Last week I brought 'F', the girl I nanny for, over to my place to visit with Iggy. Iggy was immediately aware of F's shrill little girl voice. As I peered inside her enclosure, Iggy stared back at me with concern almost to say, "Who the heck is that?" Considering I had F over once before, I didn't think anything would go 'wrong' as I always take necessary precautions with those whom I am responsible for. I don't want to have anything happen to F nor do I want to stress out Iggy. So, for about one hour, Iggy watched F as we ate Mac and Cheese and watched cartoons together. I figured that one hour would be enough to get Iggy a little more used to F. I may have been wrong about that!
I took Iggy out of her enclosure- after feeding her a bit- and held her close to me as F looked from a few feet away. I backed up a few inches so F could touch Iggy's back legs and pet her back. Iggy showed no signs of anything unusual- no dewlap, no tail whip, no attempted escapes. So I put her on the ground, behind the couch and sat down next to her. I told F to come VERY slowly and to sit down about 2-3 feet behind Iggy. Because I am fully responsible for F during the day I did not want to take ANY chances despite Iggy's sweet and calm demeanor. F, unfortunately did not listen to my exact instructions and shifted about 2-3 inches closer- and holy crow- this sent Iggy FLYING ACROSS THE ROOM! It all happened so quick that I can't even really remember how she ran but it was the quickest I had ever seen her go before.
Iggy was so scared she ended up in the corner behind a pillow and next to the wall breathing deeply. When I looked back at F she had almost started to cry and thought that Iggy hated her! I had to calm everyone down. I explained to F that iguanas are very shy, especially Iggy because she only lives with two people and no animals or kids. Once I talked softly to Iggy and put her away she calmed down. F and I said goodbye to Iggy from behind the closed doors. Luckily, F still likes Iggy and I am so glad she understands that Iggy is just a shy girl who sometimes gets a little spooked.
This makes me wonder, despite Iggy spending her first 10 months in a home with 4 people, 2 birds, and 2 dogs, will she be able to make the transition back to this environment, stress free? I may have to spend 3 months at home next year which would put Iggy and I back where we started ha ha.
So what can we take away from this? When introducing your iguana to new people- adults, children, even new animals- always expect the unexpected. I know Iggy very well and do not believe she'd ever tail whip or charge anyone unless in immediate danger, but I still always plan to keep her at a safe distance from new people.
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