Michigan City Parks & Recreation Department

Scientific name: Iguana iguana

Size
Weight: up to 18 lbs
Length: 5-7 ft. – mostly tail

Characteristics
Color: green to dull grayish green with black stripes on tail
Senses: good sense of hear and smell • very good vision
Other: snaps tail in air to use as defense • can loose tail to predator and have it grow back • swims well • falls 40-50 ft. to ground without injury • stores fat under jaws and in necks for when food is scarce
Behavior: diurnal • arboreal • may bask and forage in groups • tend to forage in same area • adults spend most of their time immobile resting • can stay under water up to 30 minutes

Reproduction/life span
Life span: live 20 yr
Mate: mate in fall, male displays include dewlap extensions, head-bobbing
Gestation. female carries eggs for 2 mo. • incubation 8-10 weeks
Clutch: lay clutch 12-30 eggs in burrow • may dig pretend burrows to confuse egg predators
Offspring: only 3-10 survive to adulthood • mature at 2 yr

Diet
Wild: omnivorous • adults eats mostly leaves and fruit • will eat eggs, insects, small vertebrates, nestling birds • does not drink – gets water from food, catching rain and condensation on leaves and flowers
Zoo: Vegetables, fruit and occasional meat – supplemented with vitamins

Habitat/range: lower altitudes in tropical rainforest near water • spend most of time 40-50 ft in canopy • juveniles live lower in the canopy as they need more humidity  Range: Mexico to southern Brazil and Paraguay, Caribbean Islands

Status
Cites II

Other:
Threatened by habitat destruction, pet trade and over hunting for food • eggs sold as novelty food

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