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TIM3 Reptilelady Jif |
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TIM3 View Profile |
Spiny Tailed Iguanas!!
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| 06/18/05 03:55pm |
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Reptilelady View Profile |
Message To: TIM3 In reference to Message Id: 375133 Spiny Tailed Iguanas!!
The Spiny-tailed iguanas tend to be nasty and not tameable like their bigger, green iguana (Iguana iguana) cousins. Juveniles are mostly green, with their adult coloring coming on during their first year. The adult ground color is dark brown-to-gray or black, depending upon the species or subspecies. Most have black mottling on their back. The belly is usually an off- or dirty white. The tail is ringed with specialized spiny scales. While the C. similis has a tall dorsal crest, the other species tend towards very short crests. Found in wild in groups usually dominated by a major male. Captive Care Housing A woodland habitat with substrate suitable for digging: cypress mulch will work well here, but avoid pine or aspen shavings or bark. If mulch is not available, try astroturf-type carpeting. A box of crushed alfalfa hay may be provided for burrowing, or a hide box. A bowl of water should be provided; they may need to have water movement to elicit drinking, at least initially. This may be provided by allowing ice cubes to melt from the screen top of an enclosure into the water bowl Temperatures Basking areas up to 100 F; gradient from high 70s to mid 90s during the day, low 70s to low 80s at night. Basking lights should be available 10-12 hours a day. Lighting UVB lighting is essential for proper D3 and calcium metabolism. The unshielded/unfiltered fluorescent tube must be within 12-18" of the lizard Diet According to some sources (Van Devender, in Burghardt and Rand, 1982; Wynn, 1990; Obst, 1988) youngsters in the wild were found to be primarily insectivorous, evolving into more herbivorous habits as adults. They are opportunistic feeders, however, with some study specimens found to steal birds trapped in mist nets. According to some sources (Fitch, Iverson, 1982; Zimmerman and Tracy, 1989), Ctenosauras are completely herbivorous. Most find that their adult spiny iguanas do best on a primarily herbivorous diet, similar to the Uromastyx in captivity (95% plant matter, 5% animal matter). Start youngsters off on a varied diet of crickets, mealworms and pinks, moving up in prey size as the lizard grows. Plant matter can include the Green Iguana Salad (see my Iguana Care and Socialization document for recipe and food items), plus additional fruits, leaves and flowers. Gut-load invertebrates before feeding out. Plant matter can be offered daily, with animal matter offered in very small amounts with every meal or slightly larger amounts 3-4 times a week. Unless they are alot different then the green iguana I wouldn’t recommend the insects . here is another site I got this info from : http://www.rainforestsearch.com/rrrs/lzrd_sti.htm In the wild, Spiny-tailed iguanas are found in Mexico to Central America. They can reach a length of 24-36 inches (61-91.4 cm.). The Spiny-tailed iguanas habitat is lower branches of large trees, rocks, stone walls, and along borders of forests. Their diet consists of insects, spiders, lizards, rodents, fruits and leaves. ‘Teala’, the Spiny-tail iguana exhibited at the Refuge is a female. None of the animals here are handled unless it is necessary, as it is stressful on wild animals. If Teala is needed to be handled, she shows you how she feels by trying to bite. Her teeth are small, but sharp and could give you quite a wound requiring stitches. ‘Teala’ was given to the Rainforest Reptile Refuge Society because the person who bought her (at a pet shop) was hoping to be able to handle her, but upon finding that these lizards can be quite aggressive, he no longer wanted her. Here at the Refuge, Teala is respected for who she is--a beautiful wild animal. ( there is a picture of the one they are talking about on the site . IF you do a search I am sure you can find more into as I started doing for you . Good luck ! |
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| 06/22/05 08:13am |
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Jif View Profile |
Message To: TIM3 In reference to Message Id: 375133 Spiny Tailed Iguanas!!
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| 06/22/05 09:11am |
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