There are many types of iguana species and new ones are being discovered all the time. The most common ones seen in the home as pets are the green iguana. These are best suited to life with humans because of the different types, they are a good size brightly colored and their characteristics are good natured – compared to other iguanas, and easy going. But they can be demanding to care for and need attention from their owners.

Desert Iguana

The desert iguana is smaller than its Central American cousins. It is found in the deserts of California and Nevada. Desert iguanas grow to reach approximately ten inches long. They are diurnal lizards — active during daylight hours and sleep at night. They are reddish brown in color with distinctive net-like markings on their upper body. They eat insects and plants such as the desert-native creosote bushes.

Rhinoceros Iguana

Rhinoceros iguanas are an endangered iguana species. They live in the Caribbean and can grow between two to four feet long. They are brown and gray colors with strong legs

and flattened tails. They have large bodies and their heads are strong looking, hence the name. They are mostly herbivorous and eat plants, berries and fruits and flowers on their native Caribbean islands. They are endangered, although they are well established in captivity.

The Madagascar iguana is tiny compared to some of the others. It has a slender body and shiny scaly features. Its colors are muted reddish browns. They are a conundrum because they occur well away from other iguana species, and yet taxonomically they fit the criteria of ‘iguana’, so how they arrived in Madagascar is a total mystery. They are carnivorous and mostly eat insects and small rodents

Helmeted iguanas are another iguana species found in Central America, mostly Mexico. They can grow up to fourteen inches in length and live among the lower branches of trees. They can eat spiders and other lizards and earthworms etc.

Iguanas are such a varied species that new ones have actually been discovered. But they have been missed for centuries because they are already endangered! The new pink species of iguana is a larger, scaly version and only lives on the side of one particular volcano in the Galapagos Islands. New iguanas have also been found on Fiji with brightly colored markings. These interesting species constantly surprise even the most knowledgeable experts!

Ctenosaura similis

Spiny tailed Iguanas mostly originate from Mexico and Central America. There are many different types of these iguanas in the whole family and their size can range from a few inches to well over two or three feet in length! They are called spiny tail because of the unusually large scales on the tail.

They are a very active species of lizard and because of their large size, they would make good pets for only very experienced lizard handlers. They are very prone to escaping! But if you start with a relatively young lizard and are patient and handle him gently and often, then you can gradually tame your pet. The older lizards are cranky and bad tempered and do not appreciate being handled.

Spiny Tailed Iguanas do not particularly wish to climb like their green iguana counterparts, but they will climb up a little way onto a promontory or branch in order to bask in the sun. Like all lizards, they are cold blooded and need an external source to warm them up. In their natural environment, they are naturally warmed by the sun. They will spend the warm morning, almost immobile, basking in the warm sunshine after a cold night spent in the dark. This makes them more active and they start to wake up and they can go off in search of food.

The young lizards eat mostly insects and are opportunistic omnivores. They will try to eat anything they come

Central American Spiny Tailed Iguana

across that they can. As they grow larger, they become more herbivorous and eat mostly the plants and grasses which occur naturally with only the occasional meal of insects or small mammals.

When young, they are smaller and slightly greener, they have pronounced banding

across their backs. As they grow older they change color and become more gray and brown and the bands become larger. Their tails become more pronouncedly scaly and larger. It can be used as a very effective weapon. They have small crests along their head, smaller than a green iguana. They also have very sharp teeth and claws.

Spiny tailed iguanas are usually found in the ruins of buildings or living in stone walls and the edge of forests. Although they do look quite docile, watch out! These lizards are known to be the fastest species of reptile in the world. The fastest recorded speed achieved by one of these is over twenty one miles an hour!