Desert Iguana

Dipsosaurus dorsalis

Reptile

Transcript:

Today on Animal Fact Files, we’re discussing the desert iguana. These iguanas get their common name from where they live. Residing in desert regions of the southwestern United States and northwestern Mexico, along with islands in the Gulf of California, the desert iguana is one of the most heat tolerant reptiles in its range. These lizards can withstand temperatures around 115 degrees Fahrenheit (46°C). In fact, when other reptiles hide away during the hottest parts of the day, desert iguanas become the most active! This adaptation may also help them avoid predators who may be unable to handle these extreme temperatures.

Desert iguanas reach up to sixteen inches (41cm) in length from the end of their blunt nose to the tip of their long tail. A desert iguana’s tail makes up about 60% of its full body length. Like anoles, if threatened by a predator, the desert iguana is able to autotomize, or drop, part of its tail to distract the aggressor in an attempt to get away. Predators to desert iguanas include birds of prey, foxes, and snakes such as coachwhip snakes. If they manage to escape, desert iguanas can run up a tree or into a burrow dug out from under desert scrub bushes. They can run so fast they sometimes run bipedally! Desert iguanas can climb trees or other foliage and will do so to escape a predator. Like chuckwallas, once a desert iguana enters its burrow it can inflate its body to twice its size making it extremely difficult to remove from its home.

These reptiles are most commonly seen in sandy or rocky areas with bushes they utilize for shelter and for food. Desert iguanas release fluorescent chemicals from their femoral pores, or the pores found on their inside of their thighs, which denote their territory. While the human eye is unable to perceive this, it’s believed desert iguanas can! Color seems to be a big part of the desert iguana’s life. In studies, they’ve been known to eat yellow colored non-food material, like field flags. Yellow seems to be their favorite color for food sources. These reptiles love yellow flowers and yellow grubs, though they also eat other plant materials like leaves and buds that come in other colors. They’re considered folivores, but they also eat insects and may occasionally feast on the fecal deposits of other animals or themselves!

Desert iguanas are territorial. Males compete over females by showing aggressive behavior towards each other, such as push ups, as seen in other iguana species. Mating occurs from April to July. The female gestates between two and three months before digging a nest in which to lay her eggs. She’ll lay three to eight eggs and leave them forever. Desert iguanas generally hatch from their eggs between July and August. Often the female only produces one nest per year, but rarely she may produce a second in a single season. The babies are on their own from birth and take approximately three years to become sexually mature, though research is lacking for their life cycle in general. It’s not known how long these lizards live in the wild; captive animals average seven years of life with the oldest known individual doubling this!

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