It grows and grows
The little green lizard in the shop can reach two metres long and need a room of its own.
Lizards · For experienced keepers
Green iguana
Lizard · from Central and South America
A big green lizard with a row of spines down its back, a flap of skin under its chin and a long, banded, whip-like tail.
- Size
- 1.2 to 2m long, with the tail
- Lives for
- 15 to 20 years
- Suits
- Experienced keepers with a room to spare
Strides after you, tail swinging. Move your pointer and see.
Good to know
Six things about the iguana
A tail like a whip
It lashes its tail in defence, hard enough to hurt, and can shed it and grow another.
A leaf-eater
It eats only plants: leaves, flowers and some fruit.
A fine swimmer
In the wild it lives in trees over rivers and drops into the water to escape.
A third eye
Like the bearded dragon, it has a light-sensing spot on top of its head.
A flag under its chin
It spreads the flap under its chin to look bigger and to signal to other iguanas.
The real thing
Photos of the iguana
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Photos are from Wikimedia Commons, used under the free licences shown. They have been resized, and cropped where they appear in link previews.
Looking after one
An adult needs a heated, humid enclosure the size of a small room, with strong ultraviolet light, climbing branches and a big dish of fresh greens every day.
Before you get one
Very few homes can keep an adult iguana properly, and rescue centres are full of them. It can be aggressive and has sharp claws and teeth.
Keep going