I need a new wallet.....so get to work.
You're on your own for the wallet. I ain't skinning them, hell, I won't even touch one without gloves as they can carry salmonella on their skin. Or, if you are bat shit crazy, you can keep one as a pet. Here's advice from someone who actually likes the little bastards.
FQ13 who thinks that every PETA member should own one.
Taken from
http://www.2ndchance.info/IguanaCare.htm If you have time, read the site, I promise, its the funniest thing on the web, you couldn't make this stuff up at gunpoint.
Are Iguanas Safe Pets ?
Iguanas look more ferocious than they really are. However, when they are large, and snappy, they can bite hard. These bites, can be particularly dangerous on the face. Many frightened iguanas that have no intention of biting scratch you as they try to escape. Unless their toenails have been routinely cut, their nails are extremely sharp. Iguanas do not carry rabies, but their mouths harbor many bacteria. Whipping their spiny tails is also an iguana defense tactic.
My experience is that mature female iguanas are a bit less likely to bite than mature males.
Any bite from an iguana needs to be taken seriously and cleaned with antiseptic. Depending on your temperament, you may wish to have a physician tend to it.
Older male iguanas can be the most testy. When they are in an evil mood, they bite with tremendous pressure and are reluctant to let go. Iguanas of both sexes often become snappiest during breeding season. Iguanas are also more likely to bite you if you attempt to house more than one within eye contact of another.
Younger iguanas occasionally bite by mistake when you attempt to feed them. If they have not been handled sufficiently, they may bite to escape. Iguanas in mating condition also clamp onto their partner by biting their neck. But the worst bites are from animals protecting their turf from someone they perceive as a a challenger to their territory.
If you have any doubt how an iguana is going to behave, catch it in a large beach towel. I have been bitten through the towel. Also, just like humans, the basic disposition of iguanas vary. Some have a gentler temperament than others and some just need a lot of hands-on time to mellow. Time on your lap, wrapped in a towel, mellows most iguanas.
Iguanas, particularly males, can have Dr. Jekel/Mr. Hyde phenomena . Gentle pets can become testy for no apparent cause and aggressive iguanas can suddenly become mellow. Do not attempt to discipline a misbehaving iguana. It will not work.
Some owners try to decide what incident might have upset their iguana. There are iguana experts who try to use classical human phychology to analyze why the pet did this or that. Iguanas do not see the World like we do. Their moods and behaviors are much more rooted in their hormone levels and the daily and yearly natural rhythms that govern their lives.
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