Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I just obtained this juvenile pair from Lynn (Big Time Reptiles) yesterday. I took the pictures with my phone, so they aren't the best quality shots, but they give you an idea of the excellent quality of the animals. The female is about 17" total length and the male is about 18" total length.

Female

Male

OMG! Those are awesome like Tom Crutchfield's! I wished I could them like you.

I can tell yours have really nice colors to them. Some people like edit the photos and make the colors more intense. You don't need all that if you are keeping them and feeding them right.

Wow Matt they are beautiful!!
Jeff

Very nice, but those are not banana pectinatas.

What are they?
Jeff

Hey Kelly,

Since you bought this up ....and you are the expert...however modest you are, I would like you to lay out the characteristics of "banana" morph of C. pectinata. I have bought "TRUE" banana morphs from you and others who has bred them; I have also bought C. pectinat that were sold as banana morph from Mexico; and I have seen C. pectinata that were WC in Florida, that goes on to develop some yellow. I don't think people should sell any yellowish pectinata as banana morph. I do not know what these Mexican banana pectinata, that I imported from Mexico, will turn into as adults, so I have decided not to sell any babies (extra males) until I find out exactly how they turn out as adults.

Ty

Hey Mark,

I agree that these don't look like banana pectinatas I have seen bred by Kelly Paul and you. Can you tell us what you think the characteristics we should look for in banana morphs?

Ty

I actually believe that the true "banana pectinata" may be a separate sub-species of ctenosuara. One, they dont get as large as the typical mexican pectinata, they seem to be a little more stocky (at least males), if the heads have black, the black is a deep dark black, and obviously have a deep rich yellow or orange color oppose to the pale yellow, whitish yellow, or yellow gray of the common mexican pectinata. They also seem to have a more mellow demeanor than common pectinatas, even when captive raised from babies. Color alone, is not a determiner of a sub species, and an extensive scale count from both and DNA work may need to be done by a legit researcher to determine whether my belief is correct.

Do all Ctenosaurs eat some, or a lot, of insects?

Great post Mark!

I am really glad this subject came up and I think Mark hit the nail on the head. I can show a color progression of yearlings to five years old. Babies of course hatch out bright green and at around six weeks old to 3 months the green turns to grey with black banding. Due they eat insects? Yes. For anyone looking to purchase these from anyone including myself I would ask to see pictures of the parents. If they make some lame ass excuse and can't produce some verifiable photographic proof... I myself probably wouldn't purchase them.
I have seen pictures of my animals with me holding them used in some European adds and it just chaps my hide. On to some fun things here are some pictures. I am a dinosaur. I am barely able to pull off posting so I do not photo shop. These are their true colors.Try to ignor the orange nail polish. That was used for sale purposes. I have pictured here a yearling male, yearling female, and a two year old male.
Ty thanks for the invite.

I am posting additional pictures of a 3 year old male and a five year old male. Females are just as colorful as the males. I just like taking pictures of the males because of their crest.

I forgot to mention color increases with age on the banana pectinata. I have also talked to Manny Hernandez who has more field experience chasing spiney-tails in South Florida than anyone I know and he has never seen what he would call a banana pectinata in the wild. So that could be an urban myth..

Are you talking about the wild of Florida? Are these guys extinct in their home range?

Well actually, the green babies become brown and the brown turns to yellow and then more yellow as they get older.

You are correct. There may have been once uppon a time, banana phase C. Pectinata but I have never seen or caught a true banana phase. The closest I have caught to a banana was a mild yellow animal which turned pinkish/cream color as an adult. I also agree with Mark and too beleive that banana phase pectinata are or should be considered a seperate subspecies for the same reasons he mentioned. In C.pectinata, mild yellow pigmentation does not evolve into darker yellow. Dark browns turn into deep yellowing. Mild yellow turns into white, cream, or pinkish coloration. This is a picture of what a juvenile pectinata with mild yellow could turn out to be. I'll post some more pics.

This is the closest I came to catching a banana phase. I'll post pics later of what it turned out to be.

