Iguanas
Spiny-tailed Iguanas
(Ctenosaura sp.)
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| "Norbert" Our C. pectinata breeder male at 3 years old |
We began working with Spiny-tailed Iguanas (Ctenosaura species) in 2001 with the purchase of some juvenile wild collected C. similis. They are a very attractive but rather poor tempered species and we eventually chose to pass on continuing the project. In 2003 we decided to look at C. pectinata which was reputed to be a much calmer species. They proved much more pleasant to work with and we expanded the project by obtaining some captive born yellow "Banana" morph C. pectinata in 2004 and 2005. We've been very pleased with the species ever since.
"Norbert" at 20 months old, 22" (Banana morph C. pectinata)
Father of some of our initial stock (in shed)
The Banana Iguanas (C. pectinata) begin life a bright solid green, slowly turning a pale tan to grey over the next 6 months. In our group, the first hints of yellow started appearing at 10 months of age, becoming a rich yellow to orange-yellow with black markings by 18 months. Adult size for the Bananas seems to be around 2 1/2 feet with a nice chucky body and mildly spiked tail. They are somewhat shy as hatchlings but become tame and friendly by their 1st birthday. They seem to be aggressive towards each other as young hatchlings but all have become very tolerant of one another once moved into their final breeding cages. We rear them on the same diet and under similar conditions as our Uromastyx (see our care sheet for Uromastyx). We do however occasionally mist their cages with water (weekly as hatchlings, less so as they mature), offer the occasional insect, and give them taller habitats with large branches for climbing and basking (see photos).
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| Iguana Hatchling Tank (upper cage in stack) | Breeder Tank (modified shower stall) in our home |
Our 2005 Hatchling Banana Iguana group (C. pectinata)
Kelly Paul, producer of most the Banana Iggi's in the U.S., with the parents of
some of our initial stock
All of ours allow me to pick them up and after a brief period of squirming, settle in and allow me to freely handle them. We've set them up as 1.2 breeding groups in moderately large vivariums. We got our first successful breedings and hatch in 2009 so we hope to be on track to add these as a species we'll regularly produce. If we produce any for 2010, we will release a few at $275 to $325 each plus shipping. Please e-mail us if you wish to get on a waiting list for some. We don't take deposits but fill "Wanted" lists on a first come, first served basis.
Father of our 2009 Hatchling Black-Chested Iguana group (C.
melanosterna)
We expanded our spiny-tailed group to include C. melanosterna in 2007. While an interesting species, the line we had didn't meet our expectations. So even though they were just hitting breeding age (and we'd seen some breeding activity), we decided to let them go. Now we're starting over with a European bloodline crossed into a different American bloodline that has a more extensive silvery-blue, more refined look. Our current stock is from 2009 clutches again bred by Kelly Paul. We'll post photos of them as they mature. For now here is a couple views of the European father.
Rock Iguanas
(Cyclura lewisi x )
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| Adult male C. lewisi (representative photo from botany.org/billz/) |
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| Our 2009 C. lewisi male "Icarus" | Our 2009 C. lewisi female "Isis" |
We also picked up a very nice hatchling pair of Grand Caymen Blue Rock Iguanas, (Cyclura lewisi x) in 2009. Pure C. lewisi are critically endangered in their homeland of Grand Caymen Island and are not available in the herpetoculture trade. However some hybrids w/ the neighboring Little Caymen Island Iguana (C. caymenensis) showed up in the gene pool of C. lewisi being used for a reintroduction breeding project. These were culled out of the group and were released to private breeders. Several breeders are now making concerted efforts to selectively breed these lines to reproduce the stunningly blue adult iguanas formerly common in the wild C. lewisi population. This pair is from one of these refined lines and shows good promise for maturing into a striking pair of adults. We'll post photos as the pair matures. Our first hope for offspring are still several year away however.
Email:
douglasdix@deerfernfarms.com
