Animals that start with I

Iguana

Get ready to meet the coolest lizard in town! Discover fascinating iguana fun facts and impress your friends with your newfound knowledge! Ready to join Albert as he explores amazing iguana facts for toddlers, preschoolers and kindergartners? Click on the images to hear silly sounds and then read about fun iguana facts like what do iguanas look like?, what sound do iguanas make?, how big are iguanas?, what do iguanas eat?, where do iguanas live?, and more fun facts about iguanas for kids!

What do iguanas look like?

Iguanas are reptiles. That means that they are cold-blooded and don’t have any hair or fur.

Iguanas are large lizards. They have long, whip-like tails and strong, sturdy legs.

They have a crest which runs down their back. It looks a little bit like a horse’s mane sticking up.

What sound do iguanas make?

Click the the image to hear the sound!

Iguanas make lots of sounds. They can hiss when they’re angry and chirp when they’re happy! They can also growl and grunt.

How big are iguanas?

The green iguana is the largest in the world and can grow to the length of a door (5-7 feet, 1-2 meters).

The spiny-tailed iguana is the smallest in the world but can still grow up to half the height of a door (3 feet, 1 meter).

What do iguanas eat?

Iguanas are herbivores. This means that they only eat plants.

They enjoy fruit, flower buds and young leaves.

Marine iguanas, that live in the sea, scrape off algae from rocks to eat.

Where do iguanas live?

Iguanas live in hot places. Because they are cold-blooded, they rely on the heat from the sun to warm their bodies and help them move.

They live in tropical forests, deserts and coastlines.

Some places, like Florida, also have iguanas running around in cities! These are from people releasing their pet iguanas because they couldn’t look after them.

More fun facts about iguanas for kids

The marine iguana is black. This means that when it gets out of the sea, it absorbs lots of heat from the sun keep it warm. They also have flattened tails to help them swim better.
In Central and South America, people raise iguanas to eat them!
Iguanas are one of the most endangered animals in the world. This is mostly due to loss of habitat. One species, the Galápagos pink land iguana, is very rare. There thought to be less than 200 in the wild.
Iguanas have 3 eyes! Although the iguana’s third eye isn’t a proper eye, it senses light like normal eyes do. It sits on top of the iguana’s head and tells them if there is a predator overhead, such as a bird flying in the sky. What if you had 3 eyes?!
Iguanas, like a lot of lizards, can lose their tails. If a hungry predator grabs them, the iguanas remove their tails. This keeps the predator distracted while the iguana runs away. They can then grow back a new tail.
Like all reptiles, iguanas shed their skin. When they grow, their skin becomes tight and so they change it. Just like we change our clothes and buy bigger shirts when we grow, these lizards grow bigger skin.

Sources: Wikipedia, Live Science, Creative Commons, Britannica.com and Freesound.org