Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i am wondering what is the average size of 6-7 mo rhino iguana? i know they are slow growers but mines isnt lol he is growing very rapidly! he has grown from 14" in feb to 19" now thats 5" in 3 lest than 3 mos. is this ok? im guessing he will pass 24" before he hits 1 y/o!

All that means is that you are keeping him under optimal conditions as mine grow at about that rate. Most folks do not provide enough heat to get the natural growth curves you are. When kept with insufficient heat they grow much more slowly. Most believe allowing a baby Cyclura to get up to 95-100 degrees is adequate. Sadly it is NOT hot enough for maximum growth as in nature. Cyclura are just about bullet proof and will live at lower temps but MBD is far more likely to happen as heat NOT UV light is the single MOST critical thing for vitamen D synthesis to happen. The UV bulbs sold now compensate for lack of husbandry skills with many heat loving lizards and NOT just Cyclura....thanks
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

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Tom is 100000000000000% correct!!!! If you see most Cyclura and Ctenosaura in a wild envirionment, you will always catch them baking/sizzling on rocks, asphalt, etc. The high heat promotes appetite and other vital functions such as what Tom discribed and also healing if the animal is sick or wounded. As always, the animal should be given an area for releif from overheating temps in captivity.

thats good to hear thanks tom! maybe this explain his huge appetite too lol!

I believe if I'm not mistaken you bought the lizard from me did you not? I think we went over the basic husbandry stuff at the time of purchase as I do with everyone who buys a Cyclura. I think everyone selling a Cyclura should give the basic info before the aquisition of the lizard. This year I'm having very basic care sheets printed up that will be sent with every lizard purchased with special care requirements on the albino Iguanas care sheet[not much different really]. Back when I first began to keep and breed Cyclura, Varanus, and other lizards over 30 years ago there was NO such thing as UV bulbs and NO computers. One thing we did do was pay attention to the lizards. We "listened" to them and they told us what to do by observations of their behaviour....

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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

yes i did, but no we never did discuss the husbandry, however i did do research for the past year befor deciding on getting one!

this is a pic of him i took about a week ago!

Well then I failed at something I try to do when a purchase is made. Regardless it raises my respect level of you to have researched the basic husbandry BEFORE you aquired the Rhino. This is a rare occurrance these days and you should be commended on a job well done. Green Iguanas are purchased as what I call "disposable pets" because most are purchased on a whim because they are so inexpensive. This leads to great dissapointment by the keeper and usually the demise of the lizard. I'm opposed to these types of purchases and is the biggest reason why I do NOT sell Pet Store types of herps. CONGRATS AGAIN

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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

i thank you, and i whole heartedly agree, i have been to many petshops were the people give the cutomers false information on husbandry, growth, lighting ect. it really makes me sick to my stomach, that is why i buy my reptiles from breeders that are highly recommended, such as yourself, their are very few petshops here in my city that i will even cross their thresh-hold! again i thank you for such a beautiful pet!

Here was Petranella when she was 7 Months.

She is now 4.8 years old, weighing in at 11.5 lbs (yes, she gained another pound! )

my lumpy kins...

whoah she looks like she was pretty big, how long was she then?