When I was young, I used to dream of owning a pet dragon. That’s one thing that inspired the name of this site. When I first saw a full-grown green iguana, I was in awe. I knew that someday I needed to own one. My very own pet dragon! So, do green iguanas make good pets?
Green Iguanas are definitely one of the most popular and iconic lizards that have ever been kept as pets. They are large, colorful, spectacular looking lizards that are very hardy. Because they are so large, they require a lot of space. They can be tame but some are very aggressive. Green Iguanas can make good pets for the right person but they are definitely not for everyone.
In this article we will take a closer look at why they could make a good pet lizard and why you may want to avoid them. First, you might be asking, “Did you ever get one?” Yep! I sure did.
I had to wait until I was in my early twenty’s and moved out. My parents knew better so they were reluctant to allow such a large lizard in the house. One of the first things I did when I moved out was expand my reptile collection. In fact, I actually ended up getting two. (Among other things.)
I bought them from my favorite pet shop when they were just very small. I was so happy to finally own a green iguana. Now I owned not one, but two pet dragons! They were both quite small but I knew they would grow big and grow they did.
Before we get too far into this story lets learn more about the green iguana.
About Green Iguanas
Green Iguanas occur in central and south America from northern Mexico to southern Brazil and Paraguay. They are large semi-arboreal lizards that range in color from light greens, to grays and oranges and some are even turquoise in color.
They have a row of long spikes along their backs (that are actually scales), large scaly jowls, and a large dewlap that hangs below their chins.
Some even have small horns on their nose. Their tails are long and banded and can be used as a weapon for whipping and slashing. Their claws are long and sharp which enable them to climb high up into the trees.
They are fast, powerful, truly impressive lizards that really do look like miniature dragons.
Green Iguanas are found in tropical forests near rivers and streams and their typical lifespan is about 15-20 years.
Males can grow to over 6 feet long and females about 5 feet. They can weigh up to 20lbs and are mostly herbivores.
If you want a large lizard that looks like a dragon, a green iguana just might be the lizard for you. As I mentioned I’ve owned two green iguanas’ in the past. One was very tame and personable and the other was a good example of what someone probably would not want in a pet lizard.
My New Pet Dragons
The first Iguana that I bought was a male and I named him Iguanasaurus Rex. We called him “Rex” for short. He was bright green and awesome.
My wife and I lived in a one-bedroom apartment at the time and we would sometimes let Rex roam the house. He grew very quickly.
I soon found myself at my dad’s woodshop building a large custom cage. He was a woodshop teacher and had access to the school shop with all the tools.
I was not just building one large cage but two because very soon after I bought the first iguana, I bought another one. Which I named Raptor.
My original plan was to keep them both together in the same enclosure but later learned that this is not always possible because they can fight. Rex and Raptor proved this to be true. They didn’t get along very well at all.
I knew they would get big so I built 2 large cages that I could stack on top of each other. These cages were 8 feet long, 2 and a half feet wide and 3 feet tall. Theyboth had multiple light fixtures and were wired with a light switch on the outside, that I could use to turn them on and off very easily.
These two giant cages were stacked up in the only place they would fit in our small apartment. Right in the middle of the living room. Anyone that opened the front door was met with these huge cages in our front room. Talk about a conversation piece.
Rex and Raptor both grew very quickly and I notice almost immediately that they had very different personalities. Rex had a calm pleasant disposition and Raptor… well she just wanted to be left alone.
Before we talk about that let’s explore some of the reasons green iguanas can make a good pet lizard.
Why Green Iguanas Make a Good Pet Lizard
- Easy to care for
- Easy to find
- Inexpensive
- Can have a mild temperament
- Relatively easy to handle
- Grow Very large
Now that we’ve listed some of the things that can make a green iguana a good pet let’s take a closer look at each one of them.
Easy to Care For
Green Iguanas really need a large space for optimal health. Even though I had 8-foot-long cages they really should have been taller than 3 feet. 5 feet would have been better.
Iguanas like to be up high. This makes them feel more secure. When they feel secure, they will be healthier.
Some experts suggest an enclosure much larger than this at least 12 feet long, 6 feet wide and 6 feet high. This is huge. If you live in a warmer climate area you can build an outdoor cage with a wooden frame and wire mesh sides and keep them out doors part of the year or year-round.
If you have the space and the means to buy or build a very large enclosure green iguanas are not really that difficult to take care of if you are willing to put in the time.
They are primarily herbivores so feeding them is not that difficult. You don’t have to make several trips to the pet store to by crickets or rodents. You just need to go to the grocery store.
