Hi, I have an 8-9 year old female iguana, Robin, and was wondering what the life span of an iguana is. At eight, or nine, years old she is about 4’6” and she has been getting very irritable lately and doesn’t seem to be eating as much. She also hasn’t been shedding as much as she use to. She is free roam, I have tried to cage her before and she always gets very listless and refuses to eat, I think this has a lot to do with her previous owner. Before I got her she had a fairly rough life being fed only green beans and lettuce for three years, she was almost never handled, had an extremely small cage, over grown toenail, and couldn’t pick her self up at all when she wanted to walk (she looked almost like a snake trying to get across the floor.) Could all this have shortened her life span? Several of my family members and friends have had iguanas but they never lasted for more then three or four years, I’ve had mine almost six and would like to keep her healthy as long as possible. Thanks for the info Jadelizard
green iguanas can actually live 15 to 20 years, although about 15 years is more common. she probably isn't shedding as much now simply because she is older. like all reptiles, green iguanas continue to grow until the day they die. as they age, however, their growth slows. since you say that she's at least 8 years old, i seriously doubt that she's growing much anymore. thus she would be shedding far less. the poor treatment she recieved when young could very well be contributing to her current behavior. it could also very well have shortened her life. with the poor diet and tiny cage she had when she was little, i think that 8 years is actually pretty darn good. as you probably already know, the best foods for green iguanas are kale, collard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, and mustard greens, along with chopped mango, berries, banana, yams, apple, kiwi, and squash. spinach and lettuce are big no-no's as well as cat food, insects, etc. they also need lots of uv light and a couple fluorescent tube-type uv bulbs on top of the cage (within a foot of the main basking area) is the best way to make sure they get enough uv [except for housing them oustide]. these bulbs start to lose their potency really soon, though, so i'd change them at *least* once every six months. i hope i answered your questions sufficiently and if you have any more just let us know!! p.s. we'd love to see pics of your iguana if you have any!
Thanks for the information. Strange enough, Robin hates yams and I can rarely get her to eat any kind of squash, she usualy picks them out of her food or throws her bowl if she doesn't like what's in it.
lol - iguanas can be picky! if you haven't tried berries or mango, try them - they usually love them, plus they are very *very* nutritious.
