Iguana Eggs

Question
Hi

I was wondering if green iguana's lay eggs even if they haven't mated?

Thank you

Answer
Hi Vicky,
Yes, they do lay eggs even when not with a male. It is one of the "problems" we deal with in having female iguanas.
Generally, when they are about 10 inches snout to vent and about two years old is when they generally start to lay eggs.  Of course the eggs are not fertile.
A good place to read about what to expect and how to prepare for the darn event can be seen at
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/egging.html
Its vital that your iguana have a good source of uvb and proper diet so as that there is enough calcium to "shell" the eggs.  When they don't have a proper diet and uvb, they will "pull" the calcium from their bones and will develop metabolic bone disease.  There is also the risk that the eggs will not shell properly and they eggs will break inside the ig, causing a medical emergency surgery.
Here is a paragraph on lighting from the care sheet I wrote.  
LIGHTING:

Supplying uvb can be done in a few ways. By special lights that come in fluorescent tubes or special screw in bulbs (mercury vapor)that are designed to produce uvb and heat. The tubes do not produce heat. UVB is needed by the Iguanas to be able to absorb the calcium in the foods they eat. With out the uvb, they will develop metabolic bone disease. There are tubes that say ''full spectrum'' but they do not produce any uvb.
With the correct tubes, they must say that they produce BOTH uvb and uva. The uvb needs to be 5% or higher. Repti Sun 10.0 and the Repti Glo 8.0's are a great source for uvb. The old "favorites" are the repti sun 5.0 or the Iguana light..which are the same tube, just different package. These need to be positioned 6-8 inches over the iguana for the 5% and 8% and 8-10 inches for the 10% so that they get the uvb that is needed.  The tubes need to be replaced every 6-9 months as that they stop producing UVB long before they stop producing light.Using a fixture that holds two uvb tubes of at least 3 feet in length will provide adequate uvb for your iguana. There has been new studies that have proven that compact uvb lights, both the spiral/coil type and the ones that look like long "U's" laying on their side and a few other brands are causing what basically amounts to snow blindness in reptiles.  To read more on this, you can go to http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm
The  link will take you to my discussion group and to a post that tells how to tell the new compacts from the old ones.  IF you are  using one of the new ones, then the light should not be the problem.  http://pets.groups.yahoo.com/group/UVB_Meter_Owners/message/6721
On the mercury vapor , they also produce heat. They also produce the uvb and uva. The best on the market now are the Mega Rays.(http://www.reptileuv.com) The distance from these are greater than the uvb tubes and the directions must be followed that are listed for the light. When using the mercury vapor lights, you don't need to have one light for uvb and one for heat. The Mercury vapor lights provide both.
For daytime heat, if using the tube uvb, regular household incandescent light bulbs produce heat. I like the halogen bulbs as they produce a nice bright light for your ig. The wattage will
depend on the size of your iguanas enclosure. and the room temperature.Of course, the best uvb is from the sun and if you are in an area that you are able to take your iguana outside in a proper enclosure, (Never a tank or enclosed, solid cage)