OT Iguana Story

CypressCynthia
CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
OK, I give. Here is the poop. When Katherine was very little, she somehow talked me into buying this little itty bitty iguana. He was about 4-5 inches long. We named him Fluffy and bought the iguana book at the same time we got him.

Big mistake, HUGE! Iguanas are not easy to care for. They are prone to metabolic bone disease and need a very specialized diet, basking lights with UVA/UVB rays, continuous warm temperature and a certain amount of sunshine every day. Katherine was over him in about a week.

Of course, I fell in love with him and he loved me. He followed me everywhere. Every day, I would take him out to our deck and he would sun himself and then dive in our fish pond and poop. He would never ever poop anywhere except in water (a real problem in the winter). That is also another common iguana quirk. We could leave him in the back yard as he would just do the above routine and then scratch on the back door when he was done. He really never wanted to be anywhere except with me.

As Fluffy grew and grew, Danny, the engineer, built larger and larger plexiglass cages that had multiple lamps. They were bigger than a refrigerator (but horizontally placed).

One day when I was getting him out of his cage, so that he could get his daily sun soak, I wasn't paying attention and didn't notice his claws were curled around a very large basking rock. I pulled out the lizard and the rock went Bam on my foot. Ouch! Fluffy didn't mean it as an iguana's claws are curled like that so that they can climb trees well.

He was a lot of work, but I did truly love him. However, I would never buy one again and I don't recommend iguanas as pets. Way too much maintenance!

And, because I know you will ask...Fluffy died at age 12 of a tail infection. In the wild, an iguana usually loses his original tail to predators. The new shortened tail is actually healthier. An iguana with its original tail is at high risk for infection as the very long tail has very poor circulation. When he first showed signs of an infection, I took him to the vet immediately. The vet was in over his head. I recommended amputating the tail and he looked at me like I had 2 heads. He tried to treat him conservatively, but the infection kept returning. He finally called some iguana expert in California who told him to do an Xray and see if the infection had spread to his pelvic bones. Of course, it had, and the expert said that he recommended euthanasia. Very sad. He was the sweetest pet and very smart.

TMI, I know but you asked...lol!

Comments

  • poplolly
    poplolly Member Posts: 346
    I so sorry your pet died.
    I so sorry your pet died. It can be so devastating to lose one. They become our family!


    Judy
  • mamolady
    mamolady Member Posts: 796 Member
    Sweet
    I am more a furry pet person but I know alot of people that prefer furless. I didn't know they could be trained so well. 12 sounds like a long life for a big animal.

    I learned 2 things today!

    Cindy
  • CAchick
    CAchick Member Posts: 277
    CC
    Cynthia, you are so interesting! I love reading your posts...
    What a sweet pet story!
    Thanks for the story,
    Sybil
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    mamolady said:

    Sweet
    I am more a furry pet person but I know alot of people that prefer furless. I didn't know they could be trained so well. 12 sounds like a long life for a big animal.

    I learned 2 things today!

    Cindy

    Cindy, I am definitely a
    Cindy, I am definitely a furry pet person and love my 2 dogs and 2 cats. I never thought I could bond to a lizard, but he was really sweet. He died in 2004.
  • kookaa
    kookaa Member Posts: 27
    i am sorry
    Fluffy has passed. I too acquired a iguana by my daughter. She was 18 and just came home with 'Strawberry'. Of course I ended up taking care of it. I was very surprised how attached I got to it. Perhaps Fluffy and Strawberry will meet in iguana heaven. 12 years is a long time to love and care for an iguana. You must be a very good 'mommy'.
  • VickiSam
    VickiSam Member Posts: 9,079 Member
    CAchick said:

    CC
    Cynthia, you are so interesting! I love reading your posts...
    What a sweet pet story!
    Thanks for the story,
    Sybil

    C.C. -- I have the largest grin on my face ....
    warmth in my heart, and bubbling over pride at this very heartfelt story of you, and Fluffy. How many times have our children talked us into getting the largest puppy, or alley - flea bitten kitty??? But, an Iguana -- now that's a first in my book. Only you -- with your kind heart, gentle soul, and openness to love any creature - of God -- would this ever be possible. KUDOS to you C.C. for putting forth the effort of providing a loving and caring environment for, Fluffy --.

