About Breeding Iguanas

Breeding captive iguanas is a much debated subject among serious iguana keepers. Since these pets are often misunderstood and abandoned in animal shelters or to rescues once they become hard to handle, some people feel that breeding iguanas only contributes to the problem. Breeders must screen potential homes for their babies rigorously to ensure a lifelong home.

  1. Preparation

    • Preparing your iguanas to mate is not a difficult task. Every iguana that is not spayed or neutered will cycle into the breeding season during a part of the year. Male iguanas will show they are in the breeding season by becoming grumpy and generally unapproachable. They may also attempt to stalk and mount their owner's feet and legs. Female iguanas will search out a safe place to lay eggs, fertilized or not. Their feeding may also decrease. If a male and female iguana are both in their breeding season and they are healthy, they will breed.

    Sexing

    • Determining the sex of your sexually mature iguana is simple. If the iguana is older than 1 year, look at its cheeks. If they bulge outward and have large shield-like plates on the sides, you have a male. If the jaw is relatively smooth, you have a female. Femoral pores on the legs will also help you determine the sex of your iguana. If they are large and bulbous, it is a male. If they are small, perhaps even hard to find, you have a female.

    Coupling

    • Iguanas in the breeding season will readily mate with one another. Some fighting may occur during the actual mating process. Some females, especially young ones, are fretful when large male iguanas stalk them. This may cause them to bite or scratch even the gentlest male. If the iguanas are being particularly violent, remove them from the mating area and let them rest. Try again later.

    Eggs

    • A gravid female requires a nesting site with sand or potting soil that is large enough for her to dig a resting place for her eggs. Once she has laid her eggs, you may remove her from the nesting site and place the eggs in an incubator until they hatch. Egg laying and egg carrying is a dangerous task for female iguanas. If your iguana does not lay all of her eggs, she will become egg-bound. The eggs will rot inside of her and this will cause a variety of problems that can be fatal. For her safety, have the gravid female iguana X-rayed by a veterinarian before and after she lays her eggs. If she has not laid all of her eggs, she will have to be spayed to save her life.