The Spiny Tail Iguana's large size, unusual spiny tail, and fairly active nature make them a good display specimen, but their aggressive temperament makes them unsuitable for children or beginning lizard keepers.

The Spiny Tail Iguana is generally not the friendliest lizard around. They are well known for their bad temperament and uncooperative attitude. However, with a lot of patience and frequent handling the Spiny Tail Iguana can become more docile, especially when you start with a juvenile. They are much more terrestrial than their cousin the Green Iguana, but they will climb a little and often bask on elevated surfaces. Spiny Tail Iguanas are omnivorous. Wild adults eat mostly plant matter, but also eat insects and small mammals. Juveniles are usually much more carnivorous than adults. There are 10 species of Spiny-Tail Iguana, and while most of them have similar diets, temperaments, and physical characteristics, they vary greatly in abundance and availability in the pet trade. Ctenosaura similis is the most commonly kept and imported Ctenosaur. Many of them look almost identical and differentiating between the most similar species is often very difficult. It has been reported that the Spiny Tailed Iquana is the fastest reptile in the world. It has been recorded at a speed of 21.7 mile per hour!

At maturity, Spiny Tail Iguanas reach a size of two to three feet. Their body color is a shade of dark grey or brown with varying degrees of black mottling. Often, the black mottling is much more pronounced in some areas and makes the lizard appear to have large faint black bands across the back. The banding is usually more apparent in juveniles than it is in older Spiny Tails. Very young juveniles appear more green than brown. Like the Green Iguana they have granular scales and a crest down the back, though the Spiny Tail's crest is usually smaller than that of the typical Green Iguana. They are named after their spiny tail. It is ringed with special scales that are spiny, and it makes for a great weapon. Spiny Tail Iguanas also have long sharp teeth and nails.

The Spiny Tail Iguana is native to Central America, and can be found on the Eastern part of Mexico to Panama. In the wild, they are usually found in city ruins, stone walls, and on the edge of forests.

The Spiny Tail Iguana is relatively easy to care for, but they can be picky when acclimatizing to their habitat. The adult Spiny Tail Iguana's diet should consist of about 95% plant matter such as dark leafy green vegetables, small amounts of fruit, edible flowers, prickly pear cactus (with spines removed), and commercial green Iguana diet. The animal matter portion of the diet can consist of things such as insects, rodents, canned monitor diet, and canned low-calorie dog food (a premium brand). A wide variety of foods is best for the Spiny Tail Iguana.

Being diurnal, the Spiny Tail Iguana needs light and temperature gradients. Spiny Tail Iguanas require full spectrum UV lighting for proper calcium absorbtion. The enclosure's ambient temperature should about 85 degrees Fahrenheit during the day and should have a basking area about 100 degrees. At night, the light should be off, and the temperature should drop to the low 70s. Both males and females tend to be terratorial, and often behave aggressively towards cagemates, so it is best to house them separately. If they are housed together, the enclosure must be very large and the Iguanas should be similar in size. Adult males should never be housed together.

The Spiny Tail Iguana is an oviparous lizard. It lays roughly 20 to 30 eggs in each clutch. The eggs will hatch in about 90 days. The hatchlings are 6 - 7 inches long and should be fed mealworms, crickets, and pinky mice.