Here is a pic of a high white c. pectinata adult.

ah yes, i remember her well, and the most yellow florida wild caught I had seen, but she eventually turned a tannish white.

Just curious, but what are they then? How can the average herper tell the difference?

The average herper wouldn't know what they were to begin with since they aren't a ball python. LOL-Sorry I couldn't resist.

I found this a very interesting thread so far. Mark M. & Kelly Paul have really added some great info here. I've been wanting Banana pectinata for a long time. This recent mexican import is very interesting- the adult picture I've seen had a mostly black head.

The current US Banana pectinata stock has been here for a long time. Maybe they've been bottlenecked a bit over the years with limited genetic stock. Maybe the originals were brought in from a certain population that isn't the same locality as these new Mexican banana pectinata. I like the fact that we finally got some new/fresh genetics/bloodlines from Mexico for the hobby.

Great work everybody with the breedings. They are such neat animals and it's sad that more people don't know, or care, about them.

Graham
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I think a lot of people do care about them and are very interested in them, but true banana pectinata are difficult to acquire as they sell fast and are presently produced in small numbers. That may be changing somewhat...
These are yellow pectinatas that are very nice. I have been really researching pictures and these guys over the past few days and, as everyone else has said, ask for pictures of the adult breeders. Size is also indicative of what you may be working with. The markings on the legs and body are also different. Though I bet these animals may get more yellow over time, they are not the banana pectinata we are talking about here. I was hoping they would be, but now I know more and am still learning about these pectinata forms and potential subspecies. The seller and I have made arrangements to get these animals back to him and refund my purchase, so things are working out and he has been helpful.

Thanks Mark, Kelly, and Ty.

Hey Matt, those are some pretty neat animals that you have. If you have the space I would definitely keep them. Especially if They are male and female and have a good demeanor. I would try to find their origin from Lynn.I have raised some of the Florida wild caught babies myself a couple of times and they have never been what I was looking for but I think you have animals that are worth a shot to raise up. I don't know what you paid but maybe you could negotiate a better price and keep them. Its nice to hear that you are working with reputable people.

Thanks for clear things up Mark and Kelly.....and thank you Matt for opening this conversation. In the past few years that i had the pleasure of working with this species....it seems that almost every answer leads to more questions. I have in my collection, about 40 pectinata that were "CB" in Mexico and sold as banana morphs. I can say they are totally different in growth rate, markings and behavior than the TRUE banana morph that few breeders has produced in U.S. Physically, they are thinner, longer, faster growing and comes in different variations of yellow, grey and green. Behavior wise, they have been timid to the point i rarely seen them move in my presence. Their behavior, unlike the true banana morphs, are similar to the wild caught C. pectinata from FL. Although it is always prudent, especially in the case of C. pectinata, to ask for parent photos, i would not trust the parent photos that has been circulated as such if the babies are from Mexico.

Ty that is a very good point. And even amongst the true banana iguanas things have changed. I am always looking to pair high yellow animals with high yellow animals. enclosed is a picture of a 7 year old female that I have chosen not to breed. If I do breed her I would sell her babies for less money. My hope is to someday find a male similar in coloration to her. I would then call them "rotten" bananas because of the higher percentage of black. This female is also similar to the animals I started with. Also pictured is a two month old baby with the female.

Now back to my cave....

But Kelly, if those so called rotten bananas came from regular banana pecs, they still carry the high yellow gene. I have gotten very yellow lizards from low yellow adults (well low yellow might be the wrong term, so I'll say bright yellow but with more black). If you have plenty of bananas, then I would breed more yellow to more yellow.

Hey Mark
I have been breeding the high yellow to high yellow. My goal was to produce, one day, a solid yellow pecinata. After looking at a lot of yellow ones I would like to take a step backwards and try to get some with more black. But you are 100% correct. If I breed this female to a high yellow male no doubts the off spring will have more yellow than that of the female.

This has been a very informative thread for a newby such as myself!Sounds like my 2 males are imports!
Jeff

The average helper probably can't unless he gets an adult.