Iguana Info
Sexing your Iguana
Speedy is female. The way we knew that was to look at the femoral pores on the undersides of her legs. If the Iguana is female only the fist 5 closes to the hip will be enlarged, the rest will be pinpoints. If the Iguana is male all the pores, to the knee, will be enlarged.
Iguana Teeth
An iguana's teeth rest in a groove with a high outside wall and no inside wall (pleurodont). They are triangular shaped with tiny serrations. In the wild the iguana uses these teeth to tear off tree leaves which they then suck down whole. Teeth are replaced continuously in an ordered sequence. As the iguana grows teeth are added to the row. Iguana teeth are tiny and extremely sharp. An iguana is capable of inflicting a very serious bite and you should never try to pull the attached flesh away from the iguana. . To get an iguana to release hold a cotton ball soaked in alcohol or an alcohol prep pad in front of their nose. Vinegar will work as well.
Drawing of an isolated drawing
of a single tooth of a modern Iguana (from Mantell, 1825).
Click here to see Speedy's cage
If the index is not visible, Click here to see the rest of this site