Green iguana
Iguana iguana (Linnaeus, 1758)
The green iguana (Iguana iguana) is a lizard in the family Iguanidae, part of the order Squamata within the class Reptilia. It falls in the medium size class, with an adult body mass of 1.53 kg and a body length of 35.49 cm.
Quick facts about the green iguana
Its lifespan is 12.4 years, with values up to 19.8 years reported, and the IUCN lists it as Least Concern, not a threatened category.
- Weight
- 1.31 kg – 1.53 kgsrc for Weight
- Length
- 35.5 cmsrc for Length
- Lifespan
- 12.4 years – 19.8 yearssrc for Lifespan
- Diet
- Herbivoresrc for Diet
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Egg incubation
- 89 dayssrc for Egg incubation
- Young per litter or clutch
- 35src for Young per litter or clutch
- Age at maturity
- 2.25 years – 4.49 yearssrc for Age at maturity
- Litters or clutches a year
- 1src for Litters or clutches a year
- Lifestyle
- Arborealsrc for Lifestyle
- Conservation status
- Least Concern (IUCN)src for Conservation status
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
How big is the green iguana?
Photos of the green iguana
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
Where does the green iguana live?
Not recorded
What is the green iguana?
The green iguana (Iguana iguana), also known as the American iguana or the common green iguana, is a large, arboreal, mostly herbivorous species of lizard of the genus Iguana. Usually, this animal is simply called the iguana. The green iguana ranges over a large geographic area; it is native from southern Brazil and Paraguay as far north as Mexico. It is highly invasive in many subtropical and tropical environments throughout the world.
A herbivore, it has adapted significantly with regard to locomotion and osmoregulation as a result of its diet. It grows to 1.7 m (5.6 ft) in length from head to tail, although a few specimens have grown more than 2 m (6.6 ft) with bodyweights upward of 9 kg (20 lb).
Although this species is commonly kept as a pet because of its disposition and coloration, it can be challenging to care for properly. Its requirements for adequate space, lighting, and heat can be difficult for hobbyists to meet.
From the Wikipedia article “Green iguana” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Green_iguana&oldid=1384230149), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the green iguana endangered?
The green iguana is listed as Least Concern on the IUCN Red List: it is not currently at risk of extinction.
- LCLeast Concern
- NTNear Threatened
- VUVulnerable
- ENEndangered
- CRCritically Endangered
- EWExtinct in the Wild
- EXExtinct
Category via Wikidata (CC0). Find the full assessment on the IUCN Red List. See all Least Concern species.
How is the green iguana classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumChordata
- classReptilia
- orderSquamata
- familyIguanidae
- genusIguana
- SpeciesIguana iguana (Linnaeus, 1758)
Synonyms Iguana coerulea, Iguana emarginata, Iguana hernandessi, Iguana iguana rhinolopha, Iguana lophryoides, Iguana lophyroides, Iguana melanoderma, Iguana minima, Iguana rhinolophus, Iguana sapidissima, Iguana squamosa, Iguana tuberculata, Iguana viridis, Iguana vulgaris, Lacerta iguana, Lacerta igvana
Other names and names in other languages (67)
- American iguanaEnglish
- Bamboo chickenEnglish
- Black iguanaEnglish
- Blue iguanaEnglish
- Central American green iguanaEnglish
- Common green iguanaEnglish
- Common iguanaEnglish
- Grenadines horned iguanaEnglish
- Melanistic lesser Antilles iguanaEnglish
- Pink rhino iguana [insularis]English
- Red iguanaEnglish
- Saban black iguanaEnglish
- Saint Lucia horned iguana [sanctaluciae]English
- South American green iguanaEnglish
- إغوانة خضراءArabic
- Adi iquanaAzerbaijani
- Ігуана звычайнаяBelarusian
- Igwan boutinBreton
- leguán zelenýCzech
- LeguanDanish
- grøn leguanDanish
- Grüner LeguanGerman
- Πράσινο ΙγκουάναGreek
- Iguana comúnSpanish
- gallina de paloSpanish
- Iguana de RiberaSpanish
- Iguana verdeSpanish
- IguaaniFinnish
- Iguane vertFrench
- iguane communFrench
- Iguane rhinolopheFrench
- Teju guasuGuarani
- איגואנה ירוקהHebrew
- zöld leguánHungarian
- Iguana comuneItalian
- Iguana dai tubercoliItalian
- グリーンイグアナJapanese
- 녹색이구아나Korean
- Grénge LeguanLuxembourgish
- Žalioji iguanaLithuanian
- Зелена игуанаMacedonian
- Naʼashǫ́ʼiitsoh dootłʼizhígííNavajo
- Grønn IguanNorwegian Bokmål
- Groene leguaanDutch
- Zuid- en Midden-Amerikaanse groene leguaanDutch
- YuanaPapiamento
- ShilibPapiamento
- ShilipPapiamento
- YuwanaPapiamento
- Legwan zielonyPolish
- IguanaPortuguese
- CamaleãoPortuguese
- Iguana-VerdePortuguese
- SinimbuPortuguese
- TejubúPortuguese
- TijubúPortuguese
- PakasuQuechua
- Зелёная игуанаRussian
- Обыкновенная игуанаRussian
- Zeleni legvanSlovenian
- Grön leguanSwedish
- อิกัวนาเขียวThai
- İguanaTurkish
- Yeşil iguanaTurkish
- Ігуана зеленаUkrainian
- Ігуана звичайнаUkrainian
- 綠鬣蜥Chinese
Catalogue of LifeWikipediaiNaturalistITISTAXREFWikidataWoRMSIUCN Red List
Relatives of the green iguana
Other species in the same genus Iguana.
Antillean iguana
Iguana delicatissima
CompareGreen iguana vs Antillean iguanaGreen iguana vs Iguana iguana x Iguana delicatissima
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the green iguana?
The green iguana is a lizard, a reptile in the family Iguanidae and the order Squamata.
How heavy is a green iguana?
An adult Green iguana has a body mass of 1.53 kg, placing it in the medium size class. Its body length is 35.49 cm.
How long does a green iguana live?
The green iguana has a lifespan of 12.4 years, with values up to 19.8 years reported by sources.
Is the green iguana endangered?
No. The IUCN lists the green iguana as Least Concern (LC), which is not a threatened category.
How many eggs does a green iguana lay?
A green iguana lays 35 eggs per clutch, with 1 clutch per year. The eggs incubate for 89 days.
What other names does the green iguana have?
Other English names for the green iguana are Red iguana, Blue iguana, Black iguana, Common iguana and Bamboo chicken.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-11. How this page is put together.
- An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles · CC0 1.0 · E096-269
Myhrvold, N.P., Baldridge, E., Chan, B., Sivam, D., Freeman, D.L. & Ernest, S.K.M. (2015) An amniote life-history database to perform comparative analyses with birds, mammals, and reptiles. Ecology 96: 3109. https://doi.org/10.1890/15-0846R.1. Data: https://doi.org/10.6084/m9.figshare.3563457.v1 - Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Green iguana (Iguana iguana). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-iguana
“Green iguana (Iguana iguana).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-iguana.
@misc{green_iguana_2026,
title = {Green iguana (Iguana iguana)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/green-iguana},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-11}
}