Can Blue Iguanas Be Pets

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Native to the island of Grand Cayman, the blue iguanas are a threatened species of lizard. This big lizard can climb trees and dig holes with the help of its articulated toes. The female is more olive green to pale blue in hue, whereas the mature male’s skin tone ranges from dark grey to turquoise blue.

The color of young animals is typically uniformly dark brown or green with a few light darker bands. Adult iguanas signal and establish territory by becoming blue when they are around other iguanas. Males of the species have a more prominent blue color.

The femoral pores on the thighs, which emit pheromones, are larger in males, and they also have more pronounced dorsal crests.

blue iguanas
blue iguana

Geography For Blue Iguanas

The urban districts of Bodden Town, Gun Bay, Seven Mile Beach, and West Bay are the only parts of Grand Cayman where blue iguanas are not present. They no longer occur outside of natural xerophytic shrubland on the coast or in dry forests; instead, they are only found inland in rocky, sunny, open regions.

They can also be near the intersections of roads, gardens, and farm clearings.

Big Blue Iguana Lifestyle and Habits

Blue iguanas are solitary animals that only congregate to reproduce. In rock crevices and tree cavities, they spend the night after a day of activity.

Blue iguanas are mostly terrestrial as adults, though they may climb trees up to 15 feet (4.6 m) in height. Younger people are typically more arboreal.

Nutrition and Diet For Blue Iguanas

Blue iguanas eat only plants (folivorous, frugivorous). They eat the fruit of all kinds, flowers, and leaves. They might sometimes eat mushrooms, slugs, crabs, and insects.

Herbivore, folivore, and frugivore diet

Related post: How Do Red Iguanas Look Like?

Mating Patterns Of Blue Iguanas

40-day gestation period

PERIOD OF INCUBATION 65-90 days

A BIRD PORTRAYING 1–21 EGG

Between May and June, blue iguanas reproduce. By repeatedly bobbing his head, the male pursues the female before turning around and grabbing her at the nape of her neck. About 40 days after mating, the female digs a nest in areas of the ground.

This is in areas where the sun reaches and it lays a clutch of one to twenty-one eggs there, typically in June or July.

Researcher-monitored nests maintained a steady temperature of 32 °C (90 °F) for the duration of the incubation period, which lasts 65 to 90 days.

From about three months of age, the young become territorially aggressive. In captivity, they normally attain reproductive maturity at 4 years old.

Threats to the population

Before European colonization, the Blue iguana population may have been large; nevertheless, as of 2003, there were only around 15 of these animals left in the wild. This species would go extinct during the first ten years of the 21st century.

The primary factor endangering the existence of this iguana is habitat degradation. In a residual environment, the land is being cleared for agriculture, road building, and real estate development and speculation. The secondary Blue iguana habitat is being destroyed by the shift of typical croplands to bovine pasture.

The remaining wild population is under a lot of stress due to the predation and harm that rodents provide to hatchlings, the harm that feral cats cause to hatchlings and sub-adults, and the killing of adults by pet dogs. As iguanas rarely survive crashes, cars and motorbikes are another growing cause of mortality.

 

The Population

The Blue iguana has a total population of 443 adult individuals, according to the IUCN Red List. The IUCN Red List now lists this species as Endangered (EN), yet its population is growing.

 

Kids’ Fun Facts

First of all, one of the lizard species with the longest lifespans is the blue iguana.

The Cuban iguana and the Northern Bahamian rock iguana are the Blue iguana’s closest relatives.

Bright blue variations of the Green iguana are also referred to as “blue iguanas.”

Furthermore, one of the largest lizard species in the Western Hemisphere is the blue iguana.

Red eyes on blue iguanas have evolved to shield pupils from the sun’s glare.

One of the largest lizards to lay eggs is the blue iguana.

Also, one of the Earth’s most endangered reptiles in 2006 was the blue iguana.

blue iguanas
blue iguana

Iguanas (Red vs. Blue)

Iguanas in the colors red and blue are also members of the same species as green iguanas and require identical care. Grand Cayman Blue Iguanas are another variety of blue iguana that can be a pet and are a separate species altogether.

Lastly, these can cost a lot of money and require different maintenance than the more common green iguana and its variants.

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