Height and Weight of an Iguana

Question
My little girl is doing a project for school and she is doing it one iguanas because we have one.  The book she got for this project did not have some of the things she needs in it and I have went and tried looking up the information but I didn't succeed in getting it.  Maybe someone will be able to help me out.  I need to know what is the height and the weight they can get up to.  If you can help me please do and in advance Thank you so much.

Answer
Dear Corina,

I am so excited that I may help you. I love educating people about iguanas. I will give you a brief breakdown of healthy iguana size by age.
Keep in mind, all the sizes are assuming you measure the animal from snout to tip of tail:


AGE                                  LENGTH               WEIGHT                                  
Hatchling (equivalent of an infant)  6-9 inches          90 grams
1 year                               20-27 inches        1 - 1.5 lbs
2 years                              28-36 inches        2-4 lbs                   
3 years                              30-42 inches        4-6 lbs
4 years                              35-48 inches        5-8 lbs
5 years                              45-60 inches        10-15 lbs
6 years                              50-56 inches        14-18 lbs
7 + years                            50-72 inches        15-20 lbs

Ultimately, iguanas are born being very very small and light but rapidly grow to a massive size of up to 6 feet in length and 20 lbs in weight. Male iguanas usually grow slightly bigger than females and a good healthy iguana should be nearly full grown by 5 years of age if they were provided an adequate diet and exposure to the proper heat and ultraviolet radiation. They do continue to shed their skin when full grown though not as often. It would be worth mentioning that 9 of 10 iguanas are either abandoned or die within their first year of life once they leave the pet store and furthermore, many develop Metabolic Bone Disease as a result of no UVB. Most reptile basking lamps only provide UVA and people need to make sure they specifically seek out UVB because without it, their bodies cannot digest calcium and they become like a person with severe osteoperosis, deformed, paralyzed and in advanced cases, will die. Iguanas with MBD will not grow at the proper rates and reach the length and weight they otherwise would have.

Please feel free to ask me any other questions you may have, like I said, I love teaching.

Thank You!

Sara J Gwerder
President
Raptor Rescue Iguana Sanctuary
Shreveport, LA
www.RaptorRescue.org