Bearded Dragon Pogona vitticepsBearded Dragons are found only throughout Australia. They are a large species growing to a total length of 15-24 inches when adult.
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Reptile Care Guides Information packed care guides for all species of Reptiles, Amphibians, and Arachnids.
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| Keeping Green Iguanas as Pets |
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Green Iguanas are one of the most popular lizards to be kept as pets. Recently they have become very popular and are becoming readily available in many pet stores, often at very low prices. These are young iguanas that don't seem to be too difficult to care for, a myth often perpetuated by retailers hoping to sell them. Of course, they are very cute too! But, as with all reptiles, iguanas have fairly strict feeding and housing requirements. And they grow, often very large (if they survive) and they can be difficult to tame. This is not to say that iguanas cannot make good pets - but they need the proper care right from the start, and owners need to have the right expectations. Melissa Kaplan, who authors an excellent reptile site on the, has written an article entitled "So, You Think You Want a Reptile." Although not specific to iguanas, this article examines questions and considerations for every potential reptile owner.
As a herbivore, the green iguana has adapted significantly with regard to locomotion and osmoregulation as a result of its diet. It grows to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length from head to tail, although a few specimens have grown more than 2 metres (6.6 ft) with bodyweights upward of 20 pounds (9.1 kg). The native habitat of the Green Iguana extends from southern Mexico to central Brazil, Paraguay, and Bolivia and the Caribbean. Green Iguanas are often found near water, agile climbers and can fall up to 50 feet (15 m) and land unhurt (iguanas use their hind leg claws to clasp leaves and branches to break a fall) During cold, wet weather, green iguanas prefer to stay on the ground for greater warmth. When swimming, an iguana remains submerged, letting its four legs hang limply against its side. They propel through the water with powerful tail strokes. About the IguanaDespite their name, Green Iguanas can come in different colors. In southern countries of their range, such as Peru, green iguanas appear bluish in color with bold black markings. On islands such as Bonaire, Curaçao, Aruba, and Grenada, a Green Iguana's color may range from green to lavender, black, and even pink. Green Iguanas from the western region of Costa Rica are red and animals of the northern ranges, such as Mexico, appear orange. Juvenile Green Iguanas from El Salvador are often bright blue as babies, however they lose this color as they get older.
Green Iguanas have very sharp teeth that are capable of shredding leaves and even human skin.These teeth are shaped like a leaf, broad and flat, with serrations on the edge. The similarity of these teeth to those of one of the first dinosaurs discovered led to the dinosaur being named Iguanodon, meaning "iguana-tooth", and the incorrect assumption that it had resembled a gigantic iguana. The teeth are situated on the inner sides of the jawbones which is why they are hard to see in smaller specimens. The Green Iguana is a large lizard, typically growing to 1.5 metres (4.9 ft) in length from head to tail. Some specimens have been measured upwards of 2 metres (6.6 ft) with bodyweights greater than 20 pounds (9.1 kg). DietGreen Iguanas are primarily herbivores, feeding on leaves, flowers, fruit, and growing shoots of upwards of 100 different species of plant. In Panama one of the Green iguana's favorite foods is wild plum, Spondias mombin. Although they will consume a wide variety of foods if offered, Green Iguanas are naturally herbivorous and require a precise ratio of minerals (2 to 1 calcium to phosphorus) in their diet. Juvenile iguanas often eat feces from adults in order to acquire the essential microflora to digest their low-quality and hard to process vegetarian only diet.
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