Iguana iguana

ACACIA thickets, mangrove edge; near water in otherwise xeric areas; in bushes and trees, on open rocky ground, cliff faces, rocky crevices (Schwartz and Henderson 1991). Mostly arboreal; juveniles sleep in low trees and bushes; adults probably in large trees, rock piles, rock crevices, or burrows (Schwartz and Henderson 1991). Small juveniles more terrestrial (Fitch and Henderson 1977). Good swimmer. In Panama, usually stayed close to lake shoreline (Bock et al. 1989, Rand et al. 1989). Eggs are laid in burrows dug in open areas, often a sand bank (Fitch and Henderson 1977). Usually returns to same nesting site each year (Bock et al. 1989).

Hatchlings in Panama dispersed average of 250 m (maximum 1750 m) from nest site to hatchling habitat where they became sedentary; females traveled average of 425 m (maximum 1400 m) from home range to nesting site (Bock and McCracken 1988); 2 females moved 470 m and 1140 m from center of home range to nesting area (Rand et al. 1989); regarded as sedentary outside breeding season, core area of home range over 6 months ranged from about 1200 sq m in a juvenile to about 9500 sq m in large adult male (another study found smaller male home range size) (Rand et al. 1989).

Oviposition strongly synchronous (February-March) in Panama (Bock and Rand 1989). Nesting occurred mainly from mid-April through May on Curacao (Copeia 1993:790-798). Clutch size 11-54, largest in large females. Most eggs hatch in about 10 weeks, April to June (Fitch and Henderson 1977). See Mora (1989) for information on communal nesting in Costa Rica. Excessive soil moisture due to above average rainfall may result in nesting failure (Bock and Rand 1989). Large males may do most of breeding.