The wonderful lizard of ours | The Star - Toronto Star

eWhen Chris Kandelas, her partner of 11 years, passed away in April from multiple myeloma, Elizabeth De Haan was lost. "I felt as though part of me went with him," says the Stouffville resident. "It was a tremendous blow to me and the rest of the family." She was, she says, "sinking into a dark pit."

Solace — four-and-a-half feet and 12 pounds of it — came unexpectedly last month.

This summer, De Haan's daughter, Jacqueline Davis, was in talks with the North York-based Ontario Reptile Rescue about the possibility of adopting an iguana for herself. Around this time, someone happened to surrender a nine-year-old green iguana. Although De Haan hadn't planned on adding a pet to her home, she says, "It just seems [like] something that was meant to be." She describes her initial meeting with the iguana, whom she named Emma, as "love at first sight."

"My mom," says Davis, "needed something to shower in love and take care of the way she did my stepdad."

By mid-August, Emma had settled into her forever home, De Hann says, "as though she had always been here."

De Haan and her children are familiar with iguanas, having rescued them in the past, but she says her friends are still intrigued about how she keeps a large reptile. "I tell them that she is the same as a dog or a cat," De Haan says. "I pet her and give her scrubs. We go outside. The only difference is that she doesn't have fur." (In fairness to furry ones, De Haan also has a 10-year-old toy poodle.)

Emma has a humidifier and will bask most of the day under lights or out in the sunshine. "Bath time is also a huge part of our routine, as iguanas require it to shed properly," De Haan says. "If I am in the room, her enclosure is left open, and she is allowed to go almost anywhere." De Haan and Emma watch TV together nearly every night.

"She loves snuggles," Davis confirms. "She walks on a leash outside mostly every day and enjoys trips to PetSmart for toys." What are planned as quick trips to the store often stretch out, as the curious stop to ask questions about Emma. These chats are a great opportunity to educate the public about reptiles, which are sometimes misunderstood, says Davis, who, along with her partner, are pet parents to two ball pythons, a leopard gecko and a boa constrictor, another Ontario Reptile Rescue alumnus.

The most common misconception is that they are aggressive, says rescue cofounder Morgan Campbell, who has been caring for unwanted reptiles for years: "They do not wish to hurt humans." Due to job loss and moves, surrenders have skyrocketed during the pandemic, she adds, noting that there are very few places to give up reptiles. "Regular animal shelters," she says, "are often not equipped to care for more demanding species of reptiles that have strict care requirements."

According to Campbell, when the reptile industry first exploded about 30 years ago, iguanas were one of the animals most commonly available. "Everyone wanted one," she says. "They are a beautiful vibrant bright green or red, they are large and personable, and best of all, they're herbivores. You can go to a grocery store to buy them dinner, rather than rely on insects and rodents." Emma, for one, enjoys strawberries, collard greens, spinach, arugula, peaches and bananas. "I think she eats better than we do," Davis says with a laugh.

Baby iguanas are usually less than a foot long, but can quickly grow to six or seven feet, weighing about 20 pounds and living between 15 and 20 years in captivity. "Unfortunately, some people purchase them as babies and do not expect them to get as large as they do," Campbell says. They require very large enclosures ("equivalent to a small bedroom"), a basking area, UVB lights, and a water container big enough for the reptile to soak its entire body. Seventy-five percent of the animals the Ontario Reptile Rescue takes in have underlying health issues, including Emma, who will be going to the vet to get a growth biopsied.

"Iguanas can make fantastic companion animals if you put in the work to socialize and handle them," says Campbell. "[They] are capable of being quite social with humans." Such is the case with Emma and De Haan. "As much as I give her," De Haan says, "she gives me just as much in return. [We're] loving each other, relying on each other and saving each other at the same time."

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