Not the Average Pet!! And not Even Green!

Yes, Green Iguanas are in Costa Rica!

I WOULD LOVE TO HAVE A PET IGUANA!

My friend  Marina K.  Villatoro , the Travel Experta,   (travel writer for Central America)  and I share a curiosity of the green Iguana.  Marina recently wrote an article on her web site about these friendly reptiles and I want to share with you some of the interesting facts she has gathered.

Green Iguanas are prevalent in Costa Rica and if you are touring around Costa Rica you are sure to see them.  Can you believe that they are great tree jumpers! Using their tail to balance them. An adult Iguana’s tail  can weight up to twenty pounds.
Their bite is not harmful to humans but it is best  not to  get too close to them because they first just run away but it you corner one he will defend himself and may bite.  Then you would have to go to a hospital or first ad station to get the wound cleaned up, and that would be no fun on your vacation.

The bag under their chin is used to store fat for survival in case food is scarce.

Do Green Iguanas make good pets? They have an easy going personality but remember they are wild animals which come from exotic and tropical habitat.  They can live to be up to fifteen years of age and grow to be six feet long and they must live in a temperature of around eighty degrees F. and get a lot of sunlight for Vitamin D.  So if you live in a cold climate and limited space then keeping a green iguana as a pet could be difficult.   They are considered exotic pets and are  grown on Green Iguana farms in warm tropical climates.   Approximately 800,000 are  imported into the United States annually.  Beware that in New York City and in Hawaii law prohibits one keeping an iguana as a pet.  With all those exotic dogs as pets in New York City, all being lead around on fancy leashes one would think that an iguana would  also be allowed  in Central Park if it were on a leash.  But if it got loose-well encountering a large green iguana on a walk in the park would be somewhat scary, especially one six feet long!

If you are interested in vacationing to Costa Rica,  you would love our full length travel video (DVD).  “Costa Rica A Travel Adventure Spectacular Travel Video”  Just go to the home page of 10.255.150.253/costaricalearn then to the top of the page and click  on “Buy or video ”  That takes you to our 3 minute preview of the video and also instructions on how to purchase it.  If you are curious about Iguanas in Costa Rica, you can see them on our video, along with the scenic beauty of Costa Rica’s 10 most spectacular tourist destinations.   Filmed and edited by Ken Creed, a National Geographic veteran and written by Ann Cabezas Creed, a travel writer and veteran Costa Rica Travel Agent.

From owners of pet Iguanas I have learned that they are not easy to tame, and that you need a large space for the Iguana to roam around.   One of my friends said that  her pet Iguana who she named Fred  began to stay in one corner of his large cage  (which she purchased to keep him while  trying to domesticate him)  The vet told her he was probably in “culture shock”  since he came from a tropical  jungle environment  and now he is living in the city.  If you are thinking about  getting an Iguana for a pet I suggest to communicate on line with others who have had the experience of caring for a pet Iguana.  Or go to www.petiguanacare.com

To read Marina’s story about Iguanas go to   www.travelexperta.com