

Yes, this can be helpful! :D
So glad you and he are having fun together.
:hug:
DejaVu

Well, another milestone, we have crossed over. He's taken me into his eating confidence. Finally, he ate in front of me. That's a sign of trust. Usually he waits til I'm away from the tank before he starts eating. Just now I put a plate of green beans in his tank and he went right for them. He was actually looking right at me while he devoured them. I stood there for a moment looking out the window and when I look down he was looking up at me chewing. :D

I gave him some of the tender, pale green under leaves of the cauliflower yesterday and he gobbled them up. Also some cooked cauliflower which he did the same.

He knows exactly what's going to happen each day because we keep to a tight schedule. He is real easy now when I go to take him out of his tank. He doesn't scamper anymore. He just hops up on his little log and sort of reaches for me. He doesn't clamp down with his claws anymore. He makes it so easy. :p

I wonder when I'll be able to just snip the tips of his claws. He does lock in my neck sometimes when he hugs me. :winky: They are like tiny needles. :o

He LOVES cherries. :D

Me thinks we are in love. :wink:

This morning I woke up later than usual and he was jumping up and down in his tank trying to either get my attention or get out. :( I immediately took him out and put him in his day tank and he ran over to where I usually put his food and water, BUT it wasn't there. :eek: He had a fit!! :winky: He ran over to my side of the tank with this look on his face. :eek:

I got his food and water. :rolleyes:

He ate a mountain of sting beans.

Yesterday I watched few videos about how Petco gets its animals. It made me sick. No wonder he was the way he was and why it took him so long to trust me. I'd show a few here but I might get in trouble. :mad:

Poor baby. :(

Late last night he did his usual "Come get me" act while in his sleeping tank. He acted so happy when I picked him up, just like a puppy. We snuggled for a while until he fell back to sleep then I put him back. He really is so funny. :wink:

Thanks for sharing this... We don't have an iguana. We have a small dog. But I can still relate to many of the experiences you've shared... great fun! :Heart: :Grin-Nod:

I put a tiny mirror in his tank today. That'll keep him busy. :D

He has come up with a new behavior. He locks onto my lips. He must know where kisses come from. :rolleyes:

He went crazy all night. Running and jumping around in his tank. He woke me up a couple of times. I left him in his tank. This morning when I went to get him he was one, big slab of white. Poor baby was trying all night to get away from it. But his Mum peeled him as soon as I saw it. He's been calm all day. :D

Here's something I forgot about until recently.

When we are laying down and I am rubbing his head I go over his closed eyes. And they start bulging. I used to called it Bug-Eyed. He's doing it now. So cute. :rolleyes:


.

He's so sweet. Everytime I get out of bed to put him in his tank he spreads his front paws so he is like grabbing my neck. As if he's saying No Mummy, I don't want to go in there I want to stay with you. It's so cute. Last night I woke up at 4 a.m. and he was clinging to me. :hug:

Another thing I remember. I had a boy once, he was HUGE and he liked to sleep with me, so did the girl, she was also HUGE. But it's the boy I'm talking about now. He used to climb on top me while I was sleeping, this was to wake me up, he'd position himself right over my chin and start sneezing while doing push-ups. He'd sneeze right up my nose. :eek: That got me up fast. :wink: The way Bela' is acting I'm thinking I'm going to have another sneezer. LOL!

NOW he's being a brat. He wants to be with me in the bed but he won't settle down and go to sleep. So I put him in his tank and he's crawling up the side trying to get back to me AND it's 2 am!! So I'm sitting here until he falls back to sleep. KIDS!! :p

He knows I hurt myself. He's acting up. I haven't been able to spend as much time as before with him but he's getting basic care. I miss our time together. Oh I hope I get better soon. :(

I hope your back starts feeling better. :(. I'm sure Bela does too. He probably misses his time with his mom.

He's never bit me but things are getting very testy these past few days. :(

Most of the iguanas I 've had have bitten me once. A couple more than once. and one chewed the heck out of me. :o

**

I noticed this yesterday. He's got a pot belly. :wink: It's about time. He's putting on weight. It's probably from all the midnight snacking. I scoop up all his leftovers from the day and put it in his tank at night. He's finishes them off. :hug: