Text: World Animal Conservation Association
August 14 International Lizard Day International Lizard Day 3
In nature, lizards are the most widely distributed animal group in the world after birds: except for Antarctica, Arctic and a few islands, they can be seen in most parts of the earth. Lizards cannot fly and have limited ability to move. Their secret to conquering the earth lies in their special body structure and various adaptive behaviors evolved. Most lizards are carnivorous. Today we will talk about one of the few "vegetarians" in the lizard family - green iguana .
Adult iguana
Green iguana (Iguana) looks like a dinosaur, but has a gentle personality and rarely actively attacks humans and other animals.
Green iguana larvae
Green iguana is native to Central America , South America, Caribbean and North America Florida, etc. mainly inhabit tropical rainforests, dry and hot forests, and savannas.
Green iguanas are natural disguise masters, and they don’t have many natural enemies in the wild. However, their bright appearance, cool appearance and gentle character pose a fatal threat to them. The reason is that green iguanas are deeply favored by crawling lovers, resulting in wild green iguanas being captured and traded in large quantities.
Take the United States as an example. The United States is the largest breeding country for green iguanas. In 1995, the number of green iguanas imported by the United States reached one million. Although there are green iguanas in Florida, the state still imports tens of thousands of green iguanas from Central and South America every year. The export quota record of CITES shows that in the 15 years from 1997 to 2012, a total of more than 5 million green iguanas were exported from the origin of Central America, with an average of more than 300,000 per year. In recent years, green iguanas have become more and more common in the wild animal pet market in China.
Green iguanas have been raised by humans for only a few decades. Even individuals who reproduce artificially, they are essentially wild animals. The best protection for wild animals is of course to keep them in nature forever. Out of love, the practice of raising wild animals as pets is not worthy of advocacy, because doing so not only affects the welfare and survival of animals, but also has many adverse effects on the ecological environment and human beings themselves.
Raising green iguanas may be illegal.
Green iguana has been included in Appendix II to the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Animals (CITES), and its international trade in living organisms and products is strictly regulated by the Convention. In our country, green iguanas are also protected by the Wildlife Protection Law. The trading and raising green iguanas may be subject to corresponding legal responsibilities.
In addition, green iguanas have strict requirements on food and environmental humidity, temperature and light, and are not suitable for pet breeding.
Green iguana is best suited to live in the high humidity and high heat rainforest in Central America. However, in China, especially in the north, dry and cold climates are completely unable to meet their temperature and humidity needs. Iguanas will have difficulty peeling in dry environments, and the continuous accumulation of skin that cannot fall off naturally will turn into thick dead skin , which not only affects the activities of iguanas, but also provides a breeding ground for the large number of bacteria and parasites.
Lizards are cold-blooded animals that need to consume calories from the environment to complete the necessary physiological metabolism and daily activities. Too low temperatures can cause iguanas to refuse to eat and lose physical fitness. Although some experienced owners will equip iguanas with constant temperature boxes, heating lamps and water basins, constant temperature lamps often burn iguanas, or breed bacteria and parasites. In short, it is difficult to simulate the natural environment of green iguanas in the wild, making green iguanas very susceptible to illness and death.
Green iguana dead skin/burn
Although green iguana feeds on plants, it has high requirements for diet. The recipe for wild green iguana contains more than 100 different plants. The tropical rainforest is rich in vegetation, and the food choices of green iguanas are also rich and diverse. Calcium and phosphorus are extremely important for green iguanas. In natural environments, green iguanas can meet the needs of the body by selectively feeding. However, in artificial breeding environments, the types of food provided by the owner are limited, which often leads to hypocalcification or hypophosphatosis in green iguanas.
Feeding green iguanas
Low calcium disease is also a common disease in artificially raised green iguanas. In addition to being related to imbalance in dietary structure, lack of sun exposure is also an important cause. Indoors, iguanas raised usually do not get enough natural light. Although some owners will equipped UVB heat-concentrating lamps in their feeders, excessive exposure time will harm the health of the green iguanas.
MBD green iguana joint swelling
cut off the tail escape is an escape strategy for many lizards when they encounter danger, green iguana is like. Some owners ignore the wishes of iguanas and like to grab them in their hands and play with them, which causes many green iguanas to be frightened and their tails to be broken.
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Although green iguanas are small and cute, they can grow to 1.2 to 1.5 meters in just three years, and ordinary residents often cannot continue to provide it with enough feeding space. In addition, as you get older, some of the skin of the green iguana fades, causing many owners who were initially attracted by their beautiful body colors to lose interest and resell or abandon them.
Adult iguana with no longer bright colors
In some countries and regions, the invasion of green iguanas has brought serious environmental problems and economic losses to the local area. Take Puerto Rico as an example. Although it is located in Central America, there is no distribution of green iguanas. In 1995, Typhoon Maria brought some iguanas from adjacent islands to parts of Puerto Rico. Due to the lack of natural enemies, these green iguanas began to breed in large quantities on the island, and local Puerto Rico crops were severely damaged.
The same thing has also happened in Hawaii Island , Fiji Island and other places, and the local vegetation has also been severely damaged. Taiwan, China, is one of the earliest regions in Asia to start raising pets. Green iguanas entered the Taiwan market more than a decade ago. Due to artificial release and abandonment, green iguanas have formed wild populations in Taiwan. Due to the lack of natural enemies, green iguanas have reproduced in large quantities, not only destroying local vegetation, but have also been reported to be borered on river embankments, seriously threatening the lives and property of local residents.
Green iguana digs holes in Erlinxi earth embankment
Wild animals, not pets. Love cannot be wrong.
protects wild animals. We must "do something" and "do something not". The World Animal Protection Association calls on:
01
not to buy or raise wild animals as pets
02
Discover the transaction information of the online platform and immediately report to the local forest police and other law enforcement departments
03
does not have close contact with wild animals, and appreciate their beauty in nature
04
protects wild animals natural habitat
Wild animals only belong to nature.
(all pictures in the article are from the Internet)
