Hi i have a lewisi cross that ive had for almost a year he is almost 2 years old suppozedly n suppzedly a male but he is still only about 2 feet total length. Do you think it might be a female or do they just grow really slowly?
Unfortunately rock iguanas are not extremely popular, being substantially beaten out in popularity by the green iguana, so there is not a lot of detailed information on them beyond basic care. However, given that they get about the same length, just bulkier/heavier, I would expect them to have similar growth rates, and I would expect them to grow rather quickly in their first 3-5 years, with a slowing down in growth speed after that. A STL of only 24" seems a tad small for a two year old. Has he had any significant tail nips at any point? I think a 2 year old green iguana is usually closer to the 3ft range. (I'll google some average growth charts to confirm.) Can you tell us more about your iguana's care? What do you feed him, and what kind of supplementation do you use? What kind of enclosure do you have him in (what size)? What kind of lighting are you using, particularly for UVB lighting? What are his basking and ambient temperatures, and what kind of thermometer are you using to measure those temps? The more detail you can give us, the better we can help make sure this guy is on the right track. He may just be on the smaller end of the spectrum, but if you can get back to us on these details, we can help make sure it's not an environmental factor that is slowing his growth.
Hello thanks for the reply! I have had reps for about 15 years but mostly hav dealt with large monitors. So i dont think that im doing anything wrong care wise but im always open to learn sumthn new especially since this is my first cyclura. He eats very well on collard greens dandilion turnip mustard different squashes n some fruit n hibiscus as treats. I feed him every day n he usually finishes about a cups wrth of food. I use exo terra calcium w/d3 n a multivitamin but just once a week since he gets a wide variety of greens. I use 3 exo terra uvb bulbs n 160w powersun during day a 150 red light at night day temp is 85 to 90 w/ basking spot that varies from 105 to 120 depending how close he wants to get. I use digital thermometers from lowes in the tank to moniter cool side warm side n basking. I use a laser temp gun to monitor basking spot . I spray him with water once a day jus to get humidity up a little. He is in a 125 gallon tank rt now 5 ft by 2ft by 2ft i think thats abt it but any other tips are appreciated. All the monitors ive had are easy to sex cuz if you hav had monitors before you know males often stick there hemi out wen the deficate also i am used to monitors rapid growth rate so i think thats whats confusing me
Well it is always a relief to see someone who knows what they are doing with a big lizard! You are probably right about not being used to the slower rate of growth compared to those of the monitors. It sounds like you have already got your things in order. The variety in the diet and the access to UVB light and a large setup are really the main things to worry about. Feel free to post pictures of your little guy and his setup! It's always cool to see something different from the more commonly found reptiles in the pet trade.
