Gandalf

[Craiger]

Gandalf is my iguana. I got him from LadyKnite when he was only about 8 months old. Evidently, the previous owner was moving into an apartment and wasn't allowed to bring him with her. So Gina's Dad took him in (and had him for around a week to 10 days), transferred him to Gina (she had him for around 5 days), then she shipped overnight him to me....on January 5th, 2008. It was one of those rare occurrences when the weather was just right going from North Carolina to the St. Louis area in January. Around 70 degrees at both ends....and decent temps through the night.

This is what he looked like the day I got him. Very small....in my opinion. Granted, all igs start out small to begin with. I was surprised to see just HOW small. Those are 6 inch tiles on the backsplash to give you an idea of size. His color was amazing!

Here he is just 2-3 weeks later. You can see how much he was starting to fill out.

And again, a few weeks later.

I think this was around August/September time frame (about 8 months after I got him).

This is when I realized he was going to need a bigger enclosure....VERY soon. I think this was around November of 2008. The one he's in, here, was built for Sam, my female beardie. But decidedly when to Gandalf when it was the only thing I had big enough for him....other than Frodo's enclosure. And it was occupied.

Here he is enjoying his new enclosure. He's about 3 feet long, here....to give you an idea of the enclosure's size.

Just chillin'.

This was taken in May of 2009. He's around 3-1/2 feet long. So basically, he went from 16 inches long and pretty thin to this in 17 months.

He's checkin' out the box Gina used to ship him to me. Seriously, he was running around inside that thing when I opened the Fedex box.

This is his enclosure as it is today.

And I took these tonight with my daughters' Canon digital SLR. He's around 4-1/2 feet long, now, at just under 3 years old (estimated).

 

[staylor]

He is beautiful. Its a good thing Gina got him and than sent him to you. I don't understand how people can think they are caring for something when you can look at them and see they are not healthy. This is very similar to Slyder. I have some pics in the photo section of before and afters, the photos were taken about a month apart. The guy thought he was taking care of him but from the pics it is clear to see he was not.

 

[beardie_love]

GORGEOUS creature.

 

[Craiger]

Thanks guys. I've had a fondness for iguanas for quite some time. I studied them for 3 years before getting Gandalf. So I knew without a doubt what I was getting into. Not by choice....it took that long to talk my wife into letting me get one. So I just continued to read up on them as much as possible. Melissa Kaplan's site. Her Iguana's for Dummies book....and my favorite, by far, Green Iguana, The Ultimate Owner's Manual by James Hatfield. This book is a wealth of information.

I can't express enough how important it is to study the animal you're planning to get before actually getting it. I did that with beardies before getting Frodo, too. Between studying and setting up the enclosures to make sure temps, lighting and whatnot are stabilized prior to owning the pet. It sure makes things so much easier on both, owner and animal.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Very nice Craig. Hows his temperment. Ive heard and seen a whole range of attitudes from iguanas.

 

[Craiger]

He's got a pretty decent temperament. I mean, it's not like I can hold him and cuddle him or anything. I can pet him without incident and he's never tried to bite. His harshest has only been a tail whip and I can tell when it's building up to that. I love to watch him while I'm doing things in his enclosure. Like a cat (of which we have three of), he's so curious. I've got a bench that I built into his enclosure so I can sit down and just chill out sometimes. It's funny to watch him peak his head around the top shelf to see what I'm doing.

I'm getting close to getting my basement finished. But because the ceiling's not in, yet, and there's access to other rooms within the basement (not including the area between the ceiling of the basement bathroom and the ground floor) that I don't want him having access to as I'm afraid he'd get into one of those areas and I wouldn't be able to coax him out. So I've yet to be able to let him free roam. Once the ceiling's in and I can close a couple doors, he won't be able to go anywhere but the entire basement family room. Once I'm to that level, I want to open his enclosure door to see what he does. My hope is that he starts trusting me even more and will eventually come to me while I'm just chilling out watching a movie or something. If that happens, I'll have breached a new level of our relationship.

Most of all, he's just skittish (at times). He doesn't try to run away every time I enter his enclosure like he used to, so he's gotten much more trusting of me in the last year. He doesn't mind being petted. In fact, sometimes it's quite obvious that he's enjoying it as he closes his eyes, lowers his head and pushes it toward me while relaxing his dewlap. But as soon as I try to run my hand under the front of his belly or put my hands around him, he takes off to somewhere else in the enclosure. Then it's a matter of a chase and I don't like doing that as it just sets us back a bit in our relationship. So I let him be 'til the next time I go in and spend some time with him.

