Can Iguanas Smell Food? (How They Smell Food Might Surprise You)

Can Iguanas Smell Food?
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When I first got my iguana, I always wondered if iguanas could smell food. Over the years, I did a bunch of testing with different kinds of food to see if my iguana could smell them. Here is what I have found.

Iguanas can smell all sorts of food but their sent is not as strong if they are just using their nose. In fact, iguanas use their tongues to greatly increase their sense of smell.

Even though iguanas don’t have the strongest sense of smell in the wild, they are still able to detect food with their nose. It just won’t be as far as what other animals can smell.

Iguanas Smell With Their Tongues

Have you ever wondered why iguanas always seem to taste everything around them with their tongues? Well… they have a good reason for doing so.

Iguanas have forked tongues that help them get a better smell. Just like snakes, iguanas use their tongues to bring scent particles into their mouth for a better smell.

However, unlike snakes, iguanas don’t just get the scent particles from the air. Instead, they physically lick the object.

This is not to say that iguanas can’t smell with their nose, but they do heavily depend on their tongues to greatly increase their sense of smell.

How Far Can Iguanas Smell With Just Their Nose?

From all the research I’ve done online and the books I read, no one seems to have the answer to this. All I can find is that iguanas do have a strong sense of smell.

So, I had no choice but to observe this over the years and come up with my own answer. Iguanas should be able to smell at least the same distance as a human can, probably further. If you can smell the scent of the food from where you are, your iguana should be able to smell it as well.

I did a test by letting my iguana free roam around the house and started cooking. My iguana was in the living room, about 10 meters away from the kitchen when I started cooking. After a few minutes, I saw my iguana standing outside the fence of the kitchen.

It could be a coincidence that my iguana just misses me since we have quite a strong bond. So, I decided to do another test. I left the cooked food in a room with the door opened and guess what? My iguana went there too!

From the test that I’ve done, I can conclude that iguanas have a sense of smell at least as strong as humans but most likely stronger.

P.S. Never let your iguana get near any human food, there is a high chance that your iguana has salmonella.

Iguanas Eat Food That Smells Good

Even though iguanas are mostly herbivores, they will eat whatever they have access to if it smells good. Make sure you don’t leave food out when you are letting your iguana free roam. Your iguana will not hesitate to eat it if it can reach the food.

Not only are iguanas hungry most of the time, but they are also very curious animals. They will eat and try anything, even dog or cat food!

You would know this if you live near a place with many wild iguanas. They will often come into your backyard and finish off any food you leave there even if it’s not food iguanas usually eat. Food that is high in protein such as meat is very bad for iguanas.

Conclusion

Iguanas are able to smell food but they depend on their tongues to greatly increase that sense of smell. They often lick objects and food to get scent particles to get a better smell.

However, iguanas should be able to smell as far as humans, if not greater with just their nose alone. Lastly, if you have food that smells good laying around, your iguana will probably find the food and devour it.

Edward Cohen

Hi, my name is Edward Cohen. I have been an animal enthusiast for many years now and I love them. My goal is to share what I have learned over the years through my experience and research about animals of all kinds.

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