It grows to 40cm in length, with a 50cm tail. It has spines along its back, from behind the head to the base of the tail. The large flap of skin under the throat is known as a dewlap, and is important in threat and courtship displays.
Males are slightly bigger than females, with a bigger dewlap and swelling.
They feed on a mixed diet of fruit and vegetation. This iguana occurs on many of the islands of the West Indies from Martinique to Anguilla. They live in wet and dry forest areas and are very agile reptiles equally at ease up in trees, on the ground and in water. After one or two hours of morning basking to heat up after the cool of the night, the Lesser Antillean Iguana will move short distances in search of food. Although not social, on certain islands, when there are many iguanas, they will often migrate at night to sleep in the same tree.