Spinytailed Iguana

Spinytailed iguana is most commonly known as a Mexican spiny tailed iguana. This iguana is mostly found in the region of Mexico, South America and on some island near panama. They belong to the species of Ctenosaura similes.

Iguana is also called as spiny tail iguana because of its large scales on their tail. These iguanas are found in different types such as Oaxacan spiny tail iguana, De Queiroz’s Spinya tail iguana, Aker’s Spiny tail iguana and northeastern spiny tail iguana.

The size of male spinytailed iguana is around 3 or 4 feets in length. The female spiny tailed iguana remains slightly smaller than the male.

Spiny tailed iguana comes in a very large size. Iguana is among few species which are very active. They cannot be a good pet since they require a lot of care while handling.

These lizards are very quick to their size. Spiny tailed male iguanas have a dorsal crest and small dewlaps. Female iguanas do not have crest. Normally it is hard to differentiate between the male and female spiny tailed iguana. They become sexually matured at around the age of 4-5 yrs.

Spiny tailed iguana escapes very smoothly. If you pet this iguana from a very young stage then only one can tame this pet successfully. At an old age spiny tailed iguanas become very aggressive and far more difficult to handle. They become very bad tempered as they grow old and can’t be kept as a pet.

Mexican spiny tailed iguanas do not prefer to climb tree like green iguanas. They climb a tree only for basking in the sun. This iguana is also a cold blooded reptile and needs a heater or external source to warm up if kept in cage.

In the natural environment spinytailed iguanas get warm up naturally with the help of sun. Usually this reptile spends their whole morning time for basking in the warm after a whole cool night.

The young spiny tailed lizard mostly likes to have insects for food. Iguanas are omnivores. They have habit of eating anything which they come across. As they grow older they prefer to have mostly green plants and grass in food. Occasionally they also like to have insects or small mammals.

When iguanas are smaller they are slightly green in color. They have a banding across their backs. As iguana grows older their color become grayer, brown and band also become larger.

The tail of iguana also becomes more scaly and larger. Iguanas use this tail as a very effective weapon. They also have small crests on the head. Teeth and claws of the spiny tailed iguana are very sharp. This reptile is very shy so mostly spend its time in hiding. They generally live in the edge of forest, tree trunk, and holes in rocky areas.

Spiny tailed iguana is known as the fastest species of reptile all over the world. The record made by this species of iguana is around 21 miles in an hour.

The above information will surely help you in knowing more about spinytailed iguana. This reptile is however very aggressive to be kept as a pet but at same time very shy.