Reptile & Amphibian Forums

What size of screen cage should a full grown Spiny tail iguana be in?

In the minimal sense, it's about the size of the iguana. I have a Black iguana (Cten. similis), which I presume you also have. the adult size is a kind of chunky 12 inch snout-to-vent length, weighing in at about 4 pounds. With full tail, 3 or 4 feet long. Mine lives in a 6 foot long, 18 inch deep, and four foot high viv, with a central tree trunk to climb. The rule is, 1.5X length, 1.0X width, and 1.0 for height. She needs a better one.

When you're not thinking minimalist, you can go as big as you want. In a way, the bigger the better, except that big vivs make it hard to catch a lizard that you want to tame. Long chases, panicked iguanas. If you want tame, stay minimal, but don't expect taming to happen soon. It probably takes a year for a C. similis to get the idea they you are not trying to eat her.

I have a smaller spiny-tailed, a C. palearis, who has been about 16 inches overall for the last ten years. She has attained her species' normal size. She lives with the C.similis, which i think is very odd, because the general rule with iguanas is, no multiple housing - you never know when the worst will suddenly happen. But these two get along. I have my theories, but I won't bore you with them.

All my best,

Roger

Information about Ctenosaurus is very hard to find. It's virtually all anecdotal. In some habitats, the similis is extremely arboreal, while in others, it hangs out at the base of trees or even in and under logs. Kingsnake has a Cyclura-Ctenosaurua (sp) forum, if you want to look it up.