can reach a total length of 6.5 ft. Their body is a laterally flattened oval. The head is large and the snout is rounded. They have well-developed muscular limbs that end with five digits, tipped with very sharp claws. Green iguanas have an erectable dewlap under the chin and throat. They have a large scale below the ear. Green iguanas also have a crest of comb like spines that extend from the neck well into the tail.

Green iguanas are typically green to greyish in color, getting darker as they get older. They have dark bands across the shoulders and tail. The large scales below the ear are whitish.

Because of the green iguanas wide distribution, there are lots of color morphs. Depending on what country they come from, green iguanas will vary in color, pattern, length to height ratio, crest size and total length.