Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello I've had a single Iguana in the past but when that one pasted away at 15 I decided to buy a pair. I have heard that male Iguanas will unvail the flap when threatened, but do the females not also do this. Basically I'm looking for any physical or behavioral signs that will indicate which is the female and which is the male. Thank you... I do cage them in the same cage and besides the initial show of dominance (head bobbing by the larger brighter ig) nothing has happend.

It's takes alot of time to get an iguana to trust you, especially a young one. Some iguanas are more aggressive than others. I named my iguana Lucifer because of how nasty he is. He bites, claws, hisses, and tail whips. I have just recently accomplished taking him out of his cage without him tail whipping. Just remember to be patient. It takes time.

were they sold to you as a sexed pair? they look a little small to be sexed 100%, the head bobbing is a more typically male trait, and arm waiving if more female, but not always, i had one i thought was a male forever and had living with a female, acted more male, but latter looked and surprise, it was a girl!
were you going to try to breed? if they are just pets, 2 girls would get along just as well for the most part, males may fight so lookout for that.
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!

>>Hello I've had a single Iguana in the past but when that one pasted away at 15 I decided to buy a pair. I have heard that male Iguanas will unvail the flap when threatened, but do the females not also do this. Basically I'm looking for any physical or behavioral signs that will indicate which is the female and which is the male. Thank you... I do cage them in the same cage and besides the initial show of dominance (head bobbing by the larger brighter ig) nothing has happend.
>>

They appear way to young to sex right now. Be prepared in advance. You can already see from the attached photo some territorial behavior and body positioning. You may need to separate these guys down the road.

Male will basically have these parts much larger than females.
Femoral pores
Hemipenel bulges
Sub Tympanic Membrane (the disk like thing under the ear opening)
Fatty Jowels
Dewlap

This is an adult male green iguana. You can see the difference in the head structure

and another

Here is a female

and another

photos of femoral pores

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Cindy
PHFaust

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