GREEN IGUANA CONSERVATION PROJECT
FAQs
#18 Buena Vista Street
San Ignacio Town
Cayo, Belize
What is an iguana? A reptile
What is a reptile? A cold-blooded animal
What is the scientific name for the green iguana? Iguana iguana
How big do they get? 5-6 Feet long, including their tail
Do Green Iguanas eat insects? No, they are herbivores feeding only on flowers, leaves, and fruits of
the wild
What kind of fruit do they eat in the wild? Figs and BriBri and many other plants
What do you feed them in captivity? A wide variety of fruits, vegetables, chaya leaves, and a wide
range of leaves found in the wild
How long do they live? Approximately 15 years in the wild and even more in captivity under excellent conditions
Are they green when they hatch? Yes, they are green when they hatch and have a lots of energy to
run
Why are they green? Because they spend their first years in the lower vegetation and the green
coloration allows them to blend in with the plants and protect them from predators (camouflage)
Are the adults green? No, the adults gradually change from green to darker colours such as brownish
green, black and slight greens
Why are some iguanas orange and some are brown? Are they the same species? Yes, the orange
iguanas are males during mating season. The brown ones are females during mating season
What does gravid mean? The first period of gestation when the females carry developing eggs for
two months
How long does gestation last? 5 months— Females develop the eggs internally for 2 months and buries them in the sand for 3 months
When is mating season? Early December and January and even to early February
Where do they live? Most of their lives are spent up tall trees mostly along river banks (arboreal)
Is that where they lay their eggs, in the trees? No, they lay their eggs in sandy tunnels that they dig
along the river banks
When do they lay their eggs? During the months of March, April and May
How do the iguanas lay their eggs? When it's nearly time to lay, females come down from the trees
and find suitable, loose soil. Then, they dig tunnels several feet deep where they deposit the eggs
How many eggs does she lay? For the first years laying, she will lay 20-30 but as she gets bigger she
will lay 40-80 eggs.
Does she lay the eggs all together? Yes, during the course of a few hours
Are the females mean at this time? Yes, they will defend their nesting site by whipping their tails
How many species of iguanas are there in Belize? There are two species of Iguanas in Belize; these
are the Spiny-tailed (ST) and Green (G)
How do you tell the difference between the two?
(a) Habitat: ST live in old brick walls, stones, or underground. G live tree canopies
(b) Body Length: ST are shorter. G have very long tails that are twice the size of their bodies
(c) Coloration: ST are gray. G are green, brown, or orange
(d) Food: ST eat insects as well as fruits and vegetables while G eat fruits, leaves, and flowers
How long are the iguanas when they hatch? Between 20-30cm, including body and tail length
What does cold-blooded mean? Animals that cannot make their own body heat. They rely on the sun
to warm their bodies
How many iguanas do you have in here? Approximately 80 iguanas. We have 20 adults and 60
juveniles
Do all of the eggs hatch? Not all the eggs hatch, some are parasitized or deformed or, may lack
certain minerals crucial for their development
How many of them hatch? Approximately 80% of the total collected eggs will hatch
How do the iguanas defend themselves? By using their tails as a whip or lashing. The tail can also
break off at the middle and the iguana can escape. Iguana's also bite; they have 80-120 razor sharp
teeth
Does the tail grow back? Yes, they can regenerate (grow back) normally within 6 months to one year
Do the iguanas drink water? Iguanas occasionally drink water especially when the weather is very
hot and dry, but they normally get their water from the food they eat
How long can they stay under water? Iguanas can remain under water for 20-30 minutes. They are
also excellent swimmers and divers— these are also ways that the iguanas use to escape from
predators
When do they reach sexual maturity? Females-2 years, Males-3 years
Do the females always produce fertile eggs? No, if the female has not mated, she may produce
infertile eggs
How can you tell when it is a fertile egg? You cannot tell if an egg is fertile
What is the texture of the eggs? Green Iguana eggs are soft and leathery like turtle eggs, not brittle
like bird eggs
Do other body parts besides the tail regenerate? Yes, their toe nails, spines, skin, and teeth are able
to regenerate
What is the function of the tail?
(a) Defence - whip or decoy
(b) Balance - brace itself descending tree and helps control movements
(c) Swimming
How do they mate? The male grips the female from the neck region, female remains still while male
positions himself in her, whichever side the male is on, he will use that side of his hemipenis
Do they have ears? Yes, they are called tympanum membranes (outer eardrum); these are the brown
scales on either side of their head
How do you tell the difference between the males and females?
Males
Females

Small femoral pores
On inner thighs they have swollen pockets
under vent (hemipenis)

No hemipenis

Larger in size

Smaller, darker

More aggressive

More docile and calm

Expose dewlap more often

Do not expose dewlap as often as partner

More than one partner

Large femoral pores (mature males)

Are the eggs like other reptiles with heat determining the sex? Yes, warmer = male, cooler = female
What temperature do they require during incubation? Temperatures of 80-95 degrees Fahrenheit
What types of diseases and parasites do the iguanas get? They can acquire parasites such as ticks
and intestinal worms. They can get fungal and bacterial infections on their scales. They also can
suffer from diseases due to their diet
How do you treat these problems? Approximately once a month we give them baths in water and
iodine, and we pick off their ticks. The iodine helps prevent infections on the scales. We also deworm
them every three months. In order to prevent diet related illnesses, we frequently add vitamins and
calcium to their food
How do they deal with these problems in the wild? They instinctively eat different leaves to get rid
of worms and to obtain vitamins and minerals. They also shed their skin regularly to get rid of ticks
and mites
Why do you grow iguanas? The project of growing iguanas aims to help people, specially children,
understand more about the Green Iguanas, where they live, and the importance of protecting their
natural home areas. This fosters the conservation and protection of both the natural habitat and
many other species that reside in this unique habitat
Do people eat iguanas? Yes, people throughout the Central American region eat Iguanas,
particularly adult females when they are carrying eggs
Is the Green Iguana a threatened specie? Yes, the Green Iguana is a threatened specie and may soon
become an endangered specie if the over-hunting and destruction of their habitat continues at this
high rate
How can we help to save the Green Iguanas? We can all help to save the Green Iguanas by allowing
more forests to grow along our rivers, abstain from hunting and eating them, and protecting them
Will you release these Iguanas in the wild? Yes, we will be releasing iguanas to the wild in places
where they can be protected in the reserve
At what age will you release the iguanas? Iguanas will be raised in conservatory for two years and
before maturity be released
Once the captive bred Iguanas are released in the wild, will they be able to live on their own? The
Iguanas we release from the conservatory will have a good chance of survival in the wild. They have
very keen instincts and are able to adopt to new environments. They are also herbivores (feeding
only on plant material) and they will experience the same weather conditions as they did while
growing up in the conservatory
Are the Green Iguanas "smart"? Iguanas are smart in many different ways that allows them to
survive every day threats, find food, remember smells and sounds, and many other unique abilities
Are there any other common names for the Green Iguanas in Belize? The male Green Iguana is
called "Garrobo" and the female Green Iguana is called "Guana", the Belizean people also call the
Green Iguana "Bamboo Chicken"
When did the Iguana Project get started at the Resort? The San Ignacio Resort Hotel began the
conservation project of the Green Iguana in 1996 through 2000 A.D. This new exhibit was built and
opened to the public in November 2003 and got started with iguana eggs collected from the wild
along the river banks in farmlands from the village of Bullet Tree Falls, Cayo District
How is this Conservatory Project supported? The San Ignacio Resort supports the project with fees
charged for the tour. There is no government or other entities that support this project