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Description:
Green iguana (Iguana iguana) is one of the largest lizards
of the Americas. It lives from Mexico south to Peru and
Northern Argentina.
Green iguanas are arboreal and live anywhere where there is
an abundance of vegetation and water. They are excellent
swimmers and will drop into streams and rivers to conceal
themselves and can stay under water for up to thirty
minutes. They can climb up the trees to bask and forage and
to demonstrate their status in the local hierarchy. Males
will battle for access to females during breeding season
and the females squabble over nesting sites. Hatchlings and
youngsters live in the dense underbrush and so sport a
bright green skin to better blend into the foliage. As the
lizard grow bigger it will spend more time in the higher
canopy and change color to more brown hues to adapt to the
coloration of branches and bark. Males will change to a more
orange coloration and iguanas from Central America can be
completely brick-red/orange.
Iguanas are fairly intelligent and good readers of body
language.
They are hunted by a variety of predators from snakes to
raptors to caimans and jaguars and even people,hence the
fearful nature of the animal.
Newer research has shown that iguanas communicate with each
other in a complex arrangement of body-language and by
marking their territory with the markings made by the
exudance of the male femoral pores and the dewlaps which
reflect ultra-violet light.
Their eyes are well developed and they have very good vision
and can see colors. They also have a third eye on their
fore-heads, called the parietal eye, that detects
ultra-violet light to give the iguana a precise reading of
the intensity of the sun and it's position to aid in the
timing of breeding and egg deposition. |
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Sex:
Hatchlings and youngsters cannot be reliably sexed but
experienced hobbyists and breeders can often make good
guesses based on behavior. Males reach sexual maturety at
about eight inches bodylength and females at about ten to
twelve.At that age the differences between males and females
become more pronounced:males have bigger heads,yowls crests
and have large femoral pores that are usually filled with a
waxy substance that make the pores look like plugs.
Also they will change color to more brown,bronze and orange
hues.
Females have smaller heads and a more stream-lined body and
usually a more green coloration. |
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Distribution:
From Central Mexico to Northern Peru and Argentina, in
tropical and sub-tropical areas with high humidity and
pronounced dry- and rain-seasons. |
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Habitat:
Rainforest canopies in low to moderate elevations. Some
iguanas have even become established in Southern Florida and
have become feral. |
Housing: Hatchlings
and youngsters can housed in fourty gallon and bigger glass
tanks but adults will need custom-made enclosures. They need
ample opportunity to climb and bask and soak.Hight is
important so the enclosure should be well of the floor and
in a calmer area away from disturbance from people or other
pets.
They need a daytime temperature of eighty to eighty-five
degrees with a basking area of ninety-five degrees . Iguanas
have a great need for ultra-violet light that needs to be
supplied by either natural,unfiltered sunlight or
broad-spectrum UV lights for reptiles.
Also there should be branches or shelves for climbing that
must be safely secured to toes and tails are safe from
breaking.
A large watercontainer needs to be accessable and would need
to be cleaned frequently as iguanas like to defecate in the
water and dirty water is a vector for disease.
Iguanas can grow to large sizes up to six feet and nearly
twenty pounds and males can be rambanctuos. |
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Feeding:
The green iguana is herbivorous,especially folivorous and
the bulk of their diet should be leafy greens rich in
minerals like
collard greens, mustard greens, turnip tops, dandelion,
endive, cilantro, mulberry leaves, hibiscus- leaves and
flowers and add some squash,grated carrots, sweet
potato,pumpkin and fruit like blueberries, strawberries,
mangoes, watermelon (very good for hydration) but no citrus
fruit of any kind.
Calcium content is key.
Greens to feed only sparingly because of high oxalate
content are chard and spinach.
Foods to avoid are banana and iceberg lettuce.
Many ornamental plants and garden plants are toxic so make
sure that your iguana is kept well away from them. |
Breeding:
Depending on where your iguana originated from the breeding
season will be either in fall or in winter or early
spring.Males will become restless and the coloration will
change to orange. Their yowls will swell and appetite is
reduced. Patterns of defecation will change (insiders call
it:poop-painting)and males will charge and either try to
breed with their human caregivers or try to fight. They can
and do inflict serious bites and large males must be
treated with utmost respect.This will usually last about two
to three months.
Females can produce eggs even without mating. The time is
usually late spring to early summer. They lose appetite and
their abdomen will swell. As eggs develop the female will
become restless,trying to find a place for egg deposition.
The owners should give her a large container with plenty of
warm, moist soil to dig. She must be able to dig a tunnel
that is large enough to accommodate her whole body without
collapsing. A large trash-can with the lid taped on and a
hole for entering cut into it is what many people use.
Some females can have problems and become egg-bound. Prompt
veterinary intervention should be provided. Many female
iguanas are spayed and if done by an experienced
veterinarian is safe and can add years to the life of a
female iguana.
As baby iguanas are imported in, large numbers there is
really no need to breed them in this country and I would
strongly discourage anybody from attempting the breeding of
more surplus iguanas. |
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SABINE BRADLEY |
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