    I am sure it would of be so easy to drop him off at any local animal shelter -- but you "stayed the course? -- Fluffy reciprocated with devotion and commitment to you --. You were his "Mommy", so he followed you around - like a little puppy. How special a story!

    I simply adore the photo of Fluffy 'sunning himself', while reading a book.

    Thanks for making my day.

    Vicki Sam
  • aisling8
    aisling8 Member Posts: 1,627 Member
    kookaa said:

    i am sorry
    Fluffy has passed. I too acquired a iguana by my daughter. She was 18 and just came home with 'Strawberry'. Of course I ended up taking care of it. I was very surprised how attached I got to it. Perhaps Fluffy and Strawberry will meet in iguana heaven. 12 years is a long time to love and care for an iguana. You must be a very good 'mommy'.

    Well, I've done kids and reptiles
    Here's one for you--middle son simply had to have a snake. I finally gave in, okay, iguana is inside, but snake has to be outside. Once a week the snake must eat so we'd go to the pet store and buy baby mice that, I kid you not, came home in a box that said "Yay, I found a home! Somebody loves me!"

    Oh, the things we do for our kids....

    xo
    Victoria
  • mollieb
    mollieb Member Posts: 148
    I can relate to your story.
    I can relate to your story. I fell completely in love with two aquatic turtles, red-eared sliders, brought home from college by separate kids. Each needed his/her own tank. Thank goodness we had a large kitchen island, with room at one end for the turtles. They ate from my hand, and the male loved to be petted and held. They have both moved on to other homes, and I would not seek out a turtle (lots of work), but I completely understand how attached you can become to a cold-blooded creature. RIP Fluffy.
  • skipper54
    skipper54 Member Posts: 936 Member
    mollieb said:

    I can relate to your story.
    I can relate to your story. I fell completely in love with two aquatic turtles, red-eared sliders, brought home from college by separate kids. Each needed his/her own tank. Thank goodness we had a large kitchen island, with room at one end for the turtles. They ate from my hand, and the male loved to be petted and held. They have both moved on to other homes, and I would not seek out a turtle (lots of work), but I completely understand how attached you can become to a cold-blooded creature. RIP Fluffy.

    Sorry to hear about your iguana
    Who knew they had such personalities?! Pets, of any kind, are really members of the family and leave lasting paw prints on our hearts. Thanks for sharing your story.
  • natly15
    natly15 Member Posts: 1,941
    skipper54 said:

    Sorry to hear about your iguana
    Who knew they had such personalities?! Pets, of any kind, are really members of the family and leave lasting paw prints on our hearts. Thanks for sharing your story.

    CC read the story and must
    CC read the story and must tell you that you are the first Iguana pet owner I've heard from. High maintenance for sure, but obviously Fluffy brought you great joy. It's a good story, but must admit an Iguana would not be my choice. Bless you lady. I'll tell this one to Troy when he is older.
  • cahjah75
    cahjah75 Member Posts: 2,631
    CC
    My first reaction was OMG! But after reading your whole post I was sad to read that your Fluffy had passed away. So sad......
    {{hugs}} Char
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    cahjah75 said:

    CC
    My first reaction was OMG! But after reading your whole post I was sad to read that your Fluffy had passed away. So sad......
    {{hugs}} Char

    I'm still back on...
    "Fluffy"?? An iguana named "Fluffy"?

    And he was literate?? Did he have a favorite genre?

    Too hilarious, but bittersweet, too. I love the idea of Fluffy and Strawberry palling around together in iguana heaven.

    Traci
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    TraciInLA said:

    I'm still back on...
    "Fluffy"?? An iguana named "Fluffy"?

    And he was literate?? Did he have a favorite genre?

    Too hilarious, but bittersweet, too. I love the idea of Fluffy and Strawberry palling around together in iguana heaven.

    Traci

    Fluffy seemed the perfect
    Fluffy seemed the perfect name somehow.

    No, that's not really a book but a tray of his mustard greens, collard greens, mixed vegetables and a little strawberry--topped with his vitamin supplement. I told you he was high maintenance. You can feed iguanas the above but can't feed them spinach, cabbage or kale (often). You wouldn't believe the list of diet do's and don'ts for an iguana--it all has to do with their bone issues.

