A collared iguana has hatched for the first time in ten years at DierenPark Amersfoort
A collar iguana has hatched in DierenPark Amersfoort for the first time in a decade. "We are happy to welcome a young one after a long time," reptile keeper Paul Rodewijk wrote on Monday on the zoo's website. "The youngster is healthy, eating well and jumping around."
This reptile species, which originates from the deserts of North and South America, is not commonly seen in Dutch zoos. They are predatory animals that hunt lizards of similar size.
A pair lives in DierenPark Amersfoort for the first time in ten years. "Until last year, the park had a single male," Paul explained. "Now, another male and two females have joined him."
Collared iguanas do not care for their eggs after laying them, leaving the caretakers to ensure they mature in an incubator to maintain optimal temperature and conditions.
Once the youngster emerged from its egg, it immediately demonstrated independence, showing it could hunt insects right away. "This little iguana loves crickets and fruit flies. The animal is still young, it will eat larger and larger insects over time," Paul noted.
Immediately after hatching, the young reptile was allocated its own terrarium. This precaution is taken because adult iguanas do not recognize their offspring and could potentially mistake them for food.
"We cannot yet determine the sex of the young one. The animal needs to be larger for that," Paul said. The small reptile will stay behind the scenes and is not yet visible to visitors. Visitors can, however, meet the parents in the Honderdduizend Dierenhuis in DierenPark Amersfoort.
