iguanas colouring

Question
i was wondering if diffrent foods gave iguanas diffrent colours because my iguana started to get a lot of blue around the neck and my fathers friend said that it was from brocoli. is this true and is there other foods that change their colour.

Answer
Hi Brad, Reptiles have several different types of cells in their skin that give them colour. Some are pigment based while others contain substances that reflect light to produce different colours. They are controlled primarily by temperature and hormones, both sexual hormones and those produced during stress. There is nothing particular about brocolli that would cause the blue colouration that many  green iguanas develop. If it did, you can bet it would have been used as a marketing ploy to produce blue iguanas a long time ago!