The Krinkled Iguana who Became a Member of My Family by Elaine A. Powers, Author

I operated a reptile/iguana rescue in New Jersey, and I only had green iguanas there. I like green iguanas and each one is an individual. But I hoped to someday rescue other kinds of iguanas, as well, like rock iguanas or spiny-tails. I was on reptile speed-dial with many rescues and animal control departments in the Tri-State area, and one day I got a call about a “black iguana.” The animal control officer had never seen one before and really didn’t know what to do with him, so they called me. I knew what a black iguana was! I told them I was on my way and that’s how my buddy, Krinkle, came into my life.

a woman in a yellow shirt holds a spony-tail iguana in her front room
Elaine Powers with her rescued buddy, Krinkle, a spiny-tail iguana.

Krinkle is a Ctenosaura similis, commonly known as a black or spiny-tail iguana in the pet trade.  However, they are also known for being difficult to socialize. In Krinkle’s case, this was especially true because he had been badly abused. The family who owned him had surrendered him after he had bitten every member. Good for him!

This adult male iguana who should be four to five feet long was kept in a five-gallon aquarium for the first five years of his life. Some people think that if you keep an iguana in a small tank, they will remain small.  Actually, they die.

Krinkle’s body sacrificed its back half to allow the front half to grow.  So, when he was removed from the tight confines of the much too small tank, his tail was accordioned to about four inches, instead of the expected 24 inches. His hips were shrunken. When I first got him, he couldn’t walk. Over time his legs strengthened and he learned to walk, but is still not able to run. The compaction of his tail has eased but it is seriously curved, which is why I named him Krinkle. My mom used to call him Twizzler.

the head and upper body of a black, or spiny-tail iguana being held by human hand
Krinkle, a spiny-tail iguana, got his name because his body was unable to grow in the small aquarium he lived in for the first five years of his life.

Krinkle’s kind are not known for being friendly. However, he is so happy to be free of his first family, he has never shown any aggression toward anyone since. I take him for ‘Show and Tell’ to schools and he is so calm, Kindergarten students can pass him around and hold him.

Krinkle is now a member of my family and shares the reptile room with Rascal, a tegu; Stella and Ezra, green iguanas; Reginald, a rhino iguana; and Blue, a blue iguana/rock iguana hybrid, along with Big Boss, Duke, a 115 lb. Sulcata tortoise, who likes to move the iguana enclosures wherever HE wants them to be. ?

To learn more about these fascinating reptiles, see our 30-page workbook on Iguanas.

CURTIS CURLY-TAIL COMES ALIVE ON YOU TUBE!a curly tail lizard on a bahamian beach with blue sky and ocean, sand and green plants
Elaine A Powers Author Conservationalist Biologist
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