A Day in the Life of a Mexican Resort Iguana

We had a surprise when we spent our first day on the resort here in Mazatlan, Mexico.

We were greeted by IGUANAS, of all colors and sizes!

They are EVERYWHERE. I have found that even though they are reptiles, they don't bother me nearly as bad as snakes. I have not had to beat any to death yet with a bar bell! :) I usually just sit and stare at them in amazement , feeling like we have signed up for a week at Jurassic Park.

So after observing them , I thought I'd give you all an idea of a typical day in the life of a Mexican Resort Iguana.....

At least one that I've seen, started off his morning , by climbing to the highest point he could find and spent a little quiet time, worshiping , his Creator...... If you look closely you can see an iguana sitting on top of the building. Yes, climbing is not a problem for them.

After morning quiet time, they head on over to the poolside outdoor restaurant, which by the way, is named after them. It didn't take us long to figure out why it is their namesake.


While they are waiting on food, they try to blend in with the rest of the vacationers.

This ones favorite pastime was sunbathing, by the pool, ON A CHAIR. "Excuse me sir, Is this chair beside you taken?"

Once lunch is served, some "kind"people like this one, feed the iguanas. In case you are wandering ,Travis still has all his fingers! Iguanas do have razor sharp teeth, but they take the food out of your hands as gently as when feeding a dog. They like eating things like lettuce, french fries and tomatoes as seen below.....

But one of their all time favorites, is bread. Every day, at about 3pm, a older gentleman named Earl comes, walking to the grassy area, behind the pool, with a clear plastic bag of Bread. It is quite a sight. As he comes across the grass, the iguanas start coming from everywhere, shrubs, trees, etc. He is like the Pied Piper of iguanas. He always gets a small plastic table from poolside, to sit on, and proceeds to feed the "herd". He breaks the bread sharing it with all the iguanas and any birds that might come into the area.

Not only does Earl feed the iguanas, he actually pets them and rubs /pats them like they were a dog or cat. And you can tell, when watching them, that they LOVE it. If they have any loose skin, being shed from the spiny things on their back, he pulls them off as well. The iguanas sit perfectly still as Earl shows them his affection. Earl told us he has been doing this for quite awhile. He has a video on You Tube, from 2 years ago, in which he is feeding 17 Iguanas , all gathered around him. You can search for Earl the Iguana Man, on You Tube, if you are interested in viewing.

After their feeding and massages, they go back to normal iguana mischief.

Here one is,trying to decide what she would look like in Gretchen's sarong-wrap-thing, that was hanging on the back of her chair. "Do you think I would look good in pink?"

They also like to suprise people by sneaking up between them and eavesdropping on their conversations. I can only imagine the stories they could tell if they could talk!

Actually they are very well behaved, and do not bother people or steal things or anything. Once you get used to the initial shock that they live here and are pretty much everywhere, it is not really that big of a deal. As long as the ground does not start shaking....from an approaching T-REX, I'm cool with our new found friends.