Cyclura (iguana) spa time!

Turtlepete

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Okay...So these are a definite dream-list animal. A pair of Cyclura nubila (Cuban Rock iguana), has been on my list for some time. We have a single mature female, but have never found a male. Though they are well protected in Cuba, and also at Guantanamo bay, this is yet another species in decline. They are present in the pet trade, but I would not say abundant. That said, breeders like Crutchfield and Sam Pascucci do a good job breeding tons of them. CB individuals or adults seem to have gotten rarer recently though. A pair of C. N. Nubila, in the case they are available, is usually about $1500. In light of that, it's pretty cool we got these guys for free
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Anyways, enough about the species. These are amazing, amazing animals. Hopefully within the next year or two we'll be producing some. These ones in particular are a little beat up and skinny (a minor case of skin fungus can be seen in the pictures), but with a little bit of TLC, routine supplementation, and baths, they will be in good shape in a couple months
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So, after acquiring them, first order of business....A spa day.

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The big male. He is puppy-dog tame. It's pretty awesome to be able to interact with them like he allowed us to. Our other female is incredibly mean (in fact, I tried to get her to join us for spa day. She ran at me with her mouth wide open and jumped off her shelf in this manner at my head. Hint taken, no spa).

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Seemed to enjoy being pet on the head....Although you still need to be cautious. Iguanas are experts at relaxing just to fool you, and then snapping. That said, he was pretty comfortable being handled.

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Bath time! The female is the smaller one.

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Their nails needed done, as they were mildly overgrown. And yes, you do actually do iguana's nails! Haha. Especially when they are kept in wire-walled cages, it's important that they don't get hooked, as they can break their toes. In fact, in the first picture, you can see that the male is unfortunately missing two toes on his front right foot due to this.

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Big male watching us with his girlfriend, haha. One of the really awesome thing about iguanas, is their habit of cocking their head at you. It looks like something like a velociraptor straight out of Jurassic park. They are scary intelligent. If you observe them a lot, and are familiar with their behavior, it means many things. "Leave me alone", is typically when they tilt their head and make straight eye contact with you; that and tensing at the same time when you are doing something they don't like. "I want that banana" is when they make eye contact with the banana, then you, then back to the banana. Haha! Anyways, these animals are full of personality, and deciphering it is just one of the awesome things of owning them.

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Not above a pedicure himself! With the tilt of his head, he was warning us not to push his buttons, haha.

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Close-up!

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Male and female together. Fewer pics of the female, but the male is more photogenic. The female is on the small side and won't be ready for breeding for likely a year or two, under proper care.

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Chilling with my sis. We were told they were "vicious". Right.
 

wellington

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Congrats. How they come around for you quickly, with any problems they may have and give lots of babies to help re-populate:)
 

Flipper

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Whoa! Those do look like something from Jurassic park :eek:

In the one pic it look like the boy is giving us the finger! ROFL

Thanks for sharing! Very interesting :)
 

Turtlepete

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Thanks guys. In the future I would love to have a larger group of C. Nubila, and a small group of C. cornuta. Although I would probably love to have every Cyclura, so thats where that road leads...Haha :).

Glad everyone enjoys them. If all goes well, there could be baby pics in a year!
 

mandzz

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They are beautiful!!!!!! The male just looks so pleased...like ahhhhh.... update soon!!
 

bouaboua

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Thanks but no Thanks. Not my cup of tea. Sorry! ! !
 

Turtlepete

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They are beautiful!!!!!! The male just looks so pleased...like ahhhhh.... update soon!!

Certainly. This is likely the first bath either of them have had....in a very long time. They were more then pleased to have a nice day at the spa, haha. Plus, every iguana likes a nice warm bath.
Still remains to be seen how they will be when introduced to our other female. I'll post an update of them when they are all together if you would like.
 

Turtlepete

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Here is a video that my sister snapped when they were introduced yesterday. (Have to link it, not sure how to embed it here). Low quality, but pretty neat. The male established his dominance pretty fast, and they are doing very well today, as far as compatibility goes. Notice that the male is NOT attempting to harm her, only fending off her attacks. An encounter we didn't get on video was when she went for him, he simply put his mouth around her neck and held her there, and she got very still. Didn't hurt her what-so-ever, just establishing his dominance. Pretty neat behavior.
 

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