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Posted by desiree on October 09, 2002 at 19:14:43:
Happiness is having 3 iguana babies
Thursday October 10, 2002
Jimmy Rogers, known as the Iguana Man on Treasure Island Resort, is looking forward to playing dad.
No, it’s not his wife Betty who is the centre of his loving attention.
It’s five iguana eggs which hatched on Wednesday, October 2. It is the first birth in captivity on Treasure Island.
Three of the iguanas survived and, as these pictures show, are thriving under Jimmy’s special care.
They are hand-fed ripe fruit three times a day. “If they had hatched in the wild, this would be their diet,” Jimmy said.
The two females and a male measured 26 centimetres and weighed 10 grams each on Saturday, October 5, when Jimmy finally got over his excitement enough to remember to weigh them.
Guests Frances Wilmshurst of Lower Hutt, New Zealand, who has visited Treasure Island 30 times, and Mrs Suzanne Jones, of Sydney, Australia, who has notched up more than 20 visits to Treasure, were lucky enough to be near the cage as the iguanas broke their shells and made their much-anticipated appearance.
Jimmy raced to the cage when he heard the news and is now fussing over the new arrivals, showing his love of Treasure Island’s wildlife. His job entails looking after the island’s iguanas, turtles and a few birds, the feathered variety, that is.
Iguanas are territorial reptiles which usually mate in late January and early February. By April the females lay their eggs and bury them for nine months.
Males mark their territory by secreting a jelly-like substance under their thighs. Only the male iguanas have these glands. He will then go on to mate with all females in his territory.
“If two males are put together they will fight all the time,” Jimmy explained.
Females have longer tails which help them balance on tree branches when they are pregnant.
With crested iguanas, the markings on the males are wider, while the females have longer tails.
Jimmy’s iguana expertise was gained at Sydney’s Taronga Zoo, which Treasure Island helped fund. The intense two-day attachment at the zoo enabled Jimmy to learn more from the zoo’s reptile experts.
Earlier this year Jimmy and Betty spent a week with Howard and Elizabeth McGrouther of the Yellow Eyed Penguin Reserve in Dunedin, New Zealand, to enhance their knowledge on how to care for endangered species.
Mr and Mrs McGrouther will be on Treasure Island later this week to hold further discussions with management and, in particular, Jimmy.
As environment manager, Jimmy finds it hard to tear himself away from the iguana cage, and do his real job, that of assistant food and beverage manager. He helps supervise staff during the resort’s meal hours. Jimmy recently did a three-week food and beverage stint at the Goldcoast International Hotel, in Queensland, Australia.
Jimmy and his iguanas will feature in Treasure Island Resort’s online newsletter which is sent electronically to Treasure guests and travel agents around the world.
Readers will be invited to suggest names for the three new reptiles which are causing such a stir. If you have a suggestion, email Jimmy Rogers on “mailto:jimmy@treasure.com.fj” jimmy@treasure.com.fj
And what does wife Betty have to say about all the fuss? “I hope he pays as much attention to his own children when they are born. Right now, he is on cloud nine every morning!”
The Daily Post
