The forelimbs are supported from the pectoral girdle. The humerus bone articulates at a point between the sternum and inter scapula. Similarly, the femur fits into an opening of the ischium. At the lowest point of the pectoral girdle is the sternum, a bone which protects a good part or the internal organs. Between the sternum and the pelvis may be a bony or cartilaginous union of the ribs, known as the parasternum. Extending from beneath the scapula and uniting with the sternum is the clavicle, a bone always present in pairs.
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Iguana’s Structure
Friday, March 12th, 2010Postcranial Skeleton
Thursday, March 4th, 2010The vertebrae are the first bones encountered beyond the skull. The first vertebra is the atlas, so named because it must bear the skull. The second bone is the axis, the pivot point which allows free movement of the head and neck. The hyoid apparatus is in the throat, roughly beneath and in front of these first vertebrae. It may be connected with a vertebra, or it may be a free unit. It protects the windpipe.
The body of the vertebra is called a centrum; the space between centra is the intercentrum. The vertebral centra may be one of two types, either amphicoelous (biconcave) or procoelus (concave anteriorly, convex posteriorly). The backbone runs the entire length of the tail, but should this member be lost, the replacement will be forever devoid of true vertebrae. Along the tail section, when true vertebrae are present, one can locate the plane of autotomy, which is usually a cartilaginous plate before or behind the transverse process of the vertebra.
Tick Prevention for your Iguana
Tuesday, January 26th, 2010The powder with a warm bath and several rinses and clean the cage thoroughly before reintroducing the specimen.
These two insect killers should be available through your pet dealer or veterinarian. A mixture of half-and-half castor oil and 90% grain alcohol brushed on the affected areas may also eliminate mites. Don’t dip your pet in this mixture; just apply a little locally. Note that 90% grain alcohol is not 90 proof. You can buy 90% grain neutral spirits in your pharmacy or liquor store. A little goes a long way.
If you pick off ticks and chiggers with the tweezers, you might well follow up with an alcohol swab to help reduce the risk of infection at the sore spot. Perhaps a pretreatment with the alcohol will tend to loosen the tick before you attempt to pick it off. This passage is not intended to scare anyone from keeping an iguana. People have had dogs and cats with chiggers, ticks, mites and fleas for all of the recorded history.
A number of large and small ticks attached under the edges of the scales of a rainbow boa. The ticks found on iguanas are usually similar in appearance to those found on snakes – ticks are not too choosy.
The Iguana part 2
Saturday, January 23rd, 2010The Galapagos land Iguana, Conolophus subcristatus, is frequently seen in zoos but rarely in private collections. It is protected by law.
It weighs twenty-two pounds. There is a subspecies, A.c. venustissimus, found only on Hood Island. It is only 30 inches maximum length and brightly colored, but nevertheless is valueless as a captive pet.
CONOLOPHUS – One species, the Galapagos land iguana, Conolophus subcristatus. It is a vegetarian, eating shoots, bark, flowers, fruits, cactus pads and grasshoppers. With a row of spines down the back, this is a powerful looking lizard; however, it is easy to tame. It needs warmth – say 80 to 90 degrees F. It is surely used to salty food and may actually relish it. Four feet long.
The Iguana
Wednesday, January 20th, 2010Close up of a mature Galapagos land iguana. Notice especially the bumpy scales on the head and the spines at the back of the neck.
IGUANA – The primary subject of this book. Depending on whose classification – and when it was written – there is one species or two and perhaps even three subspecies. For purposes of this book there is one species with three subspecies all having identical natural history and only slight differences in appearance.
IGUANA IGUANA IGUANA – Common green iguana, tuberculated iguana, common iguana, Chinese dragon and, in Central America, gallina de pallo - chicken.
Types of Iguana part 2
Saturday, January 16th, 2010The uncommon Brazilian club-tailed iguana, Hoplocercus spinosus, somewhat resembles Enyaliosaurus but has a shorter tail.
HOPLOCERCUS SPINOSUS – Club-tailed iguana. A brazilian species, terrestrial, and an eater of grubs, termites and meal worms. Difficult to maintain in captivity.
DIPSOSAURUS DORSALIS – Desert iguana, crested lizard, northern crested lizard. Southwestern U.S. and northern Mexico. Eighteen inches. Eats flowers of cactus and other desert plants. Base color is light cream with dark maroon markings. Gentle. Reported to eat dandelions, geranium flowers and lettuce. Needs desert heat and light.
