Not your usual family pet

He’s green. He’s scaly. He has long claws, a longer tail, and three eyes. Oh, and yes, and he loves tossed salad for breakfast, lunch, and dinner.
It’s not every day you see someone walking down the road with a four-foot iguana on a leash, but if you happen to see one while driving along McTavish Road in La Vallee during the warmer weather, don’t assume your eyes are playing tricks on you.
It’s probably just “Lyzard Skynard” out for a stroll with a member of his family.
Allan and Dixie McDonald are used to getting strange looks from people. Two years ago, while living in Winnipeg, they came across a newspaper ad and decided they had found just the thing for their sons, Alex and Brad.
“He [Lyzard Skynard] is really easy to look after,” said Allan. “He’s quiet and clean; the boys love him.”
The other member of the family—a long-haired Calico cat named “Psycho”—is somewhat less enamored with its housemate and usually disappears whenever Lyzard Skynard is loose in the house.
Most of the time, though, it lives in a large, wooden cage in the basement, equipped with an infrared heat lamp and some tree branches on which he can bask in the artificial heat.
Iguanas are tropical animals and prefer an environment where the temperature is around 30 C. They can survive in cooler temperatures, but their metabolisms are geared to operate most efficiently at that temperature.
They can be found throughout Mexico, Central America, and South America, where they can grow to seven feet in length. They also are found in parts of Florida and Texas.
Iguanas are among the few reptiles that are strictly vegetarian. Not surprisingly, perhaps, they are considered a highly-prized delicacy in parts of Latin America.
Lyzard Skynard’s diet consists of lettuce, carrots, celery, fruit, and the tender shoots of new leaves. He’s also partial to flowers.
“In Winnipeg, he was eating my neighbour’s flowers,” recalled Dixie. “He also loves dandelions. On warm spring days, we put him outside and let him munch away.”
Since moving to Rainy River district, Lyzard Skynard has acquired some more exotic tastes.
“He has very expensive tastes,” said Dixie. “He loves cantaloupe, strawberries, and kiwi fruit. He likes apples and grapes, too, but he prefers the expensive stuff.”
Allan McDonald said when presented with a mixed salad, Lyzard Skynard often will push aside the vegetables to get at the fruit—just like a picky child.
Another interesting feature of the iguana is its ability to store energy and nutrients for long periods. Dixie said Lyzard Skynard can soak up enough heat from the sun or heat lamp to keep him going during cooler periods.
But as the heat leaks away, he gradually slows down and stops—just like a child’s toy when the batteries run down.
He also stores beta carotene from foods like carrots and cantaloupe, causing his legs to turn slightly orange in colour. This gradually fades as he uses up those reserves.
Diet aside, iguanas seem to make low-maintenance pets. “In Winnipeg, we’d just put him outside in the summer and he would climb up a tree and stay there until he got hungry,” Allan recalled.
That won’t be happening here, however. In the wild, iguanas have a number of natural enemies, including eagles. That’s why Allan is preparing a covered cage he intends to build around a tree in his backyard so Lyzard Skynard can enjoy the summer without the risk of being carried off by an eagle.
At seven pounds, he also would make a perfect meal for wolves, dogs, cats, or martens.
Iguanas are not entirely defenceless, however. Allan said Lyzard Skynard is surprisingly quick and agile for an animal with such short legs. When threatened, iguanas usually seek refuge in trees, but when cornered, that long tail becomes both a weapon and a decoy.
“I’m told they can crack that tail like a whip and actually break the legs of a fair-sized dog. Maybe that’s why ‘Psycho’ leaves him alone,” he mused.
If that doesn’t work, iguanas actually can separate their tails from their bodies and run away, leaving the twitching tail to distract the enemy. In a few months, a new tail will grow back.
They also have a row of small, but razor-sharp teeth. Unlike carnivorous reptiles, whose teeth are relatively long and curved for grasping prey, iguanas’ teeth are designed for shredding vegetables and probably can deliver a nasty bite.
They also are excellent swimmers and can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes.
“We used to put him in the [swimming] pool,” Allan remarked. “He loved it. He’s a regular little ’gator.”
Iguanas have one more feature that’s practically unique to them. In addition to the large eyes that are placed on the side of the head to give excellent peripheral vision, there is a tiny third eye on the top of the head that enables them to detect movement and changes in light levels directly above them.
It also seems to be a heat sensor.
“In the wild, most of their enemies [including man] will threaten them from above,” Allan explained. “This eye tells them if there is something up there.”
Iguanas typically live 12-15 years. They can grow up to seven feet long, but like snakes, their size ultimately is determined by the size of the cage in which they live.
They may not appeal to everyone’s taste, but iguanas are quiet, clean, and fascinating to watch. Just make sure you have plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables on hand because they eat a lot for their size since vegetables provide less protein than the equivalent amount of meat.