Tammy, office manager extraordinare, usually prepares the animal for pick up. She had prepared a young green iguana for a one-week stint at Haggar Elementary School Kindergarten. This iguana named Mike was in a nice aquarium with heat light; hide box, water bowl, and a bag-o-salad on top. I passed the cage and noticed that Mike was hanging from the lid. That is not unusual in a new cage. I walked by an hour later and he still hung. Thinking he might be caught in the wire top, I loosened his claws and he settled in on top of his hide box. It was not ten minutes later when once again Mike hung from the lid. After the fourth attempt at relocation I decided that Mike just has issues with being ground-bound.

The common green iguana, most popular in the pet trade, is a native of tropical Mexico, Central and South America. He is the largest of lizards after the monitors reaching lengths of over seven feet. He is strongly built, has powerful claws and a broad head. He is an excellent swimmer and a good climber. He defends himself with powerful blows with his tail.

I think Mike would really enjoy a tropical setting in his native habitat. I can imagine him spending the warm day sunning on a flat rock near the beach, fanning his bright orange dewlap at passing females. In the evening he would dine on a dinner salad of fresh green plants always mindful of eating too much. He does not want to weigh too much for his scales. He would doze as the sun set behind the palm trees, sinking slowly into the sand and surf. Oops! Sorry, I wander when I wonder. Mike will return next week and rejoin his friends in the big cage.