The Guide to Owning a Green Iguana [Paperback]

John Coborn (Author), R. M. Smith (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1994

An excellent introduction to the care of the Giant Green Iguana, Iguana iguana. Fully illustrated in color.

Product Details

• Paperback: 64 pages
• Publisher: TFH Publications; 1 edition (January 1994)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0793802555
• ISBN-13: 978-0793802555
• Product Dimensions: 10 x 8 x 1 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.5 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 2.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (5 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,253,307 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Born 3/10/41 in Darlington UK.

After school I completed an apprenticeship in laboratory animal technology at the Institute of Cancer Research (UK).

I joined up as a Regular Soldier RAMC 1961-1970 and served in Germany, Malaysia and Borneo as a military hygienist. In Germany I met my wife, Ingrid, to whom I was wed for 44 years before she sadly passed away in 2008. We have five children; two boys and three girls.

I was Reptile Keeper then Curator in Cotswold Wild life Park (Oxfordshire, UK) 1971-1980. During this time I organised the first International Herpetological Symposia and founded ASRA (Association for the Study of Reptilia and Amphibia). I was also one of the founder members of ABWAK (Association of British Wild Animal Keepers).

I was Director of Dudley Zoo 1980-1982.

I took up full time writing in 1984 and have written over 90 books including foreign translations into Dutch, German, Polish and Spanish. I emigrated from the UK to Australia in 1986 when I wrote a number of books for Paradise Press.

Most of my books are on the natural history and the care and breeding of various reptiles and amphibians. My first book was the care and Breeding of Goldfish (K&R Books, 1975). My largest book was Atlas of Snakes of the World (TFH Publications 1990). I have also translated a number of books from Dutch to English and German to English for English publication.

I have written a few books on tropical fish and aquarium keeping as well as a number of bird books. I have written numerous magazine articles and papers for various publications. I have written some books under pseudonym: names I have used include Byron Bjorn, Jo Cobb, John L. Corbett and Joseph B. Stilton.

In 2000 I stopped writing full-time as I was beginning to lose my concentration. I live on a 13 acre property at Nanango, Queensland, Australia where I have a small olive grove. I have two dogs, some chickens, some budgies in an aviary, and a goldfish pond.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars DO NOT BUY THIS BOOK UNLESS YOU WANT A DEAD IGUANA!, July 18, 1999

By A Customer

This review is from: The Guide to Owning a Green Iguana (Paperback)

I wanted to give this book zero stars but it wouldn't let me! Here are some very bad items I found in this book. It is without a doubt the worst book I've ever seen on iguana care. The epidemic of bad information on iguana care is killing iguanas every day. Foods recommended that are not good for iguanas: lettuce, spinach, cucumbers, pineapples, boiled potatoes, broccoli, and "so on" as the author vaguely says. Plant:animal protein ratio of 4:1 when any smart iguana owner knows that it should always be 1:0! Pea sized gravel for substrate? No particulate substrates should ever be used. He recommends insects and tells how to catch them...when all animal (and insect) protein is deadly. The photos in this book show how bad it really is. I could quote several very bad things the author says about iguanas, but I'd rather just give a quote of my own, "Buy Green Iguana: The Ultimate Owner's Manual by James Hatfield if you care about the health of your iguana!" If you see this book in a pet store, hide it before it kills another iguana.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Deadly misinformation, April 2, 1998

By A Customer

This review is from: The Guide to Owning a Green Iguana (Paperback)

I got this book before I got my first green iguana. I found it informative, useful and full of excellent pictures. As far as I knew, it was a great book. When I built by iguana habitat, I used much of the information the book gave. For a substrate, it suggested using gravel, particularly pea stones. I followed the advice and the habitat looked beautiful. Over the months my one iguana started going downhill. She started having little problems which I was able to treat. She had blood tests and numerous veterinarian visits (the bills added up). She then started bloating terribly after each feeding. I finally got an x-ray and it showed that she had ingested numerous rocks off the floor of her cage. She now needs surgery and I only hope that she makes it. I've now read in other books that gravel is one of the worst substrates you can use. Although the book was useful in a lot of ways, I worry about how many people are using gravel as a substrate because of the advice received from this book.END

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars Glossy photos, poor information, July 29, 1998

By 

[e-mail] (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Guide to Owning a Green Iguana (Paperback)

I bought this book before I really knew about caring for iguanas. If I had known better, I would have saved my money. The nutritional information in not up-to-date, the substrate suggestions are ludicrous, and the book seems more dedicated to being one big ad for useless commercial reptile products than to helping iguana owner keep their pets happy and healthy. If you are serious about owning an iguana, buy Jame's hatfield's Green Iguana: The Ultimate Owner's Manual or do some research on line.