Igsicles

It was raining frozen iguanas following a recent cold snap in southern Florida, according to this report in the Miami Herald. Temperatures dropped so low that the introduced green iguanas (Iguana iguana) went into comas, falling from their perches in the trees and littering the ground (the Herald has a great photo accompanying the story). Alas, it will likely be a disappointment to some Floridians that the iguanas typically recover once temperatures warm up again. Though this does seem like a great opportunity for some easy iguana control, doesn't it?

Lizard Lounging

The News-Press is reporting that Florida's Sanibel Island is so fed up with the green iguanas (Iguana iguana) and Nile monitor lizards (Varanus niloticus) roaming the island that they've hired a trapper to round them up. Trapper Wildlife Services will get $20 for every iggie they catch and kill, and will get paid an hourly rate to track down the larger and nastier monitor lizards. This is the same Sanibel that said no to removing invasive Australian pines because it was too expensive. This time things are apparently more serious: a wildlife refuge on the island has contributed $20,000 towards the lizard eradication efforts.

Thanks to Jason at Cephalopodcast.com for sending in a link to this story.

Iguana In The Gardd? Shush Your Noise!

The Daily Mail is reporting that a homeowner in South Wales was startled to discover that there was a large green iguana (Iguana iguana) hanging out in his backyard. A local wildlife expert came by to catch it and it has already been handed over to the RSPCA. The iguana, surely an escaped pet, seemed to be doing well in the Welsh spring weather, but it is thought that the winters there would be much too cold for it to survive.

Iggies Gone Wild!

John T. from Birds Etcetera sent in a link to this story about the invasive iguanas in Boca Grande, Florida. While the ISW has certainly posted about this topic before, the article has a couple of interesting parts that make it worth a read. First is the idea of a using "sustainable harvest" to keep populations of green iguanas (Iguana iguana) and black spiny-tailed iguanas (Ctenosaura spp.) in check. Magnum Reptiles is one trapping company that has committed to taking in wayward iggies and selling them as exotic pets to people in other parts of the country.

The other thing in the article that caught my eye is much more sinister. Another trapping company, Iguana Busters, appeared this past October on the local Florida news to demonstrate how the iguanas they captured are euthanized by placing the reptiles in a freezer. When the interview was rebroadcast on the Today Show, Iguana Busters received more than 100 death threats from irate animal lovers (read more here). Luckily, at least one of the animal-rights activists was sensible enough to have a real conversation with Iguana Busters, and they are working out a way to do what Magnum Reptiles offered: send captured iguanas to people willing to adopt them. NBC2 News has the scoop on the controversy and also a great video, don't miss it.

When The World Is A Giant Heat Rock

Not sure why Canada has grabbed a hold of this news bit, but The Canoe Network, among other Canadian sources, is reporting that Puerto Rico's Department of Natural and Environmental Resources is considering drastic measures to deal with the green iguanas (Iguana iguana) at the island's airport. Seems the introduced iguanas love to lay out on the runways, soaking up all the nice heat the tarmac absorbs from the sun. Things have gotten bad enough that flights have been delayed, causing the government to consider several eradication measures, including shooting the lizards "with .22-calibre rifles." Not sure why they were so specific about that - sounds like it was one weird press conference.

Iguanas in Fla - Environmental Disaster or Tourism Triumph?

Introduced iguanas (Iguana and Ctenosaura spp.) have been a recognized problem in Florida for several years now, but as this article at Yahoo! News points out, public awareness is apparently just reaching its peak. Now that Lee County is poised to begin taxing residents in Boca Grande to pay for iguana research and control, everyone has got something bad to say about the flower-eating, disease-spreading, feces-dropping reptiles. No one is exactly sure why the problem is especially severe on Gasparilla Island (the location of Boca Grande), where Bostonians like Michael Mavilia go iguana fishing with real rods and fake worms (as if people from New England needed any more press to convince the rest of the U.S. we're a little nutty).

This commentary in the Boca Beacon points out that interest in the iguanas is potentially translating into tourism dollars. If that's the case, maybe they should be taxing visitors, not residents. Target practice, anyone?

Thanks to Allan I. for sending in a link to the story.

A Reptile Dysfunction

The ISW is pleased to present this interesting piece about Florida's green iguana (Iguana iguana) invasion. It was written by Angela Comparato, a University of Florida student and up-and-coming journalist, who has graciously given permission for me to post it in its entirety. Thanks Angela!

GAINESVILLE, Fla. – Neon green baby iguanas, believed by pet owners to be sweet and small, may soon grow into aggressive, mature adults, whipping about their 3-foot-long tails and hissing whenever handled.

Ownership of the iguana has proven to be a bigger responsibility than expected, and as a result, many owners have released their pet iguanas of different species into the wild causing an ever-growing overpopulation and inundation of unwanted iguanas in South Florida.

Many people may not realize the ramifications, but a certain Gainesville reptile shop does.

“I hate the iguana trade, and that’s why I won’t participate in it,” said Nicol Spann, owner of 21st Century Reptiles.

