Iguana

Iguanas are reptiles and look like little dragons or tiny dinosaurs. They have a long tail and rough scales on their skin.

Characteristics

What do iguanas look like?

The hind legs of the iguanas are stronger than their front legs. In male iguanas, the so-called display organs are often conspicuous: these are, for example, combs, helmets, or throat pouches. Some iguanas even have spikes on their tails!

The smallest iguanas are only ten centimeters tall. The giants among the iguanas, on the other hand, reach a length of two meters. Some of the animals are just grey, but there are also iguanas that can be yellow, blue, pink, or orange. Some of them are also striped or spotted.

Where do iguanas live?

Iguanas are now found almost all over America. In addition, the lizards live on the Galapagos Islands, the West Indies, the Fiji Islands, as well as on Tonga and Madagascar. Originally iguanas inhabited the ground. Even now, most of them still live in deserts, steppes, and mountains. However, there are also iguanas that are at home in trees or in the sea.

What types of iguanas are there?

With around 50 genera and 700 different species, the iguana family was quite large and confusing. That is why it was reorganized by scientists in 1989. Today there are eight genera of iguanas: the marine iguanas, the Fijian iguanas, the Galapagos land iguanas, the black and spiny-tailed iguanas, the rhinoceros iguanas, the desert iguanas, the green iguanas and the chuckwallas.

How old do iguanas get?

Different iguana species have different lifespans. The green iguana can live up to 20 years; However, scientists suspect that other iguana species can live to be 80 years or even older.

Behave

How do iguanas live?

What an iguana’s everyday life looks like depends on which genus it belongs to and where it lives. However, all iguana species have one thing in common: they cannot maintain their own body temperature. And because their digestion and other bodily processes only work properly at the right temperature, the iguanas have to strive to maintain an ideal body temperature throughout the day. Already in the morning, immediately after waking up, the iguana goes into the sun to soak up warmth.

But too much sun is not good for him either. If it gets too hot for him, he’ll pant and go back into the shade. Since the iguana is a rather lazy animal, it takes its time.

Friends and foes of the iguana

The main enemies of most iguanas are snakes. Most of the time, however, the reptiles live largely unendangered because they are often the largest land vertebrates in their habitat. Since iguanas’ meat is edible, humans also hunt them in some areas. Incidentally, larger iguanas can defend themselves quite well: a well-aimed blow with their tail can even break a dog’s leg.

How do iguanas reproduce?

Most iguana species lay eggs from which the young animals hatch. The courtship rituals differ among the different species. Otherwise little is known about the reproduction of most iguanas.

How do iguanas communicate?

Iguanas can make a hiss as the only correct sound; they intimidate other animals. There are a few body signals that they use to communicate with each other. For example, they sometimes nod their heads. This can either be a courtship ritual or prompt an intruding iguana to leave the foreign territory as quickly as possible.

In addition, iguanas have threatening gestures that they use to intimidate their peers. The males have so-called display organs that they can inflate to look bigger and stronger.

Care

What do iguanas eat?

Young iguanas often eat insects and other small animals. However, as they get older, they switch to plant-based foods. Then they mainly eat leaves, fruits, and young plants. The iguana species that lives in the sea gnaws algae from the rocks.

Husbandry of iguanas

Some iguana species, especially green iguanas, are often kept in terrariums. However, they must be well cared for over many years. The requirements of the different species differ greatly from each other. Iguanas are beautiful and smart – but they don’t make the right playmates.