Hello and here is my Cyclura

[Zorak]

I just found this forum and figured I'd make a post saying hello. I recently moved to Arizona which just happens to have the perfect weather for my Cyclura. My buddy now gets to sit outside and soak in real sunlight all day long.

His name is Zorak and he's about 2.5 years old. I got him when he was only a baby. Here are a few screenshots of him sitting outside in his enclosure.

[prismwolf]

Welcome to you and Zorak! I've always wanted to care for a cyclura...just never had the chance. There's definitely some intelligence in that eyeball...:-D

[Zorak]

Here are a couple photos of Zorak his first month with us. He was only 3 months old at the time. The first photo is him in his cage with Brak our baby green iggy. The second photo is Zorak hanging out on the back of an adult green iggy we rescued from the local high school. Her name was Isabelle. Whenever we let Zorak out to run around that's where he would end up. We always left the cage open for our adult iggs.

Zorak (Cyclura) and Brak (green iggy)


Zorak and Isabelle

[prismwolf]

Cute pics! Did you not worry about Isabelle getting injured with her weakened bone structure from the MBD with the other igs climbing on her?

The cyclura is so very pretty. What's his temperament like?

[Zorak]

It was weird with Isabelle and Zorak. She would wiggle her way over to his cage and stare at him until we let him out. Then he would go sit on her and stay that way. When I take him off she would crawl over to where I was holding him. They just always wanted to be together. I never left them unattended that way. I didn't want him scratching her or anything. Zorak was the only one that did that with her. The vet said it was ok. But then again she was the one that gave us Ivermectin and said that was ok.

But thinking back I probably shouldn't have let him do that. When we had rescued Isabelle it was our very first iguana and we didn't know anything about them or what MBD was. All I know is that I saw her wiggling around like a snake in the school classroom and realized that it wasn't normal. That and the fact that she was an orange color instead of green. The kids thought it was funny how she moved around like a snake. I was like there is something wrong with her and the teacher said we could take her if we wanted.

Then 2 weeks later we rescued Brak and Issac. And I admit we had no clue what the hell we were doing. I've learned a lot about iguanas since I got Zorak.

And to answer your question about Zorak's temperment. The first 2 months we had him he was great. Then the next year was hell. He would bite me with those d**n razor sharp teeth every time I opened his cage to feed him. Now he's calmed down a lot and he has his good and bad days. When I first take him out in the morning he can be a mr. wiggle butt. But then he calms down and sits on my shoulder. No more biting thank heavens. He grew out of that phase. I've read some horror stories about Cycluras though. They need to be handled a lot more than most iguanas to tame them.

[prismwolf]

I've heard that about cycluras, too. I've also heard they seem more intelligent and calculating than the greens, too.

Sometimes we sure learn the hard way how things are supposed to work. I almost killed Zair with MBD when he was just a year and a half old. He was in a 35 gal. tank, a light bulb, and was fed lettuce and carrots. He was nearly a fatality statistic. He was even to the seizure stage. He got lucky...but at what cost. He's been growth stunted and has several toes that have healed crooked. Long-term effects - well - we'll just have to wait and see. He's going on 10 yrs. at the end of the month, so he's doing O.K. as far as I know.

[sean46877]

He looks awesome. What type of cyclura is he?

[prismwolf]

He looks like C cornuta.. That's the most common one in the pet trade, too.

[Zorak]

Yes he's a C. cornuta

[ChamZilla]

What an attractive little guy you have there! He is very good looking, I like the cyclura's they are so prehistoric looking. Even more than greens are. Hope to see him as he grows up