How old is our iguana?

Question

We have a female iguana, she is approximately a total of 11 inches long. Her body is about 3 - 3 1/2inches, the tail about 7-8 inches. Sorry she won't sit still for an accurate measurment. Anyway how can you tell the age of an iguana? I'm not sure how fast they grow but we saw some at a pet store that were labeled as being 2 yrs old and they were about 4-5 inches longer than ours.

Most info we have gotten on her is from books on iguanas, I have also asked questions about her and gotten advice from other iguana owners, iguana websites help and I have joined a couple of yahoo iguana clubs. All this advice has helped us alot especially when it come to feeding her right. We have been given so much advice on proper feeding for her but still rely on the books and iguana web sites that specialize on iguanas for anything we are not sure of. I find advice from different iguana owners really helps because most have gone thru the trials and errors and can give helpful advice to us that has helped them in the past.

We determined her sex by reading the book Educational Series on Green Iguanas.
It says that as they mature males develope a orange or yelow coloration especially around the neck and forelegs and the females get a blueish or grey hue. She has some blue around her neck and snout.

Answer 1

Using the tables for average Iguana size, your iguana should only be a few month as old. I doubt those larger Iguanas were 2 years old as they then should be close to 3 feet in length. Iguanas can reach their full size of 6 feet by the time they are 4.

As an Iguana owner myself (31" at 16 months) I am curious what kind of care instructions you were given. Hopefully you were told that Iguanas are vegetarians and eat greens (NOT lettuce). They should never be feed any kind of animal protein. Iguanas also need high quality UV lighting to prevent diseased caused by insufficient calcium. Their cages have to be large enough to allow then a basking area at about 95 degrees and temperatures at least 10 degrees lower as well. Iguanas are arboreal (tree dwellers) so they usually manage their temperatures by climbing to perches where the temperature is right.

For information on how to raise your new friend I would recommend that you visit anapsid.org. This is the home site of the author of Iguanas for Dummies. I have also included a link to a baby iguana support group on Yahoo groups.

Answer 2

O.K...first off...There is no way to sex an iguana this small. If someone told you that's what she was...they're lying.

It honestly depends on her previous care on getting an accurate age by measurement. With bad care she could be 2 yrs. old and be that size...as sad as that is. If you're pretty sure they have sold you a baby...then she's very close to hatchling age.
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/agesize.html

There is a lot of care involved with raising an iguana. Here are some outlines if no one has told you yet:

GROWTH: Keeping track of your igs growth will help you keep a
handle on his health using both svl AND stl...even if the ig doesn't have all of it's tail. A iguana that is beginning to have health issues will slow down in growth. They won't stop, but they will not shed and grow as they would if they were healthy.

SVL = snout vent length = nose to poop chute
STL = snout tail length = tip to tip
For easy measuring, use a string. Starting from the nose...go to the vent and tie a knot, then tie another one at the tip of the tail. Then you can use the measuring tape to get the length from the knotted string.

TEMPS: Use a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer w/hygrometer for the best accuracy. You can get these for about $15 - $20 at Wal-Mart. Once you get the thermometer your goal is meeting the required temperature gradients in three different spots:
Basking: 92-96
Ambient: 80-85
Cool end/night time: 75 for babies under a year, 70 for adults.

Without the correct temps, especially the high basking temps...all that good food going in will not get digested properly and organ functions will be trying to run on less than ideal capacity. Nutrients are lost and illness sets in.

UVB: Not all UVB lights are created equal. Some decay very quickly. You need no less than two 4' flourescent UVB tubes. Short version - UVB helps the ig to process the calcium in their diet. Without the UVB...the calcium does not get absorbed and the result is Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) and renal failure. The brands to go with:
Reptisun 5.0 or 10.0
Iguana Light 5.0
Exoterra 8.0
Arcadia 5.0 (UK)
...or:
Mega Ray EB (external ballast)
http://www.reptileuv.com

Many of these can be purchased at http://www.reptiledirect.com for a more reasonable price than the pet stores. Once you provide these lights for your ig...set them in the 6" - 8" range (12" - 18" for the Mega Ray). Any farther and the UVB drops of so much that they don't do any good.

SUBSTRATE: Moss, bark, sand and the likes may look nice...but it's horribly bad. This stuff is deadly and has killed many reptiles...not just iguanas. It causes impaction which often requires surgery to remove if found in time. It sure looks nice, but with an iguana's sticky tongue and the way they flick-lick everything...it's very easy for it to get caught. It also harbors bacterias and fungi. Just go to cage carpet or replace it all with newspaper, butcher paper, old towels, linoleum, etc.

DIET: Go to: http://www.iguanaden.org and follow the diet guide there. The core diet is collard greens, turnip greens and mustard greens. If you can find arugula and dandelion greens add them, too...:) The other items in the guide you should rotate for variety.

CAGE SIZE: A 50 gal. is the minimum required size for a baby iguana under a year old and still be able to reach the proper temperature gradients. Once your ig turns about a year old and is close to 2' long or more...you'll need to think about building a cage. For a full-grown ig you'll need one 6'T x 6'W x 3'D.

You can use a large cardboard box for a hide, fake plants to make a kind of curtain, a towel hung over one end of the aquarium, etc.

HUMIDITY: Using a digital indoor/outdoor thermometer w/hygrometer will help you keep on top of this. This aids in shedding and some hydration. If you can reach 50% you are doing better than a lot can achieve. Between 60% - 80% is ideal with periods of complete dryness to keep the chance of molds and fungi growing...even on your ig. Daily misting and periodic baths will also help.

You can also add a warm air, or cold air vaporizor to the cage for added humidity. Just cover the warm air since the steam comes out so hot. There's also an automatic drip system that some use:
http://www.trix.com/binx/mister/

The initial set-up is pretty costly. Once you get past that the rest isn't so bad. Handle your baby lots!! Now is the best time before it gets too big for socializing.

Answer 3

We raised one iguana badly because there wasn't enough info about them and we were misled by the pet store. After the bad experience, we read and asked and read and asked and subsequently raised 3 beautiful iguanas until they were between 12 - 15 years old. We gave them lots of veggies, clean water each day (or many times a day), and in spite of what many might think, I would give them a teaspoon full of cat food a couple of times a week. The reasoning is that iguanas in the wild will eat small critters and besides they loved it and just gobbled it down. I think 12 - 15 years is very good for longevity so I think we did right by them. Good luck

Answer 4

I'm not sure how old yours is.I had 2 at one time.I loved them,but the 4 footer chased my husband around the den one day and he made me give them both away.I miss them.You are on the right path with yours' care.You might want to see if a vet in your area takes care of iguanas.

Answer 5

pretty much everyones answered this question all ready but liek the one guy said melissa kaplas website is prolly the most usful iggy info u will ever get shes amazing, that and if you find your little one not eating or being way too picky with her/his food blend it all up together n she will starting eating it all duno if thats an issue yet but alot of ppl have that problem

Answer 6

From the size she sounds to be about 1, to 1 1/2 years old. Has any of her colours come in? they start off completly green but as they mature silver,blue and yellow scales appear.

Answer 7

well it will take them about 6yrs to get their full length. they grow pretty quick when they are fed everyday. so the more you feed them the faster they grow. but with yours it sounds like she can be around 6-7 months, but it is pretty hard to tell the age if i can't see them. but she may be around 6-7 months old, i hope this helps.good luck.

Answer 8

about 6-8 months old.

Answer 9

under a year