Quote from Raise and Eat Your Own Iguanas
"Small farmers in Central America may soon be raising green iguanas as they do free-range chickens. Green iguanas, often called "chickens of the trees" have been eaten both as a delicacy and a staple food for at least 7,000 years. These reptiles have a range that extends from Mexico to Brazil. Recent environmental degradation and over hunting have brought the species to near extinction.
Six years ago, the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama funded Dr. Dagmar Werner, a German herpetologist, to study the high mortality rate of the green iguanas. Out of this research evolved the Green Iguana Management Project which Dr. Werner continues to direct today. Dr. Werner's research promises to provide an alternative enterprise for small farmers while helping save the threatened lizard and some of Central America's tropical forests."
Ideas:
For humid tropics make a water purification marsh that has a large island in the center. Plant this island to the right trees and raise iguanas for meat. The marsh helps keep them in their place. It also can be planted to a number of aquatic food plants, especially taro. If a few iguanas escape, that's good because it will help reestablish them in the local native habitat.
Iguanas are omnivorous, but eat much more vegetation than animal material. They are usually raised in a semi-wild condition, grazing on tree tops. To speed them along to harvest, feeding stations are placed where they can get at them. This gives them an improved diet and helps keep them in the general area of the farm. Plantings of hibiscus type small trees will be attractive to them.
Predators:
- Who ? Raptors/Birds ?
