Isabella and Ferdinand

I thought I'd write a little about my iguanas. The male is named Ferdinand and the female is Isabella. They are the king and queen of iguanas! I got them "second-hand" from a science teacher. He told me at the time I got them that Isabella was about eleven years old and Ferdinand was about nine years old. I have to confess that I am the one who named them, so you can blame me for being cheesy. The science teacher actually did not give them names. I found this a little sad and that is why they have such royal names.
They are both about 4.5 feet long from nose to tail tip. And to be honest, but not disrespectful to the science teacher, I don't think they were in such good health when I recieved them. He fed them a diet of romaine lettuce and roma tomatoes. This is not good at all. Also he did not provide UV light or water. The only water source was in their food. So Isabella was puffy because her tissues held as much excess water as possible to protect her bones from breaking. It is a condition that iguanas get to compensate when they lack adequate calcium in their diet. After a month on a good diet with me she lost the puffiness but her skin has been large and wrinkled ever since. (I don't really know how to describe this so I will try to get a picture to show it.) Isabella also has a problem with her front toes and claws. I was told that as a young iguana she tried several times to escape her glass terrarium and would slam into the glass. This must have broken the bones in her front toes and they are permanently bent to the side. I think her claws grew abnormally long; probably to compensate for broken toes. For this reason Isabella is not a very good climber. She can only use her back legs to climb objects. Isabella also has broken spines along her back and I am not sure why. However, despite all of these problems I think she is a happy iguana; at least now.
Ferdinand looks decent but his wrists on the front are bent permanently. This problem is not so noticable and he climbs around just fine. This seems to be the only problem I could see that resulted from his diet. I know that iguanas have to receive adequate amounts of calcium and that certain foods are better than others. I try to give my iguanas fruits and vegetables that I would eat (not ugly, bruised, or rotten). I skip the calcium:phosphorus powder and just put the straight calcium powder on their food at least once a week. I figure they get enought phosphorous in the foods they eat. I also provide water on a daily basis. I know that this is important because I have seen them drinking it often.
I also try to give them a good environment, at least as best that I can provide. I give them a UV light which they can sit under and a heat lamp as well. I also have a heater to keep their room warmer in the winter time. And I also use a humidifier when I need to. I hope all of this makes them happy. I think it does because when they first came to me about three years ago they were not gentle at all. I think this was because of the lack of handling and possibly their diet. I have basically left them to themselves this whole time until recently I started trying to handle them. In the past they rejected any touching from me so I did not push it. Recently I tried again and they have let me touch them to move their tail or leg out of the way as I feed them or clean their cage. This gave me courage to pick them up. One day I first tried the male because I accidently left the cage lid open and he was sitting on the edge. I gently picked him up and put him back in. A few years ago this would have resulted in a fight, with me eventually getting him back in the cage with the wounds to prove it. Next I tried the female. Now I think for the most part they are not scared of me and we have an understanding. Besides they have learned that I am the source of their food. When they see me they do get excited if their food bowl is empty because they know it will be filled. Well, they get as excited as iguanas can get!
I hope that I am doing enough for them because this is important to me. Yes, keeping reptiles and enjoying them in nature as well are a hobby of mine. But Ferdinand and Isabella are more than just a hobby. They are living creatures and I know that although they can look scary to many people, they do have feelings of comfort or pain. With them being about fourteen and twelve years old (which I think this is old), I just want them to be comfortable. This just makes me feel good.