Ideally, visual barriers (rocks piled into walls) should be arranged to ensure that feeding, basking and shade areas are individually available to potentially incompatible iguanas.Ī single pair will be the most compatible group. Retreats or some form of cavity or burrow to allow complete concealment of the iguanas will reduce nervousness and the likelihood of fighting. Basking sites need to be available to all inhabitants. A large outdoor summer enclosure should be considered as can be seen at London Zoo. Sufficient space is essential a single pair of adult rhino iguanas should have a minimum of approximately 9m2 of well-designed enclosure floor space. Successful captive management will depend largely on enclosure design. Adults will climb stout branches in search of food but climbing activity is usually restricted to finding a basking site on a large rock.Ĭyclura species do not usually live very long in captivity (usually less then 8 years, far shorter then probable natural life spans). In their native habitat these animals are seen on beaches, in grassy fields, and in barren open terrain that has some rocks/logs or similar cover. These iguanas are ground dwelling lizards. Rhinocerous iguana ( Cyclura cornuta) (© Raimond Spekking / Wikimedia Commons / CC-BY-SA-3.0 & GFDL ) In captivity they require large, varied, frequent and nutritionally balanced feedings. Rhino iguanas are basically herbivorous, eating foliage, leaves and greens, fruits and flowers, vegetables, root crops and squash, legumes and eggs, but they will also eat small mammals and invertebrates. They are listed as endangered by CITES and individual Caribbean governments. In all cases, habitat destruction by man and the introduction of animals such as pigs and goats has pushed these iguanas to the point of near extinction. Rhinoceros iguanas are restricted to the Caribbean islands, where each taxon occupies a restricted and usually exclusive distribution within the area. The young are about 18cm long at hatching and are active lizards. They may appear slow and clumsy but can move for short distances with great speed lifting the body high off the ground. Like many other giant species their coloration is dark olive-green to brown. The tail is compressed and well muscled and can deliver a solid whipping blow. Any bite from these animals should be considered dangerous. The teeth are solid and broad, and the jaw muscles are extremely powerful. The members of the rhinoceros iguana group are similar in size, morphology and behaviour.
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