from another board, reposted with permission. This was such a good post, I had to repost.
"Igsley is a 10 year old male green iguana. He has been residing with
Larry and I for the past 6 years. He was given to Larry with his cage,
and had a fairly decent life. Diet was so-so, cage a little too small,
etc. All in all he was healthy and is now 27 lbs of green goodness.
5 years ago, I discovered the Iguana Den
10 years ago, Igsley was probably captured in the wild, shipped in with
500 or so other small iguanas and sold in a pet store.
15 years ago, iguanas were pretty popular, and for the next 5 years,
their population would dramatically rise in the US as the "cool" pet.
Their popularity has leveled off and dwindled somewhat since then, but
they are still shipped in in massive quantities.
20 years ago, iguanas were just being introduced to the American market
in mass quantities.
30 years ago, iguanas were rare in the American market.
40 years ago, iguanas were basically unheard of by most Americans.
Now, here is my point:
40 years ago, iguanas were thought to live about 20 years or so in the
wild, though the mortality rate of juveniles was high due to predators
30 years ago, iguanas were living in a few zoos and households, usually
outside and brought in for the winter. Iguanas were living about 5-10
years or so, due to the fact keepers though they required meat in their
diet
20 years ago, iguanas were being sold in pet stores, but there was not
much information about them. Captive life span was toted as 3-5 years
10 years ago, a few expensive books became available with good care.
Internet was becoming available, but was not widely used for iguanas.
Iguanas reached their peak popularity and were throw away pets, expected
to live 1-3 years, though a few experts were keeping iguanas for much
longer, and sharing their information. This information began showing
when iguanas started living longer and longer.
5 years ago, internet is widely popular, and the average lifespan has
risen to 5 years, and old iguanas are not unheard of
Today: the average lifespan is about 6 years or so, though now, we can
only expect it to rise
Iguanas are not as popular, and many chain
stores no longer sell them.
The moral of the story: 10 years ago, Igsley only had about a 2% chance
of living to the age of 3. At 10 years old, he has beaten the odds, and
we fully expect him to live another 15 to 20 years
He is one of the
lucky ones, one of the exclusive few.
How long will your iguana live?
Gail Elsey
Exotic Pet Rescue, Rehab and Placement, a 501c(3) charity
www.scalesandtails.org
Iguana Care and Web Organization
www.iguanaden.com
"Help the Helpless"
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I would hope that with the care I've been giving Lar, that she will live at least another 10yrs. She is approx. 4yrs old now.
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