Creature Feature Encyclopedia: Reptilia

Green Iguana Iguana iguana

The iguana is a large lizard. The Green Iguana, the only type that lives in the rainforests, grows up to six feet long! Besides being completely camouflaged, green iguanas are extremely agile and fast. They like to sleep in trees that overhang water. Iguanas can drop forty to fifty feet from a tree to the ground, and also will jump into water and swim away from predators. Their diet is generally made up of plant food, but the liven it up with an occasional insect or two. Unfortunately, iguanas are threatened by too much hunting. However, captive breeding projects have been started in Panama andd Costa Rica to save the iguana.

~A Walk in the Rainforest © 1992