A.R. Vijay, a pet consultant, was expecting to welcome a tiny iguana, but he was surprised with a bonus on Friday. In a very unusual occurrence, a Red Iguana’s egg that hatched had twins.
“We have been breeding iguanas for the last five years and we have never come across such an incident. We are of course, quite delighted,” he said.
Mr. Vijay, who owns a pet shop in Velachery and breeds iguanas, turtles, tortoises and bearded dragons, said the breeding season for the iguana is between December and March, and they lay about 45-65 eggs.
“This time, 20 have hatched and another 45 will soon hatch one after another,” he said. The iguanas were vegetarians and usually feed on spinach, hibiscus, cactus and fruits, he added.
Mr. Vijay’s iguanas are popular for they have appeared on TV programmes as well. Sometime ago, in a show on a leading Tamil channel, they played a role wherein participants had to identify the species. “We got permission from the Animal Welfare Board before shooting for the programme,” he added.
