Iguanas are mainly herbivores but if they get hungry, they will eat just about anything but how about other lizards? This is quite a common question that I came across and I can understand why since iguanas are way bigger than most lizards.
In the wild, bigger animals tend to prey on smaller ones. I’ve been doing a bunch of research on the internet for the answer for the past few days and here is what I gathered.
Iguanas do eat other lizards but only when they are in desperate times where food is scarce. Most of the time in these situations, they tend to pick on smaller lizards. Iguanas are mainly herbivores but they are willing to try a new food if they are given a chance or have no choice.
With the majestic size of iguanas, they can bully many smaller animals. However, don’t be mistaken, they are actually pretty nice animals most of the time. Iguanas don’t just bully or eat other lizards for fun. They usually only do that if it means staying alive.
What Makes Iguanas Eat Other Lizards?
During desperate times when food is scarce, iguanas will usually resort to eating other animals in their surrounding for survival. Drought is one of the biggest reasons for iguanas to do this.
Most of iguanas’ preferred food (foliage, flowers, or fruits) will be wiped out when there is a drought. When this happens, iguanas have no choice but to eat other animals to prevent starving to death.
Other than drought, there could also be another reason for iguanas to eat other lizards and that’s overpopulation. When an area is overpopulated with lizards that feed on the same food, at some point, there will not be enough for everyone.
Examples of Lizards Iguanas Will Eat
There is a reason why iguanas grow to the size they are, it’s because they have a huge appetite. If you own an iguana as a pet, you know that they can eat and eat without stopping. They will trade their soul for a bowl of food.
When they are hungry, they will eat just about anything in front of them if they are edible. Iguanas are smart, they will not pick on lizards that are bigger than them because they know they will lose.
Some of the smaller lizards that iguanas will eat are anoles, the bearded dragons, and even their own babies! You read that right. Iguanas will kill and eat their own young if they run out of food.
Iguanas Eating Their Own Kind
Don’t be surprised if you see an iguana trying to eat another iguana. When food is scarce, they have to do this if they want to survive. Eating their own young is the easiest and fastest option.
Smaller iguanas have no chance when they are up against a larger iguana. In the wild, things can be really tough especially for younger, smaller iguanas.
Even if the juvenile iguanas don’t get eaten, they will probably not survive the drought anyways. It’s better to sacrifice themselves and keep the older iguanas alive than to die and not serve any purpose.
Is It Bad For Iguanas to Eat Other Lizards?
Animal protein is never good for iguanas. Letting Iguanas eat meat is like giving them poison that kills them slowly from the inside out. Animal protein can cause their kidneys to work extra hard to process.
This will cause kidney failure very early on in the iguana’s life. Their kidneys are not made to process animal protein efficiently. However, in the wild, they don’t have the luxury to choose what to eat when food is scarce, unlike in captivity.
They will eat whatever is there in order to survive through the drought. If you own a pet iguana, make sure not to feed any animal protein including other lizards.
Iguanas Living With Other Lizards As Pets (Good or Bad Idea?)
To some people, especially beginners, letting iguanas live with other lizards might seem like a good idea. They belong to the same group after all and by doing that, they have companions.
I’m sorry to burst your bubble but this is not a good idea. Having other lizards enclosed in a cage with iguanas will only give you bad news. There is a high chance that the iguanas will eat or kill the other lizards especially if they are of smaller size.
Even if you feed the iguanas sufficiently, they might still like to try out the other lizards and see how they taste. Moreover, it’s additional competition with the iguanas for space. They have every reason to want to kill the other lizards.
Iguanas are so territorial that even putting two iguanas in the same enclose might cause chaos. They won’t eat each other if they are fed enough food but what they might do is fight for territory, especially if they’re both males.
At the end of the day, putting any live animals within an iguana’s cage will probably not end well and it will give unnecessary stress to your iguana.
Conclusion
To conclude, iguanas do eat other lizards but only when they are really desperate for food. This usually happens when there is a prolonged period of drought and their staple food is scarce or wiped out.
Iguanas usually eat smaller lizards as they are easier picks and that includes their own young. Eating other lizards (animal protein) is not all that good for an iguanas’ health as it can cause problems in their kidneys.
If you are keeping a pet iguana, make sure not to feed it any animal protein and keep it isolated. You don’t want to keep other lizards with your iguana because if you do. it can get really ugly.
