Re: TWO YOUNG IGUANAS TOGETHER

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Posted by amy on May 14, 2001 at 11:36:46:

In Reply to: Re: TWO YOUNG IGUANAS TOGETHER posted by Mr. D on May 13, 2001 at 22:29:44:

I have done some research on the sociality of iguanas and I found that two young female iguanas may get along better than two male iguanas because females remain near each other in the wild as adults (in a harem with one male, in the wild)while males become solitary. Juvenile iguanas exposed visually & chemically (via femoral pores) to dominant adult males show high corticosteron levels, which is a stress hormone and actually stunts the growth rate of juvenile males. However, interestingly enough, juvenile adults exposed to adult females actually showed accerated growth rates. These studies were done on enclosed wild iguanas and may transfer to captivity, but not really sure. I thought this was very interesting research and used it in my research paper for my behavioral ecology class. I wish I had the reference with me for those who may be interested, but I don't have them at this time. Maybe this will help, maybe not, just a little info on their sociality...of course it is important to watch your iguanas closely for agresstion, but two females should be ok as juveniles :)

While iguanas are totally social in the wild, that doesn't necessarily mean that they can be kept together in captivity. If you've only got a 6x6 enclosure or a 12x12 room to live in then you can only run so far in order to escape an attacker.....

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That's very interesting info, but when they are Iglets you can't tell what JNelson 05/14/01 (0)

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: : : I have done some research on the sociality of iguanas and I found that two young female iguanas may get along better than two male iguanas because females remain near each other in the wild as adults (in a harem with one male, in the wild)while males become solitary. Juvenile iguanas exposed visually & chemically (via femoral pores) to dominant adult males show high corticosteron levels, which is a stress hormone and actually stunts the growth rate of juvenile males. However, interestingly enough, juvenile adults exposed to adult females actually showed accerated growth rates. These studies were done on enclosed wild iguanas and may transfer to captivity, but not really sure. I thought this was very interesting research and used it in my research paper for my behavioral ecology class. I wish I had the reference with me for those who may be interested, but I don't have them at this time. Maybe this will help, maybe not, just a little info on their sociality...of course it is important to watch your iguanas closely for agresstion, but two females should be ok as juveniles :) : While iguanas are totally social in the wild, that doesn't necessarily mean that they can be kept together in captivity. If you've only got a 6x6 enclosure or a 12x12 room to live in then you can only run so far in order to escape an attacker.....

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