They are rather large and eat a lot but you will be feeding them greens and veggies along with a little fruit here and there, which is pretty easy. It’s best to dust their food with a calcium and multivitamin supplement which you can order online or get from the pet store.
The size of the enclosure is one thing but not as important as the temperatures and special lighting requirements.
You will need to provide both UVA and UVB lighting for your giant lizard to be healthy. You will also need a basking spot of up to 120 degrees. This can be a challenge to achieve in a large enclosure with a large lizard.
You will need to make sure there is a large water bowl in the cage and fresh water continuously available. Misting them with a simple sprayer twice per day also helps with proper hydration.
All of these things are really not that difficult to do if you have the financial resources and are committed to doing them. Some people give their iguana its own room in their house. Caging requirement solved.
Easy to Find
Green iguanas are not quite as available as they were 20 years ago when I got mine, but they are still pretty easy to find. Many pet stores still carry them. You can find them online (which I don’t recommend) and at reptile expos.
You might also consider a rescue. Unfortunately, green iguanas are frequently abandoned or given up to animal rescue facilities. The hard part about getting one from a rescue is that you never know what you are getting.
Inexpensive
Green iguanas are fairly inexpensive. You can buy baby iguanas for as little as $20-$40 U.S. dollars. Larger adult iguanas can be as much as $150 to $200. This is still very affordable considering the kind of amazing animal you are getting.
The expense really comes in the lighting required to heat them and keep them healthy. Food costs can add up too but feeding them really isn’t that expensive.
Can Have a Mild Temperament
One of the reasons green iguanas have been such popular pet lizards over the years is their temperament. Who doesn’t want a large, green, dragon-like lizard perched on their shoulders or walking beside them on a leash?
If handled regularly, and well taken care of, green iguanas can be intelligent, curious, friendly pets. They even have the ability to recognize their owners.
They rarely bite and I have even heard of one being registered as an emotional support animal.
My Iguana “Rex” was a great example of the mild temperament we hope for when excitement drives us to say, “I have to have one of those”.
He had a calm, pleasant easy-going temperament. I knew that he knew who I was and there was a bond of mutual respect. What an incredible lizard!
Relatively Easy to Handle
If you know your pet iguana well and have raised it from a young lizard you should have no problem with handling.
It’s important to support their bodies and give their feet something to push against so they feel secure. Don’t restrain them tightly. This can cause them to feel threatened and squirm.
When they are young, they will be more active. Let them crawl and put your hands in front of them one after another in succession. They will eventually get tired and take a little break.
Large iguanas are content to just hang out in your arms or on your shoulder.
Grow Very Large
Green iguanas grow very large. This is one thing that makes them so appealing! If you have ever dreamed of owning a large lizard or even a dragon, green iguanas are a good choice. Just be sure that you have the space for them.
Green Iguanas Are Not for Everyone
I mentioned Rex and his easy-going personality. Raptor on the other hand was a completely different story.
Many of the reasons Iguanas are not a good choice for everyone are the exact same reasons that make them a rewarding lizard for others. Or just the opposite. Let’s talk about those next.
Why Green Iguanas Are Not for Everyone
- Can be demanding to care for
- Can be expensive
- Can be very aggressive
- Can be difficult to handle
- Grow Very large
Can be Demanding to Care For
The primary reason iguanas are demanding to care is their size. They need a lot of space. Very large enclosures like the sizes I mentioned above just aren’t feasible for most people.
So many people buy a cute little baby green lizard when they are not truly prepared for, or committed to taking care of them when they are 6 feet long and 15 to 20 pounds.
These lizards are often given up to a rescue, discarded or released into the wild where in most places they will most certainly not survive.
It is also very difficult to get a pet store to take your green iguana. They know they will have a very difficult time selling it.
In addition, the lighting requirements are expensive and people will be tempted to skip this step all together. This leads to an unhealthy lizard which could develop metabolic bone disease.
Don’t be that person. If you are thinking about buying a green iguana as a pet lizard think very seriously about the space requirements. And everything else required to caring for one.
Can be Expensive
Just as it is easy to buy a young green iguana, because the price of the lizard is so low, it can be very expensive to buy build or have built the cage you will keep them in.
Not to mention the lighting required to keep them warm and healthy. UVA and UVB full spectrum lighting and fixtures can be costly to purchase and require a lot of electricity to keep them on throughout the day.
The cost of keeping any reptile is more than just the price of purchasing them. This should be a heavy consideration when contemplating buying a green iguana as a pet.
Can be Very Aggressive
As I mentioned above, my iguana “Rex” was the perfect example of a tame friendly giant lizard. “Raptor” on the other hand, well lived up to her name. She was very much like a velociraptor from jurassic park. And not the nice one.
