Christmas Iguana

Don't you love iguanas? Me too. They're so dang cute.

My officemate related a cute iguana story to me the other day. She said she used to have a pet iguana named Jack who was three feet long. Her husband had to build a gigantic pen for him in their den. They didn't realize when they bought him that he would get so big--she said when they first got Jack, he was only 5 inches long, but then he grew.

Anyway, she said that every Christmas they would open up Jack's pen and let him out, because he would immediately run right up into the Christmas tree and quietly hang out there for hours.

And, I discovered just now online, there is even an iguana nicknamed a "Christmas Iguana" because the males turn red and green during mating season.

What are some of YOUR favorite iguana-related Christmas memories?

And now, some for iguana fun facts:

The two species of lizard within the genus Iguana possess a dewlap, a row of spines running down their back to their tail, and a third "eye" on their head. This eye is known as the parietal eye, visible as a pale scale on the top of the head. Behind their neck are small scales which resemble spikes, known as tuberculate scales. These scales may be a variety of colors and are not always visible from close distances. They also have a large round scale on their cheek known as a subtympanic shield.

Iguanas have excellent vision and are able to see shapes, shadows, color and movement at long distances. Iguanas use their eyes to navigate through crowded forests, as well as for finding food. They also use visual signals to communicate with members of the same species.

They respond to visual stimulus of colors such as orange, yellow, pink, and in rare cases blue as food substances.

An iguana's ear is known as the tympanum. It is the iguana's ear drum, and is located right above the subtympanic shield and behind the eye. Iguanas are often hard to spot, as they like others in the lizard family blend into their surroundings. The color green helps as a mode of hiding from larger predators.