Original Wild Facts, Reptiles

Wild Fact #192 – Speedy Gonzales – Spiny Tailed Iguana

Photo by Keith Pomakis (Wikimedia)

I don’t know if you have looked yet but our Wild Facts are winding down pretty quick. Soon enough, we will hit the illustrious zero mark…then what? Let’s not worry about that now since we still have a few facts to go so let’s get started with the Spiny Tailed Iguana.  Luckily to learn about this animal we are going to take a nice winter trip to Mexico and Central America where they are native residents.  I suppose we could also head to Florida or Texas since they were introduced in these states but I would prefer to see their native habitat.

The Spiny Tailed Iguana is closely related to its cousin, the Green Iguana (aren’t most cousins closely related?).   Unlike their cousin some species of the Spiny Tailed Iguana are more aggressive than the Green Iguana so they don’t all do well as pets.  Let’s take a look at a few of the other differences so you don’t accidentally end up with an angry house pet.  Don’t worry though you should still be able to tell them apart fairly easily. The most obvious difference are the spiny scales that run along the entire length of their tail.  I am going to guess this is how they received their name.  They also have a longer crest on their back then most of their cousins but I just recommend checking for the spiny rings on the tail.

If you do end up with one of these Iguanas for a pet then you need to know what they enjoy eating, right?  Typically, the young Spiny Tailed Iguana feeds on insects while the adults become mainly herbivores feasting on fruits and vegetation.  This herbivore diet must work out for them since these iguanas use this energy to run awfully fast.  It is a Spiny Tailed Iguana that holds the world record in the Lizard Sprint category.  I have no idea who went around and clocked the speed of different lizards but I do know the Spiny Tailed Iguana was the winner with a speed of 34.6 km/h (25.5 mph).  This is why it is important to eat your vegetables, kids.

 

4 Comments

    1. hahahaha….”Bongo”

      I guess Iguana is pretty fun to say as well. Now I want to create a Bongo Iguana!

      You are right about the Green Iguana being very popular as most pet owners have this species of Iguana keeping them company.

      Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts!

  1. I have had a spiny female for 16 years give or take a year. I was wondering if you have any idea how long they live in captivity. I can’t find anything out there on the web or books about lifespan.

    Thank you!

    1. Hi Susan,

      Wow… I don’t know a whole lot about the lifespan of captive animals but I do believe 16 years for a Spiny Tailed Iguana is pretty good.

      Again, this isn’t my specialty but it appears that the average lifespan for Iguanas (the Green and the Spiny Tailed) is somewhere between 10-12 years.

      I recommend checking out this article written by someone with a little more authority on the subject. http://www.reptilechannel.com/lizards/lizard-care/iguana-lifespan-and-care.aspx

      Thanks for stopping by Wild Facts and great job taking care of your Spiny Tailed Iguana. It has clearly lived a privileged life in captivity.

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