Measuring less than 770 millimetres (30 in) in length when full grown, the Turks and Caicos Rock iguana is one of the smallest species of Cyclura.

[8][9] The Turks and Caicos rock iguana inhabits small cays, but has been reduced to less than 5% of its original range largely due to the introduction of predators.

[7] The Turks and Caicos rock iguana dwells in rocky areas and sandy habitats as sand is required for nesting.

The Turks and Caicos iguana is diurnal and spends the night in the burrows it has dug or in natural retreats in or under the rocks.

In this species' case it is primarily due to its small body size which makes it vulnerable to introduced predators such as dogs and cats.

[1][5] In the 1970s a population of 15,000 iguanas was completely destroyed within five years by a mere handful of dogs and cats brought to Pine Cay by hotel workers.

[1][7] Little Water Cay is now a nature reserve and neither dogs nor cats are permitted on the island to ensure the survival of the critically endangered species.

[1] In 2000 scientists from the San Diego Zoo's division of Conservation and Research for Endangered Species (CRES), under the direction of Conservation Research Fellow Dr. Glenn Gerber translocated 218 iguanas from Big Ambergris and Little Water Cay where their populations were threatened to four uninhabited cays within the Turks and Caicos reserve system.

[5][11] To date, these iguanas have experienced a 98 percent survival rate; they have adapted to new conditions and even successfully reproduced the immediate breeding season.