Iggy's Page

Objective: ‘Do Iguanas React to Change in Their Living Environment?'

Background Information: The common green iguana is known around the world mainly as a house pet. Common Green Iguanas, or Iguana Iguana, are coldblooded reptiles who in the wild live in Middle and South America, mainly in rainforests. The green iguana enjoys hanging over rivers on branches and limbs soaking up the sun; though their peace is often disturbed and they are forced to jump into the river to escape predators.The common iguana is a poikilotherm or cold-blooded creature. They rely greatly on heat from it's environment to support it's bodies functions, such as digestion and movement. The ideal temperature in an iguana's cage should be approximately 78 degrees. Heat rocks and lamps are useful in capturing a healthy temperature. As for an Iguana's diet they need the right stuff. Fresh fruits and vegetables are a favourite of the animal's and they are a necessity in it's daily diet. They will eat almost any fruit or vegetable except for iceberg lettuce and rhubarb (these are almost deadly for the animal). If an iguana does not receive proper treatment they may develop a bone disease known as Metabolic Bone Disease(MBD). The results of this disease range from weakness, limping, anorexia, and if it isn't treated soon enough death may occur. Iguanas are a very high maintenance animal but they can also be very amusing and fun.

Method & Materials Method: The habitat which the iguana has adapted to will be changed and the Iguana may or may not adapt well to the changes. Apparatus as a bath tub, 2 logs Feeding Dish Water dish A heat rock Heat Lamp

Hypothosis: Given that iguanas respond to human interaction with their environment then they will also react to change within their living quarters as well.

Procedure: 1. The experiment is divided into ten weeks.

2. Every two weeks the habitat within the iguana's cage will be moved around and a diagram made.

3. Everyday at feeding time and/or during the day the iguana will be assessed to see how it is reacting to the change around it.

4. The observations will be recorded and compared to one another.

5. After ten weeks of observing the iguana's behavior, the order which the iguana responded to the best will be the order the environment will remain in for the semester.

Observations:

Sept. 20: Today we had our first experience with Iggy. He has been away all summer and last week he returned to school for the school year. We were taught how he is cared for and fed and we realized, with some help, that Iggy needed a new heat lamp so we bought him one A.S.A.P. We fed him a mixture of vegetables, some apple and some banana and he seemed to enjoy every bit of it.

Sept. 25: I have fed Iggy for the last week and Donalda is going to be doing it next week. I learned today that his water tub is his private loo and it has to be cleaned often. I learn something new almost everyday.

Oct. 10: We fed Iggy together today and spent quite a bit of time with him. We thoroughly cleaned his cage and washed his tub and water dish. We also sang to him which he seemed to enjoy quite a bit. Today our experimented was started and we are are now observing his behaviour closely

Oct. 24 We decided no to change the cage around because he seems to be enjoying this set up. We’ll leave it for another two weeks, and hopefully he’ll get used to it, and then it’ll cause a reaction when we change around the cage.

Nov. 7 We changed the cage around today.

Nov. 30 I noticed that Iggy really enjoys being sprayed. Sometimes it seems like it bothers him but lately he waits for it. He closes his eyes and soaks it up and really enjoys it.

Dec. 8 Today we noticed that the way the cage was arranged for our experiment had been changed, by who we do not know. We do know that the janitor gives him extra food after we feed him. This is fine but it kind of messes with our experiment because we have the cage in a certain way.

Dec. 22 Today is our last day before Christmas holidays, so I gave him extra food, and cleaned out his cage. Also Lee Anne and I (kate was away) sang to him because we have found that’s the only time he pays attention to us (other than feeding time) is when we are singing.

Iggy was fed- Oct. 24, 25, 26, 27, 31

Nov. 1, 3, 7, 8, 9, 10, 14, 16, 17, 22, 24, 28, 30

Dec. 1, 4, 6, 7, 8, 11, 12, 13, 18, 19, 20, 22,

Jan. 11, 19,

Days he had already been fed and or cleaned that we noticed, Jan 9, 15, 16, 17.

Conclusion: This project is incomplete. We weren’t aware of the time; money involved in caring for the iguana. It did not work properly because we were not around enough to examine the changes. We were much too busy and not at the school enough to bond and become comfortable with Iggy or to even give him necessary treatment. We also feel we did not know enough about the animal, even with tons of research there was just too much to learn. But what we did notice was that Iggy didn’t react. However we did notice that he did react to us when we fed him. He shied away and didn’t seem comfortable with us. Perhaps he was picking up on our vibes because we weren’t quite comfortable with him. Another time he reacted to something we did was when we sang to him. He would honestly stop and stare until we were finished. Though I researched Iguana’s and hearing, I didn’t find any information to support my theory that Iguana’s “like” music. Since that was the only thing that Iggy responded to all semester we would suggest singing to his next caretakers.

It is said there are differences in all iguanas. Their behaviors may vary from tame iguanas to socialized iguanas. A tame iguana tolerates handling, doesn’t get stressed out with contact form it’s caretaker. They ideally tolerate car trips and being around a lot of people and they are willing to have their head, neck and shoulders rubbed. They will even take food from their caretaker’s hands. Tame iguanas will not attack or whip their caretaker’s with their tails. A socialized iguana is very tame; they are usually attention hogs climbing on people to nap. They are constantly wanting to be rubbed and stroked. A socialized iguana is comfortable in public and with activities and conversation. As the caretakers of Iggy, it is concluded that he is a tame iguana, not to be confused with a social iguana. Although to some he is a very social animal, to us Iggy’s social side was hidden and he was quite shy.

It is also mentioned that it takes iguanas awhile to become acquainted with their caretakers, which takes time and effort. If an iguana is not comfortable with whom they are being fed by then they turn brown and become very tense. There are many reasons for an unhappy iguana especially when the caretaker does not understand the animal completely. During our time with Iggy it was very difficult for us to spend time with him and we feel that he was not as comfortable as he could have been with us. We did try to give appropriate care to Iggy, although we do wish we could have done a bit more bonding with the animal. Iguanas are interesting animals but very complex in the care they demand.

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