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WHO HAS THE NICEST LEWISI HYBRIDS AVAILABLE???

Probably Tom Crutchfield... I've been dying to get his Rhino for quite a while..

There are a few breeders with top of the line lewisi Hybrids. I myself is one of those breeders. Other breeders are Tom Crutchfeild, and Sam from Florida Iguana and Tortoise breeders.

Who has the best lewisi hybrid?

This is a loaded question and there is no simple answer. I am assuming the question is specific to "the blueness" of the animals. In the past few years, I have acquired close to 100 crosses. my experiences are as follows:

1) Regardless of how blue they are, they are all beautiful in their special and unique patterns and colors.
2) There are wide range of "blueness" in the pure, wild populations of lewisis.
3) In the USA pet population (more than 1000????), Tom, sam and Manny has the reputation of having the "best" lewisi crosses and I have bought from all three.
4) All three do have the "best" lewisi crosses; they also have "not so blue" lewisi crosses for sale.
5) All three are honest enough to tell you the quality of the animals and they will be prices accordingly---typically between $200 to $1000 for babies and up to $20,000 for adults.
6) I have also purchased from other breeders, from known whole sellers, from kingsnake ads, from Faunaclassified ads, at the expo, from Craigslist and from friends.
7) In above cases, high prices did not always follow the "blueness" of the animals purchase: some individuals that I have paid only few hundred dollars has turned out as blue as those I have paid thousands for.

Unless someone has Pure Lewisis the babies will always vary. Genetics are a funny thing... I say the person with the best lewisi is the person who is lucky enough to produce a very blue Iguana with confirmation and head shape that most closely resembles a Full Blooded animal from a particular egg,,,its always egg to egg I dont beleive any one breeder produces the best and babies be bought sight unseen. Personally I dont even believe in judging from Hatchlings because you can never he sure of body confirmation and head shape which is a big thing if your looking for your Iguana to look like a lewisi and not a genetic freak hybrid with odd shaped head

Thank you for the responses everyone I ended up with one from Tom from his best of the best ad. The father was very nice.

what did you get...a male or a female?

I have no clue as to the sex. did you end up with its dad?

no.

oh I thought You ended up with him guess I was wrong

I couldn’t agree more with Ty. Honesty is probably the most important component in buying a Lewisi.
It’s difficult to project in the future ultimately what that hatchling will look like some day.
But you have to be assured that at least you are truly getting a hatchling of the parent that is represented.
I have dealt with Tom along time and I have always found him honest.
I know TY and Manny and their reputations are at the top.

Like Ty said, there are differences between animals in shade of blue and how deep the color is, I see difference every year between clutch mates.
And Like Ty says, sometimes the Bluest parents do not have the bluest hatchlings.

But we all do it, we buy what we perceive are the best looking parents.
Color, Striping, body, size and head shape are all elements but first comes the breeders integrity.

Again I am going to agree with Ty, I have seen and bought animals that were dirt cheap and felt they were an outstanding animal, so price does not dictate quality.
One last thing, don’t give up on your animals to early; I have seen animals really change after a few years.
The time of the year, how hot they are and where they are in their shade all play a significant role in what that animal looks like.

Sam Pascucci
FITB

Don't fortget...Diet also plays a role on how your animal looks too. If you feed them well and they are healthy, they look better for ya. And I find giving them some winter squash really brings out the color.

I love Cyclura and I hope to get one someday... IT's the last fronteir in herp keeping...the ultimate reptile any herp enthusiast should get.