I tried and tried to socialize her, be nice to her and handle her. I must not have had the proper experience because everything I did wasn’t working. She wouldn’t have any of it.
She would whip me with her tail violently and try to bite. This became more and more unnerving as she got bigger. I was content that she was the one that we “looked at” and Rex was the one we took out and interacted with, but if she was my only iguana, I would have been very disappointed.
Iguanas are pretty intelligent for a lizard and they do have personalities. All reptiles actually have some personality or at least behavior differences among different individuals. Even if they are the same species.
Raptor was the exact opposite of what I dreamed of when I dreamed of owning a pet dragon. She was mean or just scared and misunderstood. I was never able to break through that barrier.
Iguana tails hurt when they whip you. Some have been known to draw blood. I was fortunate enough to avoid this but there were a few times she got me and left a good welt.
Iguanas have very sharp teeth and powerful jaws. They can do serious damage if they get a hold of you. If you google iguana bites you will see more than you need to, to know they can be dangerous.
What can you do to avoid this? Don’t buy an iguana. Thatwould be the easiest thing. What if you still want one?
Well I noticed that raptor exhibited these tendencies when she was young. Raptor was much more aggressive. I believed she would become tamer over time. I was wrong.
If you notice any of this behavior when selecting a baby iguana, I would recommend avoiding it. Choose one that is already relatively calm by nature. Usually baby reptiles either snakes or lizards, can be a little more defensive.
This is normal. So, a little apprehension is fine but not biting or persistent tail whipping. If they calm down quickly it’s probably okay.
If they look at you and puff up and glare at you intently, then whip or bite consistently, do not buy that lizard.
For this reason, I don’t recommend buying your pet iguana on the internet. Though you can get your new iguana online, I would never do it.
I would never buy an iguana if I could not meet it in person first and handle it.
If you already have an iguana there are numerous resources on the web on how to train or tame them. I would highly recommend doing some research into this if you haven’t already.
Can be Difficult to Handle
Iguanas are large lizards and handling large lizards is similar to handling small lizards but also quite a bit different.
They move around just like small lizards do. They don’t move as much, but you will have to use your entire upper body not just your hands. Depending on your level of fitness this can be a work out.
Green iguanas have long sharp claws. Even if they are very tame, they can scratch you unintentionally.
With their size, weight and strength they can really do some damage if you are not careful. I got around this by using some large leather welding gloves I purchased from the hardware store.
I didn’t always use these when handling Rex but they still helped. I got to a point that I didn’t handle Raptor at all so it really didn’t matter.
You can also trim your iguana’s claws which will help. You can do it yourself or have someone trim them for you. You can do an internet search on how to do this or find someone in your local area that can do this for you.
If any of these things sound daunting or difficult to you then a green iguana probably isn’t the best choice for you.
Grow Very Large
By now the sheer size of these lizards has been ingrained in your mind. For some people this is one thing that makes green iguanas so incredibly awesome!
This is also one of the biggest reasons they are not for everyone. If you have any doubt about your ability to provide enough space for such a large lizard, please don’t get one.
They can be a challenge to house, feed, keep warm and healthy and can be dangerous if they are particularly cantankerous.
When we lived in California in our small one-bedroom apartment they were the center peace of our living room. Fortunately, I had a very cool and understanding wife.
We ended up moving to Arizona. First to another small apartment then to a house. This gave us more space and I did eventually build an outdoor enclosure which we used during much of the year.
In the early part of our marriage we moved around a lot. Good thing I held on to those large cages but, it was one of those moves later the presented the biggest challenge.
Raptor eventually died. And I was actually sad about it. Even though she was mean, I loved and respected that amazing animal.
What about Rex? Sadly, I had to give him away. Following a market crash and lost employment we found ourselves in a very difficult financial situation and had to move (again).
The new place would have absolutely no space for him. It was very difficult but I knew I could not keep him. So, I gave him away to a good family. Giant cage and all.
Conclusion
There is a reason the green iguana is one of the most iconic pet lizards in the world. They are large, impressive, colorful lizards that can have a mild temperament.
They are intelligent, hardy, long lived and relatively easy to care for, if you are committed and have the space. If you want a really impressive display animal there are few lizards that inspire awe like a green iguana.
Sadly, many are purchased then have to be rescued and rehomed because the owner wasn’t prepared for how large they can really get. Still others are disappointed when their iguana suddenly becomes aggressive and unapproachable.
Green iguanas certainly look like miniature dragons and deserve the same respect. They are large, colorful, intelligent creatures that can recognize their owner and be a joy to interact with.
Though they are definitely not for everyone they are amazing animals and can be a very rewarding pet lizard.