Appearance

The desert iguana is a common reptile in the Sonoran and Mojave deserts of southwestern Arizona, northeastern Mexico, and southern California. It has a light gray-tan to cream tint, with a brown reticulated pattern on its back and sides. A row of slightly expanded, keeled dorsal scales runs down the middle of the back, growing gradually bigger as you proceed down the back. Brown patches appear towards the back legs and transition to stripes down the tail after the reticulated pattern. The stomach is pallid. Both sexes’ sides get pinkish during mating season.

Habits and Lifestyle

Being lonely animals, desert iguanas prefer the heat of the day to venture out and about. These lizards are able to survive in extremely hot environments and are often seen roaming around after other lizards have returned to their underground homes. If disturbed, a desert iguana will rapidly run into a nearby plant and then down into its burrow.

Their burrows are typically dug in the sand beneath shrubs like creosote. They also frequently utilize the burrows of other species, such as kit foxes and desert tortoises. While desert iguanas spend most of their time on the ground, they are expert climbers and will frequently go into shrub branches to feed on the yellow blossoms of the creosote bush. As the weather becomes cold, these lizards will hibernate underground until spring.

Diet and Nutrition

Herbivorous diets are typical for desert iguanas (folivores, frugivores). They eat a wide variety of plant parts, including buds, fruits, and leaves, as well as insects and carrion on occasion.