About ‘Grumpy’ the green iguana and his fellow iguanas
Green iguanas are very intelligent. They can be taught a series of words or commands, just like dogs. Green iguanas can even learn to walk on a leash.
Did you know that green iguanas can live between 15 to 20 years with proper care and upbringing? Iguanas can be rewarding and affectionate pets. In fact, they can recognize their owners and extended family; they have excellent eyesight and great memory. Iguanas can be trained to eat, sleep, and to an extend they can be potty-trained.
In the wild, iguanas will usually hide under rocks, plants, branches, or leaves to sleep. In captivity they may hide under the sofa, in a box, or under other materials available in their space.
They love to climb trees and green iguanas can survive a fall of 40-50 feet.
Iguanas need water to survive and should have it readily available. Iguanas obtain most of their water intake through the plants they eat; however, some iguanas enjoy drinking out of water dishes, or lapping water off leaves or other objects in the enclosure.
Iguanas are quite curious, social creatures and live in groups. In captivity, by licking you it is one way they will attempt to gather more information about you, including your emotional state. That is a passive gesture, not meant to be an aggressive action or territorial. However, in the wild, male iguanas are very territorial and they will fight other encroaching male iguanas.
Usually iguanas will spend their days lounging in the sun to stay warm, and occasionally they will get up to snack.
Green iguanas have very sharp teeth capable of shredding leaves and puncturing human skin. Although classed as omnivores they tend to stick to an herbivorous diet.
Their tail can break off if grabbed, but they also can grow a new one.
Once the temperature drops below 45 degrees Fahrenheit in Florida, which happens on some days during the wintertime, iguanas go into a dormant or cold-stunned state. They appear to be dead, but do not worry, they are not. They remain breathing with critical body functions still operating. It is their body's way of protecting them until the temperature warms back up above 50 degrees.
Green iguanas have an extra eye on top of their head called a parietal eye. This extra eye is not quite like a normal eye, but it does help iguanas detect the movement of a predator attempting to sneak up on them from above, such as hawks, eagles or owls, allowing the iguana to escape quickly. But it has also been observed that green iguanas will freeze at the sound of a hawk’s penetrating cry. Other predators in the wild include snakes, rats, dogs, cats, crocodiles, and alligators. Green iguanas are excellent swimmers and will dive into water to avoid predators, however, tiger sharks dine on marine iguanas.
And no, iguanas are not related to dinosaurs. Iguanas evolved from the reptiles that did not branch into the archosaur group, therefore dinosaurs are actually the descendants of reptiles.
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Green iguanas have spines along their backs to help protect them against predators. They extra skin below their neck is called a dewlap. The dewlap functions to regulate their temperature, but is also used as a display of aggression or communication.