It's a long process, but one that I'm committed to. He's MUCH better than when I first got him. Gina can attest to how skittish he was, then. I don't think the previous owner(s) spent much time with him. He was pretty set in his ways after just 8 months.

I hate to even think about this, but unless somebody owns a tortoise that can outlive the owner, all owners know that they only have a set amount of time with the current pets. As he's only about 3 years old, now, I'm hoping it's not for a long time. But when something does happen to him, I'll be adopting an older iguana that's already quite tame. I don't like buying pets from pet stores, so I'll be watching the local adoption sites. It's how we got our last cat (a female Siamese) and couldn't be happier not having to go through the whole kitten stage. There was an immediate bond from day one. Almost like she knew we were giving her a better home. Besides, there's so many that need rescued/adopted that purchasing from a store doesn't even enter my mind.

 

[staylor]

I agree getting pets from adoption places rather than pet stores. My beardie came from Craigslist and the one I am getting on Monday I found there too. One of my dogs was a puppy mill rescue, one was a stray, one from my husbands sister after he was shot by the neighbor, one cat from the pound and the other 2 from people I knew.

 

[Craiger]

That's awesome, Sandra!

 

[beardielover17]

wow hes a beauty! his setup is almost identical to one gina sent me

 

[Craiger]

wow hes a beauty! his setup is almost identical to one gina sent me

Really? Hmm.....are we talking about the one and the same? LadyKnite? If so.....


G-i-i-i-i-n-n-n-a-a-a-a-a-a-a! Why didn't I know about this enclosure? LOL!

 

[zebraflavencs]

She dont' haffta answer.. she's a PC !
*giggles*
Janie

 

[Craiger]

She dont' haffta answer.. she's a PC !
*giggles*
Janie

I sent her an eMail earlier telling her to check out this thread....PRONTO! I think we'll be hearing from her before long. But then again, she is a PC! LOL!

 

[staylor]

What is the balled up sock for? is that what it is? sorry don't know much about these guys and just wondering.

 

[Craiger]

That's exactly what that was. They actually do like to lay on something soft. Unfortunately, he decided to knock it off his top shelf at one point and it landed in his tub on the floor. As he's potty trained and will only go in this tub, you can imagine the outcome. LOL!

These days, he only sleeps on his horizontal branch....and there's no way I can get a sock to stay put on that.

 

[ladyknite]

Wow Craig. He's really growing up. he's changed so much. It's amazing to see the difference.
I've done several of these adoptions since Gandalf, and my dad still swears he was the healthiest he'd ever taken in.

Oh..........you did know about the enclosure. Remember when you sent me plans of Gandalf's for someone? That someone was Candice. Her's is a Rock.........long not tall, so we just turned it on it's side. But generally the same plan.

 

[staylor]

Ok, did not know that about iguanas

 

[Craiger]

Wow Craig. He's really growing up. he's changed so much. It's amazing to see the difference.
I've done several of these adoptions since Gandalf, and my dad still swears he was the healthiest he'd ever taken in.

He's definitely changed a lot. Sometimes I don't realize just how much 'til I go back and look at my pics. I love how he's filling out.

Oh..........you did know about the enclosure. Remember when you sent me plans of Gandalf's for someone? That someone was Candice. Her's is a Rock.........long not tall, so we just turned it on it's side. But generally the same plan.

Oh yeah! I do remember that. Too funny! Well, Candice, looks like this is a very small world.

 

[beardielover17]

Wow Craig. He's really growing up. he's changed so much. It's amazing to see the difference.
I've done several of these adoptions since Gandalf, and my dad still swears he was the healthiest he'd ever taken in.

Oh..........you did know about the enclosure. Remember when you sent me plans of Gandalf's for someone? That someone was Candice. Her's is a Rock.........long not tall, so we just turned it on it's side. But generally the same plan.

ahhhh i though a couple things looked a little familiar!

 

[Craiger]

ahhhh i though a couple things looked a little familiar!

Now I want to see pics!

 

[beardielover17]

ahhhh i though a couple things looked a little familiar!

Now I want to see pics!

didnt get a chance to build it because i got engaged and moved shortly after...my rhino iggy is with a friend in MN right now in a monsterous enclosure...just search mikesreptileenclosure on youtube and look at the rhino iggy vids...thats him