Is it good idea to have a rhino iguana ?

[Merrick]

A cautionary tale for you - I got my iguana as a tiny little monster back in 2004. He was about 6 inches long SVL and he was my baby. I loved him and spoiled him and he was literally my best buddy. He came to work with me at the vet clinic, he rode around in my car and he even tolerated petting from small noisy children. He was amazingly docile.

As a juvenile he was in a big 6x4x4ft cage and had plenty of room to explore. With proper care and attention he sprouted into a 5ft long 13lb behemoth. Every day he ate two turkey roasting pans full of organic greens and veggies and eventually I had to move into a larger place so he could have a 13x10ft room.

He was the sweetest critter. He never bit, hissed, whipped or did anything aggressive.

Then one day in 2010 (So he was 6-7 years old) we were on the couch watching cartoons and getting ready for a bike ride. I turned and looked at him and said "What are you staring at?" In a split second I nearly lost an eye and I am quite confident that I would be disfigured if I did not shell out thousands of dollars to a plastic surgeon to reconstruct my face.

All I can guess is that he didn't appreciate that my roommate had brought home a guy to stay the night and they weren't introduced. I believe he smelled some pheromones that he didn't like in 'his' territory and acted out.

Unfortunately I tried for about 3 months to get him to calm back down and he remained aggressive. He went to live at a pet store as an example of why iguanas aren't the best pets. He then proceeded to bite two more people and had to be euthanized.

Long story short, I don't recommend them at 'fun' pets. They can be mean son's of b!tches. (I rescued another iguana not long before I got this guy and rehomed him because he had killed 3 cats because he was in competition with them for basking spots) If you want something big-ish and fun I swear by Blue Tongued Skinks. I absolutely love them.

Big Pic: At the SECOND hospital because the first refused to stitch me up (no plastic surgeon on staff)
Top: Me with Dizzy about a month before
Middle: At home a couple days later
Botton: 4 years later and just a couple small scars. I consider myself to be quite lucky.

At first I thought you meant a cyclura of some sorts but then I saw the picture of the green iguana wich I knew grew quite Teritorial as adults.

 

[Merrick]

Wow , sorry to hear that , but thank you so much for telling us the story , that change my mind real quick about getting a iguana , after all they are just wild animal ..

Tortoises are also wild animals

 

[MPRC]

Don't get me wrong I LOVE iguanas still and every so often I entertain the idea of taking in another rescue. I just like to show people what a big sweet puppy-dog like iguana is capable of. I worked with him every day to socialize him and it still ended tragically well before he reached old age.

If I do eventually get another you can bet your @$$ I wont get my face anywhere near it. I still have nightmares about what things might have looked like if the bite got infected. Iguanas have dirty dirty mouths (Pseudomonas, like cats I believe) and I was incredibly lucky.

 

[xXtortoiseloverXx]

Tortoises are also wild animals

Oh yeah , lol at least when they try to bite me I am fast enough to pull my finger back , lol

 

[xXtortoiseloverXx]

I just watch video on YouTube and Google it , they say Cuban rock iguana is the tamest iguana to have as pet . So I am still gonna do more research about it , I like how it looks too .

 

[Angel Carrion]

I just watch video on YouTube and Google it , they say Cuban rock iguana is the tamest iguana to have as pet . So I am still gonna do more research about it , I like how it looks too .

I think that's the best course of action. Do as much research as possible before acquiring any new species of any kind.
I wish more people would do that. Maybe it would decrease the unwanted pet population in all the shelters and rescues.

 

[marcy4hope]

Rhinos tend to be more aggressive than Greens. If you want something to hang out with and pet you'd be better served by a Blue Tongue Skink. If you want something big and tame then your chances are better with a Blackthroat monitor or a Black and White Argentine Tegu, than any iguana.

I've raised a ton of green iguanas. I've seen tame ones, but if you raise them well and they are healthy, they are normally a bit flighty and aggressive. I've only had a few rhinos and all of them were very aggressive. I've handled a few tame Rhinos, but much like the greens these were not housed or cared for optimally. They were alive and well, but certainly not in their prime.

Glad to see this response Tom. This is my question too. I have 2 tortoises and looking at possible getting a big lizard but I don't want something aggressive. Will look into the others you mentioned instead of the iguanas.

 

[ZEROPILOT]

I'm not aware of any huge lizard that you can be sure will not act out.
Certainly not a monitor or Tegu either.