The bath that makes a giant iguana shut her eyes

Name: The bath that makes a giant iguana shut her eyes
Uploaded: 2019-06-19T01:30:11Z
Duration: 10 min 50 s
Description: After a week of nonstop rain in South Florida, everything out back is muddy, and one iguana has been rolling in the dirt. She gets to come inside, but first she needs a bath.

After a week of nonstop rain in South Florida, everything out back is muddy, and one iguana has been rolling in the dirt. She gets to come inside, but first she needs a bath. more

Her name is Luna, and she's a rhino iguana, a big lizard with horns on her nose. Her keeper, Jacob Feder, calls her the sweetest iguana he has. "You can see why they call them rhino iguanas," he says, pointing to the horns.

Not everyone in the enclosure is so sweet. A male gets introduced as probably the nicest of the bunch, and he swings his tail at the man who said it. "Whoa, whoa, whoa, watch yourself, sir."

The tub gets ready before Luna does. He sprays it with alcohol in case any soap is left that could hurt her, rinses it out, then runs warm water and feels it until it is "the perfect temperature for the iguana." He fills it only partway, so she can move around a little.

Then he heads out to get her and stops short. He forgot "the most important item for the bath," and Luna picks that moment to try to bite him. The item is out in the yard: a yellow rubber duck full of dirty water, which he has to drain before it becomes her new toy. With the wind blowing hard, he scoops Luna up with a quick "Whoa, relax."

A person holds a large lizard inside an outdoor enclosure with a mesh roof and a wooden fence behind. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third. — Luna is in no hurry to leave her enclosure, and she gets a firm "whoa, relax."

Inside, she checks out her new surroundings and settles in. She doesn't care to swim, so he scrubs her lightly with a brush instead. "Hi, pretty girl. How was your bath? Very good? I'm glad," he says, answering for her. Then, to nobody in particular: "What did you do today? I gave my giant pet lizard a bath."

Most iguanas love being touched and scratched, he says, and Luna makes his case. Her eyes close as he works the spot by her ear, then her nose. Even the duck is allowed to stay. Anything brightly colored usually gets attacked, he says, but she doesn't mind this one.

An iguana in a bathtub with a yellow rubber duck, indoor daytime setting. The headline runs in white letters across the lower third. — After a week of nonstop rain in South Florida, everything out back is muddy, and one iguana has been rolling in the dirt.

The bath doubles as a mani-pedi, because her nails have grown long. He trims only the tips, since cutting too far can hit the root and start bleeding. The front nails come away blunt with no blood, and he says she is enjoying it.

A large lizard with scaly skin and clawed feet rests on a white surface. A headline runs in white letters across the lower third. — Her long nails are trimmed at the tips, well short of the root.

When it's over, she's being so sweet that he can just lift her out, and she climbs right up onto him. "Oh my goodness, you're on me. I didn't cut the back ones." Then it is back home to the enclosure, with one last "There you go, mama."