Labowski

Labowski

Iguana

Labowski has been handed down from a former student of the Zoological Training Center,

based here at the Zoo, to the Exhibit Curator, and finally to the main Zoo where he now calls home.

Needless to say he has had a good background of care and oversees the staff from his rather

lofty exhibit in the main support building here at Cat Tales.

Full-grown green iguanas are usually between four and six feet,

although they have been known to grow up to seven feet long.

This includes the tail, however, which can make up about half the body length and,

in addition to its green color, has black stripes. Green iguanas, not surprisingly, are green in color,

but can be found in many different shade ranging from bright green, to a dull, grayish-green.

Their skin is rough, with a set of pointy scales along the iguana's back.

Green iguanas have long fingers and claws to help them climb and grasp.

The green iguana is found over a large geographic area, from Mexico to southern Brazil

and Paraguay, as well as on the Caribbean Islands.

Iguanas are diurnal, meaning that they are awake during the day. They are also cold-blooded,

which means they do not produce their own body heat. In other words, if it is cold, the iguana is cold too.

So to stay warm, green iguanas bask in the sun, lying on warm rocks as they soak up the sun's heat.

Green iguanas are omnivorous, so they eat both plants and meat.

They tend to eat mostly plants, though, especially leaves and fruits.

Sometimes green iguanas (especially young ones) will eat eggs, insects, and small vertebrates.