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A Pet of a Different Color

Denise Flaim | Animal House

August 1, 2000

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MOVE OVER, goldfish.

Until recently, those humble aquarians were the kings of the carnival, cooling their billowy-finned jets in glass bowls as contestants tried their hand at dunking booths or target shooting in order to take one home.

But lately, in a bid to bring a little of the bizarre to the church bazaar, vendors have discovered a new prize-common green iguanas, known to herpetologists as Iguana iguana.

In New York State, giving away any animal except fish or livestock as a prize is illegal, which is as good a reason as any for not acquiring an iguana that way. (Some vendors skirt the rules by charging a small fee for the exotic reptiles.) But acquiring any animal on the spur of the moment probably reflects that the new owner hasn't done much, if any, homework. And in the case of green iguanas - one of the country's most popular reptile pets, though they're getting competition from bearded dragons and geckos-you would likely be getting in over your head.

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For one thing, that carnival hatchling, which wholesales for about $1.35, can end up costing $300 once you invest in a tank, heating pad, basking and heat lights and other iguana essentials. And money is the least of it.

"Basically, they take a lot more care and equipment and time than people realize," says Melissa Kaplan, author of "Iguanas for Dummies" and the moderator of online green-iguana message boards, including AOL's. "There is this great misconception that reptiles only grow to the size of their tank. There's the great misconception that they only live on lettuce, and that all they need are a few lava rocks. And the really big misconception is that they get tame by themselves."

Kaplan says it takes six months to a year to tame an iguana- basically, getting it comfortable with being handled. Socialization- rapport with humans-requires more time.

"They talk to us very expressively, but nonverbally," says Kaplan, who was drawn to reptiles after her work rescuing wildlife from oil spills left her with autoimmune disease and severely allergic to mammals and birds. When an iguana feels threatened, it will tuck up the dewlap under its chin, turn sideways to look bigger and tail- whip the offending party. As a last resort it may bite: A baby iguana delivers the equivalent of a paper cut; a grown-up lizard-put your plastic surgeon on speed dial- might rip off a lip or nose.

A sign of iguana love, by contrast, is "when you go to pet them, they melt in your hand and turn a happy color," such as ice blue, says Kaplan. Iguanas, kind of like mood rings, turn brown or dishwater gray when stressed.

You want to have a happily hued relationship with your iguana, because at maturity it can reach 5 to 6 feet in length. Since the recommended minimum enclosure is 1 to 2 times its length, "if you have a 6-foot iguana," Kaplan points out, "that's a room." Many owners let their larger lizards "free roam," potty-training them to use the bathtub or even climb a ramp to the toilet to perform their reptilian ablutions.

"I liken it to a medium-size dog with a really long tail," says Kaplan, "except you're not going to cut yourself on a dog." Cradling an iguana like a baby will leave a tattoolike imprint on bare skin. And if an iguana's pointed and raised body and tail scales don't draw blood, chances are its sharp claws will. "My arms," says Kaplan cheerfully, "look like I've gone crazy with razor blades all these years."

Like any pet, "an iguana shouldn't be relegated to a garage or back bedroom," adds Kaplan, who at one point owned 14 iguanas, and is now down to two, including a "lichen-looking" green iguana named Rugwort. "Though they're not really social, they benefit from having something to look at."

Though their life expectancy is 15 to 20 years, Kaplan says many iguanas typically die younger, because their owners have difficulty maintaining the humidity of their native Central and South American rain forests. Feeding animal proteins such as dog food instead of their staple diet of fresh vegetables can lead to early kidney failure. And iguanas harbor salmonella bacteria in their digestive tracts, which can be transmitted to humans through exposure to their excrement. Since very young and old people are particularly vulnerable-in extreme cases, with fatal results-some owners find new homes for their pets once diminutive two-leggers enter the scene.

Though the exotic strains of salmonella that iguanas harbor can land even a healthy adult in the hospital on an IV drip, Kaplan says contamination can be avoided simply by taking "reasonable precautions," such as washing your hands with antibacterial soap after handling the animals and not cleaning cages in areas where food is prepared.

Despite all their demands and drawbacks, iguanas have found a place in Kaplan's heart-and her home.

"It's anthropomorphizing, I know," says the lizard lady, "but there's this intelligent gleam in their eye. They have personality, and there's something in them that grabs you."

As the iguana people like to say: Happy herping.