Like many other pet shops that have voluntarily taken iguanas off the market, this reptile shop stopped selling iguanas four years ago. However, flea markets continue to sell them for about $10 each, Spann said.

The most common is the green iguana because they are often bought as pets. Iguanas appear to be an affordable and manageable pet because they can be kept in an inexpensive tank and only need to be fed once a week.

However, people eventually get rid of their iguana because they can bite, scratch, and whip their tails.

“Too many people buy iguanas and don’t realize that 99 percent of the time they become aggressive,” Spann said.

In addition, 21st Century Reptiles refuses to take in iguanas, receiving about one iguana owner a month trying to unload their unwanted pet to the store. One iguana was left at their doorstep, which they were forced to keep, Spann said.

Instead of accepting them, Spann suggests posting an adoption flyer on the store’s poster board.

The reptile shop would like to help these iguanas, but they can carry harmful parasites.

“Parasites can spread to the entire population of the reptiles in the store before I even know it’s there,” Spann said.

While parasites can cause problems, the biggest concern with iguanas is salmonella, a bacteria found in the intestines that can cause food poisoning, said William Kern, assistant professor of entomology and nematology at the University of Florida IFAS Fort Lauderdale Research and Education Center.

Any environment containing iguana feces has potential for infectious bacteria, Kern said.

The iguana trade can also be destructive to the environment.

“This is true not only in Florida but also in the home countries where they are taken from,” Spann said. “Removing them from the ecosystem allows certain plants to grow rampant.”

As a result, the biological balance is being thrown off in Mexico, Central America and South America where the iguanas originate.

Kern said there has been no survey conducted to estimate the number of iguanas in Florida, but the already large number is increasing.

These exotic pets are able to thrive because Florida has a subtropical climate.

Iguanas inhabit Monroe, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach, Collier, Lee, Sarasota and Pinellas Counties and are spreading to more coastal, central Florida counties, Kern said.

The overpopulation of the iguanas is wreaking havoc on the environment among the plants they feed on, including hibiscus, which is their favorite food.

“They will completely strip an entire tree,” Kern said. In addition, iguanas will eat valuable ornamental plants.

“If you’ve been babying an orchid, waiting for it to bloom, and then you come in, and it’s gone, you would get pretty mad,” Kern said.

Iguanas are also a threat to plants that are in danger of extinction.

The black spiny-tailed iguana feeds on the endangered curacao bush, said Kenneth Krysko, herpetologist at the Florida Museum of Natural History at the University of Florida.

Krysko said no one, including the state, is doing anything to control this problem.

“I find it funny that the state will fund millions of dollars if a small fruit fly is found in an orchid, yet when there is document of a reptile feeding on an endangered plant species, they don’t do anything,” Krysko said.

The iguanas could be controlled. However, the law protects the green iguana because it is listed by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES), which ensures that international trade of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival.

Green iguanas are listed by CITES because of their importance to the pet trade.

Another obstacle in controlling the iguana overpopulation is public resistance of animal conservation groups that have a moral objection to the killing of these animals even though they are acting as pests, Kern said.

However, many botanical gardens are under financial pressure to control the iguanas because they are doing substantial damage to their plants.

“Do we risk the loss of potential clients by killing the iguanas, or on the other hand, do we risk the destruction of valuable plant collections if the iguanas are not controlled?” Kern said.

Iguana Go Home!

Introduced iguana (Iguana iguana) populations in Lee County, Florida have increased to levels such that the county is now holding public meetings about the problem. Acording to this report from the Boca Beacon, public consensus is definitely that the iguanas must be removed. Unfortunately there are no easy answers here, especially as the Animal Services department maintains that their jurisdiction covers only domesticated animals, not exotic species like the iguana. Though there was this odd offer by a man who has apparently dealt with similar problems in Arizona and California.

Thanks to a member of the ALIENS-L listserver for posting this story.

Iguana Trump

The green iguana (Iguana iguana) is expanding its northerly range in Florida, according to this report from the Palm Beach Post. Once restricted to only the southern tip of Florida, the Central American lizards have now made themselves at home in places like Boca Raton, where they munch on landscaped vegetation and swim in inground pools. The article features an interview with the locally known "Iguana Man," who keeps more than 50 iguanas at his "Iguana Rescue and Compound."

Iggy Invasion

I was pretty sure I had reported on this story last week, but upon closer examination, I realized this article from keysnews.com was talking about green iguanas (Iguana iguana), not monitor lizards (guess Florida is having a lot of lizard problems). The green iguana, native to Central and South America, has been accidentally and/or intentionally released into the wilds of the Florida Keys enough times that sightings of the large lizards in the city of Marathon have become quite common. Right now the formerly owned pets just seem to be annoying humans with their flower-munching habits, their bad tempers and their feces. While it is currently illegal to kill an iguana in Florida, concerned citizens are looking into shooting ordinances as well as more humane solutions to the invasion.