Iguanas can become very bulky animals and they don’t look like they can run, let alone jump. Moreover, iguanas are always being lazy. They are either laying down on tree branches or basking under the sun. Wondering if iguanas jump is quite a common question among many of my friends that are interested in iguanas. Luckily, I have many years of experience with iguanas and I have the answer for you.
Iguanas do jump and they do it quite often in the wild. In captivity, the chances of jumping significantly reduces. In the wild, iguanas occasionally jump to either escape from dangerous situations or for fun into lakes and ponds.
Not only do I have experience of owning an iguana for many years, but I am also surrounded by lots of wild iguanas. I have seen pretty much everything iguanas do, including jumping, for both wild and as pets.
Iguanas might be lazy animals but their jumping abilities can shock you when you see it. They are surprisingly muscular if you take a lot at iguanas close up. Hence, they can have quite a powerful jump.
Do Iguanas Jump from Trees?
Jumping from trees in the wild is quite a common scene for iguanas. This is especially true if they are faced with danger from predators such as hawks, owls, and eagles. They will often jump from trees into a lake or pond to reach safety.
Sometimes, they do it for fun just to go for a swim. Iguanas are surprisingly tough, they can jump or fall from as high as 50 feet and land on hard surfaces without any injuries.
Here is a footage of an iguana jumping into a pool, exactly how they do in the wild:
Height & Distance of Iguanas’ Jump
Iguanas are surprisingly muscular which justifies their powerful jumps. Vertically and horizontally, iguanas can jump an impressive distance.
Iguanas’ Vertical Jumps
When jumping vertically, iguanas can jump as high as their snout to vent length (SVL). Some might be able to go as high as 1.5 times their SVL.
You can see the Marine Iguana jumping vertically on top of rocks at the very end of the video to get away from snakes in this famous video shot by BBC:
Iguanas’ Horizontal Jumps
For horizontal jumps, I have seen them jump about 2 times their SVL, sometimes even as far as 3 times but that is few and far between. In the wild, iguanas depend more on horizontal jumps than those of vertical.
Just have a look at this video of an iguana jumping off a rooftop, the distance is insane:
Iguanas’ Love for Jumping
Jumping is not one of the top lists of favorite activities for iguanas. In the wild, they jump just so they can do their favorite activities. Most iguanas’ favorite activities include climbing, walking, and swimming.
However, some iguanas do love to jump around and in captivity, they might do it from furniture to furniture. It is a good idea to keep your iguana healthy and happy by letting it do the exercise that it likes.
Even though iguanas are lazy animals, they still need to exercise to stay healthy.
Here is a footage of a pet iguana jumping around in the house from sofa to sofa and it’s so cute!
Conclusion
Iguanas do jump but it doesn’t happen often especially in captivity. In the wild, jumping happens more often as iguanas are jumping from trees into lakes or ponds.
When they do this, it’s usually for 2 reasons. Either they are trying to escape from a dangerous situation or when they want to go for a swim.
Iguanas’ jumps are very impressive both vertically and horizontally. In the wild, they usually do more horizontal jumps than vertical jumps.
