New Friend to lizards :-)

[OB_Scorpio]

Hi to all, my name is Francois(42 years young) living in Centurion/Pretoria, got a big love for reptiles and owned a ratsnake and two red tail boas a few years back. When wife came in the picture the snakes hat to go :-( miss my 1.5 m Pasha the most :-( So now wife have calmed down and I am thinking of getting a Iguana or something in that line( not beardies) so before I do an injustice I want to do homework first.
Read allot on the forum( thanks to all for input) and just want to get my facts right before building enclosure and then buying a lizard .
so bear with me pls.
Q1: What Iguanas is available in S.A. like green and.........?
Q2: name as many pros and cons of Iguanas as possible
Q3: Is it better to get them as babys and hand raise them ? My Red Tail was so tame and placid used to drive around with me watch tv with me and never hurt me( got some warnings ) and I think it is because I handled her allot as a baby and spend allot of time with her like swims in pool made from roof plastic every now and then.
Q4: what are the requirements for enclosures, must haves, nice to have and the no no's.
Q5: are they ok with children when raised from young. I have a 5 year old son who has been tought to respect wild animals even hand raised ones, so he will not mess around with a lizard.

Thanks in advance

Francois

P.S. I know there are allot of books on my questions but also believe the best advise come from people in your country that own these reptiles

[Bushviper]

Iguanas are not "user friendly" animals and if you end up with a male that bites your son he will need stitches or worse.

I would far rather go with a smaller lizard or gecko species. Possibly Blue tongued skinks or similar.

[Wazted]

Hey There.

The only iguanas I have seen are normal green iguanas and the Fiji iguanas, i have seen pictures of yellow and blue ones but i have never seen them here in SA.
I have had my iguanas from small for like 4 years now, and I do love them to bits (I keep them outside in a big aviary). I gave them both the same amount of attention / handling and care, and my female is as tame as can be she never wips, bites or threatens, compared to my male that always puffs up and wips (after that display i can handle him). They do really get big and their nails can hurt like hell and for this reason I dont know if i would ever allow a 5 year old to handle them and they are lightning fast especially when small. I do give mine calcium, vitamins and a variety of fruits and greens. I did get a male iguana that i caught off a main road and hes very aggresive and will bite / claw and wip (he was not well looked after and must have escaped) so I would say if you wanted to get an iguana rather get one from a baby and raise it yourself (and I could be wrong but i think females are less aggresive then males are especially when i compare the 3 that i have.) They are not like beardies at all, they get quite large and can be hard to handle.

[NewtTZ]

I would recommend a leopard gecko. They are very hardy and not aggressive at all. In my opinion they are the perfect pet lizard and you will not regret buying one.

Iguanas are best kept by more experienced keepers.