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Posted by PH Meliss on December 23, 2002 at 15:09:49:
In Reply to: Attachment to eggs posted by Georgia on December 22, 2002 at 13:34:22:
There is no attachment to eggs in most of the green iguanas. While there is only one species of green iguana (Iguana iguana), they come from a geographically diverse region with somewhat differing microhabitats. Ditto the Cyclura and two species of iguanas in the Galapagos.
By and large, when there's plenty of suitable nesting places available for the females, once they dig the burrow, lay the eggs, and fill the burrow in again, that's it. Off they go somewhere to collapse until they get enough strength to drink and eat and start building themselves back up again (tough to do since laying is generally right at the start of the dry season).
Where we see females protecting their nests is where suitable laying conditions are at a premium. Keep in mind that the burrows must have the right soil consistency, and the soil must maintain the right narrow temperature range and humidity level all through the 3 months or so in which the eggs are incubating in there. When you have a lot of gravid females competing for a relatively few suitable nesting spots, you will see females hanging around after their eggs are laid and burrow filled, fighting off other females who try to lay there or close to them.
Keep an eye on the Animal Planet and Discovery channels. They occasionally do programs that include the iguanas of Fernandina Island in the Galapagos. Mostly volcano, the traditional laying area is actually inside the caldera. The females scramble up the outside slope, then down the inside of the mostly barren land inside the volcano. Competition for the few suitable nesting areas is fierce, as is the heat inside there. Many females are too weak to make it back out, dying where they fall.
This type of competition may be found in other areas, on the mainland and other islands, among iguanids and other egg-laying species who have very narrow nesting requirements. We sometimes see it in captive green iguanas. Since we don't know from where exactly our iguanas come from, we can only guess that those who do exhibit anxiety when humans approach their nesting area after they've laid their eggs are those originally from areas holding few suitable nesting sites.
But there's another reason why nest sites may be protected in captivity: the female may not yet be done laying all her eggs. In the wild, they lay them all within a single 24 hour period. In captivity, gravidity-induced MBD and dehydration may result in delays in the female being able to get all her eggs out all at once. That's one of the reasons why it is so important to start boosting dietary calcium before breeding season starts and during the first month when they are still eating, and keep them well hydrated throughout the season, forcing oral fluids if necessary, during the last two months leading up to laying.
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PH Meliss
Pet Hobbyist Volunteer * Iguana Forum
Iguanas for Dummies
Anapsid.org: Herp & Green Iguana Care, Herp Societies/Rescues & Vets
