AboutDiane Expertise I am well versed in all aspects of the care and keeping of green iguanas. This includes all husbandry issues pertaining to the Green Iguana. I am not a vet so I cannot answer medical questions, other than ideas for normal supplementation, removing stuck shed, dropped tail and mites and other general health questions
Experience I own 3 green iguanas, two of which are rescues. I've had my Iguanas for 7 years. I own a yahoo group dedicated to raising healthy iguanas. I've rescued and rehabbed several young iguanas and have placed them in wonderful forever homes. I prefer taking in the "hard cases" that need critical care.
Organizations Scales and Tails Exotic Pet Rescue (one of the founding members)
Publications One of the Co Authors of the Book "The Iguana Dens Care and Keeping of Giant Green Iguanas"
Education/Credentials I was a vet tech for a small animal practice for 6 years.
Past/Present clients I own a yahoo group dedicated to raising healthy iguanas.(babyiguana)
I have answered several Iguana questions on the "reptile" forum on here.
Question how can i tell how old my green iguana is?
Answer Hi Frank,
Seeing a picture may help me.... there are many things that can affect an iguanas size, making it hard to determine their age. I;'f they don't have now, or haven't had the proper care, they will be much smaller than they should be at a particular age. As an example, I had a rescue here that was at least 2 years of age, but was only 7 inches from snout to vent and total length of 17 inches. At two years of age, they should be no less than 10 inches snout to vent and about 36 inches total length. As you can see, she had horrible past care.
With male igs, again, given even fair care, will usually show signs that they are indeed male at between 9-12 months of age. These signs are hemipene bumps at the base of their tail...which is one on each side..and the femoral pores will be pronounced and larger. These are the pores on the underside of their hind legs. A males will be more on the order of 0000ooooo and a females more like oooo..... Are you able to post a picture here..or a link where you can post pictures? The pics that help the most are:
femoral pores, tail base, and head...of course full body(excluding tail) can help too. Young, well cared for igs have little spikes, are a vibrant green, generally with no belly stripes and may have blue colors on their neck, head and face...as they get older, they get more defined markings on their body and develop defined stripes on their bellies.
If you would like to have a proper care sheet on the care an ig needs, please let me know.