DIPSOSAURUS CARMENENSIS – Carmen Island crested lizard, Carmen Island, Gulf of California. Mentioned for the record only.
DIPSOSAURUS CATALINENSIS – Santa Catalina Island crested lizard, Santa Catalina Island, Gulf of California. Mentioned for the record only.
Types of Iguana
Friday, January 8th, 2010BRACHYLOPHUS FASCIATUS – A “typical” but not “true” iguana. The Fiji Island iguana, handsome, rare, three feet, vegetarian.
CTENOSAURA HEMILOPHA – Common spiny-tail iguana. Central Mexico to U.S. border. Three feet. Grey black with a short spiny tail. Spends more time on the ground than the common green iguana and requires more animal food. Robust and dangerous. This species was formerly called Ctenosaura conspicuosa, the banded spiny-tail iguana.
CTENOSAURA ACANTHURA – Black iguana. Mexico and Central America. Can run on two feet. More terrestrial than arboreal. Young specimens are uniformly bright emerald green. This is a spiny-tailed iguana and may in fact by the very same species as Ctenosaura hemilopha.
CTENOSAURA MULTISPINIS – Black spiny-tail iguana. Mexico. Probably the very same as C. acanthura but described by another scholar.
ENYALIOSAURUS -Two species from Mexico. Uncommon in the per trade.
Cold-Blooded?
Tuesday, January 5th, 2010From the time of Aristotle through Linnaeus and even more recently, the classes of animal life were described as warm-blooded or cold-blooded. Unfortunately for describers of animal life who like to simplify, there is no absolute black and no absolute white in nature. All life is full of shades of gray. Mammals that hibernate do so with body temperatures much lower than their normal operating temperature. This goes for the bear and the woodchuck and doubtless many others.
Among reptiles the temperature regulation is managed by their behavior. A cool snake will bask in the sun or partially bury itself in warm sand. An overheated lizard will seek shade or a burrow. Perhaps additional study will show that when the Indian python incubates her eggs she is actually providing some temperature regulation as well. If thermo-regulation is necessary for reptile health (and this does seem to be the case), and this regulation is behavioral, then the pet keeper is duty bound to provide the environment in which his pet can behave to suit his temperature requirements. Nothing profound about that, but it is up to you to furnish a heat source with basking areas at various distances from it and also a shadow area where your pet can escape if the heat gets to be too much. All this can easily fit into a cage. Mount a light at the top, then several shelves or branches at various distances and then perhaps you will discover that the shadows created under the shelves provide the cool escape areas as well. Just make sure that what you erect is rugged and stable. A light that falls down and traps or burns your pet is your fault. Don’t blame the stupid iguana.
What are the Dinosaurs?
Saturday, December 12th, 2009The inturned head of the femur (the beginnings of the full right-angled femur head seen in dinosaurs and in a different from in mammals); the straight knee joint; the reduced hinge-like ankle joint (technically termed the advanced mesotarsal, or AM, ankle); the long toes and the digitigrade posture of the foot, in which only the toes touch the ground, not the sole of the foot as in earlier archosaurs – and in humans today.
Most of the dinosaur-like characters are also seen in the flying pterosaurs. Certain paleontologists argue that Lagosuchus, the pterosaurs, and the dinosaurs together form a major clade that arose in the Middle to Late Triassic, some 230 million years ago.
The dinosaur-like synapomorphies of this clade, and their further modification in the dinosaurs proper, are part of a major series of related anatomical changes that took place among the archosaurs during the Triassic, and which may have been the key to the origin of the dinosaurs.
Temperate and Subtropical Zones part 4
Wednesday, December 2nd, 2009Plants that are most suited to the temperate/subtropical terrarium require a relative humidity factor of approximately 50% to 60%. The spider plant Chlorophytum, is a hardy plant that requires full sun; this plant might do well in a temperate/subtropical environment. Other possible candidates include Cordyline, Setcreasea, and Yucca plants. These are all plants that require full sun. Yucca has hazardous points at the ends of its leaves. Nevertheless, this plant makes a beautiful appearance in just about any location. Another drawback to yuccas is their inclination to demand cool temperatures during the winter months.
Stenotaphrum (St. Augustine’s grass), which also requires full sun, might be grown successfully in the temperate/subtropical habitat. Dracaena and Ficus (fig) plants, which need plenty of light, should not be exposed.