    My entire family used to crack up when I would be talking to one of my sisters wandering room to room cleaning house--with Fluffy following me everywhere that I went. He was a one woman iguana
    :-) and so cute. Poor Fluffy, I still miss him.
  • chenheart
    chenheart Member Posts: 5,159
    :-( Quite the pet saga~ I
    :-( Quite the pet saga~ I had no idea the work involved in "the care and feeding of an iguana" and am very saddened that he got and succumbed to the infection. It must be a specialized field if the vet didn't know to consider amputation~ but really, how difficult would it have been for him to Google that?????

    I was hoping you were going to regale us with a story to make us laugh...sorry that wasn't the case for you. For some reason, the Marlon Brando movie "The Freshman" with the Kumodo Dragon came jumped in my head!

    Thank you for taking such loving care of Fluffy...

    Hugs,
    Chen♥

    PS I too am in the You named an iguana FLUFFY? camp~ and it also reminded me of a Far Side cartoon: A snake on trial, on the witness stand saying, "Of course I killed him in cold blood~ I'm a snake, you idiot!"
  • TraciInLA
    TraciInLA Member Posts: 1,994 Member
    chenheart said:

    :-( Quite the pet saga~ I
    :-( Quite the pet saga~ I had no idea the work involved in "the care and feeding of an iguana" and am very saddened that he got and succumbed to the infection. It must be a specialized field if the vet didn't know to consider amputation~ but really, how difficult would it have been for him to Google that?????

    I was hoping you were going to regale us with a story to make us laugh...sorry that wasn't the case for you. For some reason, the Marlon Brando movie "The Freshman" with the Kumodo Dragon came jumped in my head!

    Thank you for taking such loving care of Fluffy...

    Hugs,
    Chen♥

    PS I too am in the You named an iguana FLUFFY? camp~ and it also reminded me of a Far Side cartoon: A snake on trial, on the witness stand saying, "Of course I killed him in cold blood~ I'm a snake, you idiot!"

    Story to make us laugh
    While The Tale of Fluffy did not end happily, it's clear how much you enjoyed him, and that he had a very happy life with you.

    My entire family has come to expect daily Fluffy updates over the past few days, and are all laughing their heads off over his gourmet lunch tray, pooping in the fish pond, and the image of a 6-foot iguana following you around the house like a puppy. My girlfriend has decreed that I'm not allowed to complain anymore about the high-maintenance-ness of any of our pets.

    :-) Traci
  • Lighthouse_7
    Lighthouse_7 Member Posts: 1,566 Member
    TraciInLA said:

    Story to make us laugh
    While The Tale of Fluffy did not end happily, it's clear how much you enjoyed him, and that he had a very happy life with you.

    My entire family has come to expect daily Fluffy updates over the past few days, and are all laughing their heads off over his gourmet lunch tray, pooping in the fish pond, and the image of a 6-foot iguana following you around the house like a puppy. My girlfriend has decreed that I'm not allowed to complain anymore about the high-maintenance-ness of any of our pets.

    :-) Traci

    Thanks for filling us in
    Thanks for filling us in with Fluffy's story. I couldn't wait to hear. You are incredible for loving him so much and I never knew how smart they were. Great story!
    Wanda
  • CypressCynthia
    CypressCynthia Member Posts: 4,014 Member
    TraciInLA said:

    Story to make us laugh
    While The Tale of Fluffy did not end happily, it's clear how much you enjoyed him, and that he had a very happy life with you.

    My entire family has come to expect daily Fluffy updates over the past few days, and are all laughing their heads off over his gourmet lunch tray, pooping in the fish pond, and the image of a 6-foot iguana following you around the house like a puppy. My girlfriend has decreed that I'm not allowed to complain anymore about the high-maintenance-ness of any of our pets.

    :-) Traci

    We had many happy years
    We had many happy years together as you said Traci and I remember those most.

    Here is another story to crack you up. When he was younger (about a foot long), he disappeared in my backyard. I was frantic and had the entire neighborhood looking in my yard (1/2 acre). We finally found him in the very top of a very tall pine tree. He didn't seem to know how to come down. We called the fire department but they said no way. We then called a tree service guy who said he would try, but would charge $100 just for coming out.

    The tree guy comes out with his whole family: wife, kids, brother. Like it's a party! But then when we pointed out the tree, Fluffy was not there. Everyone started looking again. One of the kids pipes up and says, "Do you have another iguana that lives in the bottom of your fishpond?"

    There he was, scraped up, but ok and we were $100 poorer. LOL.

    He was never interested in leaving my deck after that.