Can a captive baby iguana be returned to it's original envoronment ?

Question

In Merida Yucatan - someone gave me a very young iguana, probably taken from the beach. It doesn't want to eat or drink.
I want to return it to the wild. Is this possible?

Answer 1

If it was freshly wild caught and you know within less than a mile where it came from-yes.
If it was captive born and/or you don't know the specific area it came from, then-no. See an iguana rescue/rehabilitator and turn it over in that case.
Wild caught reptiles frequently stress after being caught and will refuse to eat, many times until death. You have only a week or two and that depends on how long the first person had it.
Baby reptiles will imprint the terrain of their home range in their mind from birth. When they are taken away, or then returned to a different area, they become confused and many times will not settle down, but roam for much of their lives ( across roads and such ) looking for home.

You should get in touch with a rescue or rehabber right away, or a reptile vet if nothing else, as it may need to be force feed nutrition so it doesn't die in the meantime. See Melissa Kaplan's www.anapsid.org for the best info on Iguana care. You might contact her directly, as she probably knows the right people who can help get it to the right place if anyone can! Good Luck!

Fireside3

Answer 2

Most can, they have good instincts, but wild baby iguanas are food and prey to other iguanas and other species of animals, there survival rate is very slim. They can become wild again but only if they have the chance too. If you are not from that Yacatan Beach then you can not release the animal where you live. They are usually dependant on the vegetation and enviroment where they were born, if your enviroment is not simular they will not adjust. If it is, you can not release an animal not native to the area, introduced species, especially exotics, pose serious health risks to natural occuring animals and people of the area. I suggest not to do it and get it to a reptile facility that can help the poor guy out.

Answer 3

For the one who answered and used Florida as an example....florida is now becomming so overrun with introduced iguannas that they are thinking of imposing an open season on them. They are overtaking and killing the natural flora and fauna in the area and they are killing off the natural iguanna species found there. Letting a pet iguanna go in the wild is a really bad idea and if I am wrong it is also ilegal.
What this person is asking is about a wild iguana that was captured and not kept in captivity for very long and in this case it is much better off in the wild where it came from.

Answer 4

Definitely, I do not support poaching wild animals and selling/takeing them in for pets at all. You say you live in the Merida Yucatan, it's fine, release the poor guy in a forest or somewhere as soon as you can. The stress of being able to roam freely and do what it wants to being tossed in a cage is not good for lizards.

Answer 5

No, you shouldn't let it go. You never know where it came from and it could have a disease... I would give it to another person or (unfortunately) eat it. I hear iguanas taste good.

Try to find it some sort of hone somewhere before eating it...

As far as getting it to eat, leave greens in there that have been sprayed with water. Leave him alone for a while. He knows when to eat.

Either way, good luck...

Answer 6

Yes, it can. Look at Florida most of their Iguanas were pets at one point and people got sick of them and released them. Just make sure that you release him some where where you know other Iguanas are.

Answer 7

Yes. It's not used to living in captivity, that's why it's not eating. let it go, it will do fine.

Answer 8

simply put without all the propaganda YES