"A Boy and His Scaly Friend"

This is our red-orange pet Iguana named Fire Eyes. We give him lots attention and we all absolutely love him!

Our son Spencer has been fascinated with reptiles (mostly dinosaurs) since he was three years old. He wants to be a paleontologist. Spencer finally got his reptile lizard iguana at the age five, after years of hounding his parents. We finally broke down.

Fire Eyes will be four years old in October 2017 this year. He is now four foot long and as sweet as can be.

Prier to Fire Eyes we tried plenty of other pets but it never seemed to satisfy his reptile desire. His first pets were; hermit crabs, fish, bird, turtle, cat and then a dog.

Once Spencer found a King Snake but that only lasted two weeks. Mom couldn't handle it. Even though Spencer fed it pinky mice all by himself at age three. Mom had to oversee Spencer feeding the King Snake. It did not take very long for mom to freak out every time he dropped those little pinky mice. Huhhhhh! So out the door it went and back to were it belongs, in its original habitat...!

Location: Las Vegas, Nevada

Scientific name: Iguana
Higher classification: Iguanidae

IGUANA is a genus of herbivorous lizards that are native to tropical areas of Mexico, Central America, South America, and the Caribbean.

Iguana mass: 8 lbs. to 31 lbs.

Length: 12 in. to 6 ft.

Clutch size: Green iguana: 20-71, Blue iguana: 1-21

Diet: Iguanas are herbivores, eating fruits, flower buds, and young leaves.

Despite 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 blue 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.

Adult iguanas found on most of St Lucia, mainly on the north east coast; Louvette and Grand Anse, have many differences compared to all other green iguana populations. They are light green with predominant black stripes. Instead of the typical orange dewlap, the iguanas of St. Lucia have a black dewlap. When compared to the common green iguana, females lay about half the amount of eggs, 25 instead of 50. Scales to the back of their head, near the jawbone, are smaller. Their iris is white or cream. Other green iguanas have yellow eyes.

Green iguanas possess a row of spines along their backs and along their tails, which helps to protect them from predators. Their whip-like tails can be used to deliver painful strikes and like many other lizards, when grabbed by the tail, the iguana can allow it to break, so it can escape and eventually regenerate a new one. In addition, iguanas have a well developed dewlap, which helps regulate their body temperature. This dewlap is used in courtships and territorial displays.

Green iguanas have excellent vision, enabling them to detect shapes and motions at long distances. As green iguanas have only a few rod cells, they have poor vision in low-light conditions. At the same time, they have cells called “double cone cells” that give them sharp color vision and enable them to see ultraviolet wavelengths. This ability is highly useful when basking so the animal can ensure that it absorbs enough sunlight in the forms of UVA and UVB to produce vitamin.

Tropical Iguana includes red, green and blue iguanas:

Iguanas can grow up to six feet in total length. Some young iguanas are bright green, which helps camouflage their bodies in the green leaves of the rainforest. Iguanas come in different color variations such as red or blue.

Tropical Iguana Facts:

Average adult size: 4 to 6 feet long, depending on species

Average life span: 15+ years with proper care

Diet: herbivore

Will reach adult size in 2 to 3 years, under ideal conditions; upgrade habitat size as your reptile grows.
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