My Green Iguana Baby Neo

Coming home with a baby iguana is usually an impulse buy. People see them in one setting or another and end up running out and getting one without realizing how much work they actually are. My husband and me don't want to make a mistake, read a little more and then decide if we are ready to be an iguana owner.

Choosing baby iguana is one of the most important decisions we make when getting our pet. We really need to be careful. Never blindly take one from a shop or private owner. We want to make sure that it is living in a clean environment (if the tank is dirty and the iguana is lying around in its own feces, it very well may be susceptible to very harmful bacteria). We also make sure the baby iguana we call it Neo skin is in healthy, that it is not skin and bones and the eyes are clear.

We have to create a natural habitat for this Neo. First things first though, we get a large tank, in the 50 gallon range. This is a good start, but eventually, we will remove the baby Neo to a dedicated room or very large cage when he get large.

At some time, no matter how well you have cared for your iguana, you will have to deal with the death of your pet. Over time, the bond between a pet and its owner makes for a very sorrowful and sad end to the time they've spent together. We lost our first iguana after several visits to the vet and regret was the hardest thing to deal with because I knew that if I had given him better care, he would still be here today. Dealing with the death of your iguana won't be easy, especially if you've spent day and times caring for it. Here are a few suggestions and some advice I'd like to give you to help you deal with the loss of your pet...


* First of all, don't blame yourself. Yes, it may very well be your fault that your iguana's life was cut short because of improper care (whether it was intentional or not), but blaming yourself will not make it any better. The best thing you can do instead of blaming yourself is to learn from your mistakes, and if you do choose to get another iguana, make up for it by providing better care for the next iguana (even if it's someone else's iguana).


* Even though you may want to rush out and replace your lost pet, it may be a bad idea to do so (till now we still missing Neo specially our daughter Farah, its hard for her to replace our lost pet). Take your time.
As strange as it may sound, you may want to sit back and remember your lost pet for a while, instead of replacing it. If you did lose your iguana due to improper care, it may also be a good idea to learn as much as you can about the proper care they need before you jump into another commitment of properly caring for another iguana. Even experienced iguana owners can learn more about proper care. Reading and learning more about good iguana husbandry may even take your mind off your sorrows as well. Chances are you will want to get another shortly after the death of your iguana. This is quite normal and I suggest you fight the urge and wait until you absolutely know the time is right to welcome another iguana into your life.


* Although it may sound like an inappropiate or "bad" idea, it can be a very beneficial thing to have a necropsy done on your iguana. A necropsy is an autopsy performed by a vet to determine the exact cause of death. Much can be learned by having a necropsy done and the facts you learn from it can help you improve the care you may give another iguana. You may discover that certain ways you cared for it, including diet and habitat requirements, could be improved on next time. Not only can a necropsy benefit you, but it may also benefit the overall care of iguanas everywhere. Your vet may learn a thing or two as well. Some vets who may not be true iguana experts will jump at the chance to perform a necropsy on an iguana, so they too will learn more about better iguana husbandry. Some vets may charge you for a necropsy, but most will perform one for free. Many people don't want their beloved pet "cut up" or "destroyed" with a necropsy, but if there is a chance that something can be learned to better the care of some iguana somewhere, please consider it before you give your pet a permanent resting spot.


* Another good idea to help you deal with the loss of your pet is to give your pet an appropriate burial with a memorial of some kind as well. Many people go as far as an all out memorial in a pet cemetery, but a nice resting spot in the back yard serves its purpose as well. There's nothing wrong with having an attractive constant reminder of a lost pet decorating your lawn for years to come. My iguana has a nice little iguana statue (that we have had a sweet memory as we had him) sitting on a pile of stones with vines growing throughout it. All of which sits under a nice shady tree our my back yard. As odd as it may sound, every time we cut the grass or do some yard work, We can't help but remember some experience or little thing about our Neo and the time we spent with him. As a matter of fact, our iguana was notoriously aggressive. We believe we may be allergic to the vines in his memorial, so even now that he's gone, he still manages to bite and scratch us. Things like this, even as bad as they may sound, can cheer you up when you least expect it.