I have 2 iguanas. I just sexed one of them and he is a male. He is smaller than the other one and we have had him for over 2 years now. Hes always been a bit sketchy and doesnt like being held. His name is "Meanie" and it fits quite well.

The bigger one I think is male too but i'm too scared to touch it so i'll confirm that when DH gets home We've had it for 1 1/2 years. Its very friendly and likes being held and petted. Its name is "Squash" due to its coloring when we got it.

Lately Meanie is being horribly aggressive towards Squash. They have been caged together this whole time and have been fine. We assume they are both between 2-3 years old. Meanie is biting off Squashs spikes at the top of its head. I mean, he leaves blood and all and he wont let go. We seperate them everytime this happens but its getting quite annoying. It seems as if after all this time they havn't quite decided who is the "alpha" male as they both stand their territory when needed. Would Meanie be trying to mate with Squash, even if its possibly a male? I've been reading online and havn't come to any reasonable conclusions. Any advice or suggestions is greatly appreciated.

By Sue3 on Tuesday, July 6, 2004 - 03:23 pm:

Did you go to a google search?When I had my Iguana (lily) I also had several questions,so I did a google search and found a great site,it was so long ago, (2 years) that I don`t remember the site name.
Sorry I am not much help. Good luck.They are such cool pets,so much work though.
Lily was about 3 feet long!!!!!!
I felt sorry for her cooped up in that cage so I started letting her hang out
on this cherry tree in front of our dining room window so she could sun her self , well I didn`t think she would go far if she decided to get curious and go off the tree...............boy,was I wrong! Iguana`s can run........ FAST!
We looked and looked for her and never found her,I always hoped that some nice people found her.
Well, good luck and I hope you find out why meanie is being so aggressive towards squash.

By Truestori on Tuesday, July 6, 2004 - 09:14 pm:

I have heard that they should live in seperate cages. My husbands job has a science division and the teacher there realized why one Iguana was getting so mean. The cages were directly across from one another and they could see eachother. Well, the one Iguana didn't like that and would lash out and whip his tail when he spotted the other one. They have rearranged the cages and keep them very seperate now. This is probably the case with yours. One is trying to dominate, but don't allow him to physically harm the other. Seperation is needed...lol

By Ladypeacek on Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - 12:20 am:

How big is your cage? I have had them all my life and they can be together if they have been fine all this time but only if they have their own space. If your cage is not big enough they feel cornered and you will have to seperate them. Our cage was almost the size of an entire wall and they did fine together.

By Amy~moderator on Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - 01:27 am:

My dh had iguanas as well, and he said basically the same thing as Kenna above. Iguanas are very territorial creatures and NEED their space. Maybe get a larger cage or keep them separated.

BTW, How have you been?

By Boxzgrl on Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - 12:12 pm:

Well I assumed the cage was a problem because we boughta bigger one about 5 months ago (Its about 4 feet long) and they have grown into in so quickly but DH is in the process of building them a cage that is 6ft by 6ft to go outside. I was able to sex the bigger one when DH got home and looks like we were wrong, Squash IS a girl. I really hope there will be no babies. So for now we seperate them when they fight/mate or whatever the heck they are doing until the bigger cage is done.

Amy, I am doing great, thanks for asking. Things couldn't be any better in all aspects of my life!!

By Amy~moderator on Wednesday, July 7, 2004 - 02:49 pm:

Glad to hear! I know you were going through a rough time awhile back. I'm happy things are evening out now.