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I strongly suggest not breeding your iguanas. There are far too many in the world in need of a good home. Please rescue one from a rescue center. You can find some good places on my links page. Its the most wonderful time of the year. Breeding season happens when your iguana matures at about 1 1/2 years old. In the wild, iguanas mate towards the end of summer, which lasts for about 30 days, and females carry the eggs, lay and incubates them through the winter. Breeding season happens once a year but in some cases twice. This happens when the weather has abnormal patterns like two wet seasons followed by dry season. In captivity breeding season can last anywhere from 1 - 4 months. The exact time of year varies due to what region of Central/South America the iguana originally came from and where you live. Why the breeding season lasts so long and starts at different times with captive iguanas is not known. What we do know is that the farther away you live from their native home the later in the season and the longer the breeding season will last. Breeding season will happen about the same time every year unless you move further north or south. Male Iguanas Most male iguanas, but not all, tend to get aggressive and territorial during the mating season. They will start posturing, head bobbing, restlessness, puffing up the body, dewlap flaring, and other behavioral changes. Some iguanas will stalk their owners. Males owners are often seen as competition, while females owners are seen as potential mates. Iguanas have been known to launch themselves at their owners and causing very serious injuries. Some times just wearing a certain color can start an attack. Different things can set an iguana off so if you pay close attention of what was going on at the time so you can try to avoid attacks in the future. Male iguanas may try to mate with shirts, towels, stuffed animals, and even their female owners. Giving your male iguana a stuff animal iguana or shirt can help the aggression and provide some relief for him ( This helps out tremendously). Some people think that neutering an iguana will stop the aggression, this is not true. Aggressive behavior comes from testosterone and hormones, so neutering a male iguana will not make a bit of difference. Neutering an iguana can be dangerous and should only be done by a vet that is skilled and experienced in this procedure. There are ways of dealing with aggressive behavior. You can use a strong tone of voice or punish him by putting him in a place he doesn't like very much for 15 minutes or so. You can posture and charge back. What ever you do don't hit, throw, or hurt them. This behavior is natural to them and if you hurt them they will never trust you. Your iguana can be managed and handled during this time, just more caution must be taken. Male iguanas will normally turn a
orange or red color on the legs, head, back, and
neck. Female iguanas Some females turn a orange or red in color but most do not. Usually only dominant females will change color. Females can lay eggs even if they have not mated. Some lay every year while other lay every other or every couple of years. I know of one iguana that is 7 years old and has never laid any eggs. If your iguana is going to lay eggs then she will slowly stop eating and just about laying time she will probably stop eating all together. This is normal. She will need more calcium at this time, which is used to build the shells of the eggs. Metabolic Bone Disease (MBD) may develop so the extra calcium is needed during this time along with water-rich foods. When she stops eating, getting calcium and water in her can be a problem. What you could do is give her a type of calcium that can be administered by mouth. NeoCalglucon is a human calcium supplement that can be used. Talk to your vet about how much to give. The vet may also suggest something different. A common problem in females is egg binding (not able to lay the eggs). There are several things that may cause this, ruptured egg, eggs to large or two eggs bound together, improper nesting site, improper temperatures, improper diet, dehydration, and not enough exercise are just a few. Exercise is important for a smooth laying. The signs to watch for are the female becoming lethargic and non responsive. She will be digging and wandering around. She will become weak and stressed. If you see one or a few eggs scattered around throughout many hours or days, or acting lethargy and straining then she could be egg bound. If this happens then you will have to go to the vet ASAP. If you are not sure if your female is gravid or if she is egg bound, then get her to a reptile vet. Don't guess here. If she is egg bound and it is not treated, then it will cause death for female iguana. Some owners have chosen to have their females spayed if they have had a history of egg binding. This should only be done by a vet that is skilled and experienced in this procedure. If by mistake a tiny bit of ovarian tissue is left then eggs can develop. Since the tube in which the egg cell resides in is removed during spaying, there is no place for the eggs to go. They can rupture or rupture through the abdominal cavity and start rotting which will cause death. I suggest talking with your vet before deciding to spay. The gestation (pregnancy) lasts for about 8 weeks. They don't begin to show until the last couple of weeks before laying. At this point you will need to make an egging box. Depending on the size of the iguana will depend on the size of the box. 1. Iguanas like to dig burrows in the ground to lay their eggs so you will need some kind of box or container like maybe two large cat litter pans taped together with a hole cut for access in or an large plastic garbage can. Any large waterproof container will work. As for the filling you will need: 14 qts sterile potting soil (from peat, available from nurseries) no chemicals or perlite, 1 qt sterile sand (from nurseries or playground sand from hardware stores), 9 cups of warm water. Note: The egging box and filling is provided by Melissa Kaplan. 2. When it is mixed together, make sure its not to watery are heavy. 3. You need to put the box in a quiet warm place. A bedroom closet works well or if your iguana's cage is large enough then put it there. Put a heating pad under it so the soil stays warm. 4. Now show her the box and leave her be, when she is ready she will lay her eggs. 5. Around the fourth or fifth week her appetite will start to falter off because the eggs are starting to take up room in side her (compressing the intestines and other organs). She will also start drinking more water. 6. Around the sixth and seventh week you should be able to feel the eggs along the sides of her abdomen. This needs to be done gently. If you rupture the eggs it can cause death. 7. About the eighth week you will be able to see small bulges along her sides (the eggs). Once you see the bulges then laying normally happens about 5-7 days later. 8. Egg laying can take up to 10 hours. The number of eggs varies from 10 to 40+. 9. When she is finally done, have food and water ready for her. She is going to look extremely thin, almost anorexic. 10. Over the next few weeks feed high calcium foods and calcium supplements. With in a month she should start looking like her normal self again. Note: If the female has mated with a male iguana then when disposing the eggs boil them or freeze them before throwing them out. This will insure that the eggs will not hatch in the garbage or the dump some where. If you decide that you want to incubate the eggs if they are fertile (female must have mated with male) and raise the hatchling iguanas then first I want you to think about this: 1. Will you be able to find good homes for 20 or more baby iguanas? 2. Are you willing to make sure that the homes you find will provide all the necessities that the iguana needs (not just letting them die because they don't know how to care for iguanas or just don't care to know)? 3. If you can't find good homes then are you willing to care for all these iguanas? Do you have the money for all the costs (lights, food, vet bills, etc)? 4. With all the abandoned, sick, and mistreated iguanas in the world, do you really want to bring more into it? If in the event you do decide to incubate the eggs then I will provide you a link to the information. Click here. So its time to learn about baths, swimming......well, the whole nine yards. Shall we go and get started? Great, I thought you would go with me.
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