In a synchronized nesting behavior females travel once a year into the territories of the males for breeding purposes. They then bury their eggs, cover them with leaves and other available plant matter to hide them and keep them warm and safe. The mothers then abandon the hiding place but may return a few times during the first week or so to make sure the nest is unmolested. After that they never return. After birth the fully formed young ones disperse from the nesting area and grow up without care from the mother.

The picture of a hatchling in the Iguanario shows that the newborn looks very much like the adults. A major difference is that the hatchling has a special tooth called a caruncle, which is used to chip its way through the eggshell. The caruncle drops away after a few days.

Iguanas are ectotherms, cold-blooded reptiles, and need to find warm rocks or soil or a tree limb with exposure to the sun on which to rest and raise their body temperature. Juvenile iguanas will often gather in clusters, lying intertwined for shared body heat as well as a safety measure. If one is disturbed or senses danger, his movement alerts all the others. You can see this behavior in one of the pictures below.

The Green iguana is arboreal, a tree dweller and you’ll often see them in the White Mangroves of the estuary. They prefer to rest on limbs over water so they can drop into it to escape predators. They can hide underwater for up to one hour.

Strong swimmers, iguanas tuck their legs close to their bodies and use their tails to propel themselves through the water, much like the crocodiles with whom they share the Palo Verde estuary.
The tail is about two-thirds of the iguana’s total length and if it is amputated it grows back with no permanent damage. Green iguanas have an autotomatic tail, which means they can release it at will. It normally re-grows within a year but is usually not as large as it was originally.

Although they are not aggressive, iguanas use their tails as weapons of defense. Mature iguanas can whip the tail into an attacker with enough force to break the bones of small dog-sized predators.

Iguanas also have long claws on the ends of each of the five long toes on each leg. They use them primarily for climbing, but when in peril they use them as weapons. When the need for escape arises the Green iguana can drop as far as 50-feet to the ground with no injury.

Sharp teeth are also a danger to attackers. Even though they have strong jaws, iguanas don’t chew their food. They use their teeth to tear off small pieces of whatever they’re eating. If you look closely at the picture of food in the Iguanario, you’ll see that the keepers chop their daily rations into small bits to make eating easier for them. The ideal temperature range to encourage eating is from around 77 degrees to 95 degrees Fahrenheit.

Iguanas do not drink, but rather hydrate by soaking in water or taking in moisture from humidity. They also do not urinate. They have a special “salt gland” in their nose through which they pass waste.

There is much more to learn about our Green iguanas and my staff and I invite you to visit the Center to observe them in the Iguanario as well as in their natural habitat of the beautiful Palo Verde estuary.