Volcano, rescue number 25.2

Volcano came back to me today. He did not play well with his new owner who loved him and tried everything she could to make him happy. He did the same thing at this new house that he did at the house he had before I got him-- hissing, puffing up, running away, and just being mean.

So now it's time for the next intensive level of Volcano rehabilitation. He may be with me for awhile as he learns how to play nice and be friendly. Aggressive beardies are very unusual. I don't think he's aggressive, but I do think he knows how to act so he's left alone.

But his grumpy behavior has no impact on me. He puffs up and I laugh at him. He tries to be fierce and I shake my head and ask if that's all he's got. You see, once you own a diva iguana, "Aggressiveness" takes on a whole new meaning. Volcano is in the little leagues for aggressiveness and we're going to fix that with him.

Volcano, rescue number 25

Volcano was bought by a family a couple weeks ago who quickly learned that he was not as "friendly" and "nice" as the previous owners said he was. That did not go over well with the little kids in his family. His hissing and spitting and black beard freaked them out.

So after many discussions, I traded Apollo for "Cano."

I brought him home and got him out of his 20 gallon sand tank and into a, you guessed it, 40 gallon tank with astroturf. :) Can you tell what my favorite tank set up is?

He is a 2 to 3 year old male and he is TINY for his age! He's definitely going to take some work to get him friendly again, and he's already learning that when he puffs out his beard, I don't shrink back.

"Uh huh, Tough Stuff, what else you got?" is how I respond.

Beardies can be like dogs (or kids)-- if they learn that a certain behavior gets them left alone, they'll do it over and over again. Volcano's previous "mom" spent at least 20 minutes getting him out of the tank. Nope, not here. I've been bitten, scratched, whipped with a tail, pooped on, hissed out, head thumped at, poked. It just doesn't phase me anymore.

Here he is in his nice new cage-- I don't even think he knows what to do with so much space! He's a bit spooked out so we'll give him a couple days to adjust before I start really training him. Before he knows it, he'll be thrilled to go on car rides and be the center of attention after school. :)