The green iguana is a large lizard with a bright color. Despite the name, these reptiles come in different colors – depending on the age of the individual and the habitat. For example, in Peru live iguanas of bluish color with black spots, and on the islands of Curaçao, Aruba, Bonaire and Grenada there are a variety of colors: green, pale lilac, black and even pinkish. In the north of Mexico, iguanas are exotic – orange. However, with age, the color of lizards is gradually changing.
Iguana is rich in Central and South America, part of the territory of Mexico, the south of Brazil, the Caribbean and Hawaii. In general, exotic lizards prefer moist and semi-moist tropical forests, among mangroves and dry, in open areas of the sea coast. Most of the day they spend on trees that grow along river banks. Iguanas lead an active mode of existence only in the daytime.
For the first time an ordinary iguana was described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the year. These are herbivorous lizards, reaching a length of about 1.5 m, although occasionally there are individuals more than 2 m and weighing up to 8 kg. And the size of the lizard cubs varies from 17 to 25 cm in length, with a weight of about 12 g.
In bright light, the green iguana has excellent vision in bright light, but with the onset of darkness, it is increasingly difficult to recognize objects that are at a great distance.
Like most other lizards, the iguana has a “third eye” located on the crown between the parietal bones of the skull. The dark eye was transmitted by this reptilian legacy from distant ancestors and serves as an additional organ capable of reacting to movement, lighting, helping to avoid collision with predators: hawks and other predatory birds, crocodiles, foxes, ferrets, rats and some kinds of snakes.
Bright colors, calm disposition and liveliness, make iguanas a welcome pet. But you should take care of them, adhering to certain rules, regarding the level of humidity, maintained temperature and lighting in the terrarium.
