Maugee is a five-year-old iguana who had the misfortune of being adopted by an irresponsible, careless teenager back when she was small enough to fit into your palm.  That teenager was me.  I wanted an exotic pet of some sort, and I decided on an iguana.  I did all the research -- the internet was a fraction of its current size back then, but I still managed to get my hands on a copy of Melissa Kaplan's Iguana Care, Feeding, and Socialization document, which was also a fraction of its current size.  ;)  Nonetheless, it told me just about everything I could imagine about iguanas.  I knew how hard it would be to care for one, and I welcomed the challenge.
          Of course, being a teenager, I had to convince my mother that an iguana was the best thing in the world.  ;)  That didn't work.  She was dead-set against it from the start.  But we went to the pet store, just to see, and she fell in love with the sweet baby iguana I held in my hands.  She came home with us the next day (though I thought she was a he for a very long time following that), and to this day I have never held any other iguana, though I would love to.  They are fascinating creatures.
          To make a long story short, after a year of taming, socialization, and wonderful care, I just stopped.  Just like that.  I had places to go and things to do, and my time with Maugee gradually fell back to nothing.  Am I embarassed about this?  Very.  I am not a professional herp keeper, and therefore I have no reputation to uphold, so I have no qualms about being totally honest with you.  I was a stupid kid, and I made a very big mistake.  If you are reading this, there's a good chance you too may have made a similar mistake.  I am writing this for you, and for all other iguana keepers out there who perhaps didn't realize just what they were getting themselves into.  Keep reading.
          Thank God for my mother -- she took care of Maugee for all the years that have elapsed since then.  The one thing that my mother could not do was handle Maugee.  She talked to her a lot, but she never took her out of the cage.  Therefore, Maugee is just as wild as she was the day I brought her home, even though I had her almost completely tame four years ago.
          In addition to all of that, I have found that I am allergic to the proteins in Maugee's skin and feces -- I could not even walk into the room after Maugee "pooped" without having an asthma attack, and she has built up skin on her dorsal crest (spines/spikes to those who haven't read the books... :::wink:::).  All of these factors made me consider finding a better home for Maugee.  She deserved better.
          In mid-November 2000, I decided that I would be the one to take care of Maugee.  I started cleaning her cage every day immediately after she defecated, even though I was horribly sick for a good portion of the day after that.  It didn't matter -- Maugee mattered.  I resumed the role of primary caretaker for this neglected lizard, making her food and replacing her water every day, talking to her as much as I could, even petting her when/if she let me.  I went out and spent close to $200 on new heat/lighting equipment, new bowls, new thermometers, vitamin supplements, and two great books on iguanas (see Maugee's Library for more information).  Since December 1st, 2000 Maugee has been taken care of in the best way I know how.  She is unfortunately still in a dog cage (FAR too small, heat escapes, etc.), but I am working on building The Ultimate Iguana Habitat as outlined in "Green Iguana:  The Ultimate Owner's Manual" by James W. Hatfield III (see Maugee's House for more information).  It's a big project and I'm not skilled in carpentry, but I've got some knowledgeable friends and family members who are around for advice and maybe even a little hard labor if I'm lucky!  :)
          It's hard to conclude this bio, because we are truly only at the beginning of Maugee's new, much-deserved life.  I will update this section as often as I can, whenever there is significant new information.  But from this point on, you can check in on all the main sections of the site as often as you like, and follow us in our day-by-day journey to a completely tame, socialized, and healthy iguana.  Thank you for reading our bio.

[for a longer, much more detailed introduction to Maugee, click here.  Otherwise, thank you for reading the short intro!]