I have a friend that moved to Pine Lake Village here in Jensen in '99 and I saw them there! So they are here but maybe not as bad!

Your post prompted me to do a Google on 'iguanas in Florida'. Very interesting results with one article from Tampa.
While the consensus is that they are an non-protected exotic invasion, multiplying like crazy, and causing damage to property and humans the emphasis is on capture and turning them over to animal control or pet stores, while admitting that they can inflect serious bites and scratches not to mention the feces that contain harmful bacteria. Any talk of killing stresses humaneness and complying with local laws on cruelty, etc. and suggests slingshots and rubber band guns to harass them from your property. And the final straw comes with the statements that they are part of Florida now and we should accept it and 'cage' our orchids, hibiscus, roses and vegetables to protect them from the iguanas.
Other articles report that Animal Control in some places has even quit responding to iguana calls because there are just too many. One trapper was said to have captured 1000's.
Thanks for the info. Another critter joins my hit parade with fire ants and Cuban frogs

I was under the impression the authorities okayed the " humane" way of killing them by freezing them.
Question now is chest style / or up right ?

You just keep those iguanas and Bufos down south we have enough troublemakers here:)

chest-style for the 3-footer and up, and up-right for the smaller ones :-)
I wouldn't mind having the Knight Anoles around, but I guess Central Florida will have to wait a few more decades before they make it here.

I've read (somewhere) that iguana meat is eaten by some peoples. South America, if I recall correctly. If this is true, could we hunt them in the same way deer and other "game" are hunted? I realize that question will horrify a lot of you, but a lot of us were raised on wild game and although I no longer need to hunt to have meat, I feel no guilt in the humane dispatch of "varments". I don't consider a bullet to the brain of an iguana to be inhumane. In fact, I'm surprised there has been no bounty put on these nasty lizards, after all the horror storys I've read about them.
Okay, I've stirred the hornets nest, and am ready to be attacked! cora

That turned up in my search. Something like $14 a pound in Maryland.

I just did a search for iguana recipes.

Now my mouth is watering..........

I've read (somewhere) that iguana meat is eaten by some peoples. South America, if I recall correctly. If this is true, could we hunt them in the same way deer and other "game" are hunted? I realize that question will horrify a lot of you, but a lot of us were raised on wild game and although I no longer need to hunt to have meat, I feel no guilt in the humane dispatch of "varments". I don't consider a bullet to the brain of an iguana to be inhumane. In fact, I'm surprised there has been no bounty put on these nasty lizards, after all the horror storys I've read about them.
Okay, I've stirred the hornets nest, and am ready to be attacked! cora

Iguana meat is a light meat and supposedly tastes like...guess what?...chicken! I think using them as a food source might not be such a bad idea in areas where they are out of control.

One thing, though...while they CAN bite and probably would if you tried to grab a wild one...they are not meat eaters, and not considered predators. They don't pose quite the same bite risk as a monitor lizard. Those guys can really be fierce, though again, they don't deliberately go after humans, so most bites occur when they are being harrassed or grabbed.

Neither one is good for Florida in an ecological sense. They upset the balance of nature. But as to what we should do about them at this point, I'm just not sure. For ME, if I ever see one in my yard, I will make every effort to trap it and find a home or wildlife center that would take it. At least, that is how I feel about them right now. I don't want them running around in Orlando, but I don't want to kill them outright, either. Many of them are escapees who are halfway tame already, so the ideal thing would be to find a Herp Person who'd like to have them. (And preferably one who has escape-proof cages!)

It's a thorny issue. No easy answers. But I don't think I'll be putting them in my freezer, anyway.

Marcia

I think that they exist in different areas, not necessarily moving north, but just spreading. We have had green iguanas in Cape Coral for some time, but nowhere near the numbers I have seen in the Keys or South Miami. I know they are exotic and should not be here, but I do not mind them so much. Boca Grande has a huge population of iguanas, but i think most of those are rock iguanas and not green iguanas.

I would try to eat them. I have heard they are better for you and tastier than chicken, so why not?

Bill

I saw a lizard a week or so ago that was about 18 inches long. Very fast runner he was. Do we have any natives that get that big?

I think anyone who can down an ugly crab or lobster should have no teouble eating an iguana. Froglegs are king in Indian River County where Fellsmeres fame is the Frog Leg Festival.
And what about shrimp, talk about UGLY! I think they look like cockroaches . (the creme filled kind!)

For me, lobster is the most sublime eating experience in existence! I can't think of any other food I love as much. My KNEES get weak just imagining the taste of perfectly prepared lobster dipped in drawn butter!!! Yum. BUT...I have to say that I cannot even GUESS what made the first person decide to TASTE one. I mean, who LOOKED at that thing and went, "Oh, I'll bet that would be delicious!"???? So, I have to admit, as far as looks go, the iguana comes in way ahead of lobster, shrimp, clams, oysters, and the like. At least it doesn't resemble an insect or a glob of slime, so I say taste 'em!

(I don't eat froglegs any more, as I'm worried about the state of our native frogs too much. I haven't heard that bullfrogs are in decline, but just to be safe.......)

And Sumala, no, we do not have any native lizards that reach 18 inches. It may have been a Knight anole or a small iguana, or some other escapee. We DO have some pretty large skinks, but they don't look like regular lizards, being more snakey in side to side movement. And I don't think any of them reach that size either. More like 8 to 9 inches for our most common one, the southeastern five-lined skink, and about 12 for the broad-headed skink that ranges only down to mid-Florida. If your critter looked more like a regular lizard, then it was probably an exotic.

Marcia

I live in Stuart, right near Salerno Road and our place is covered in them. You see them early in the morning and later in the afternoon. All sizes. We have llamas, one afternoon the llamas were acting crazy and my son had to go in the lake and take a huge one out of thier pond. I will post a picture of it in the gallery.

HOLY COW!!! If I saw that, I'd run the other way and I'd definitely buy a gun. The heck with being humane when you've got something that big living on your property!

I saw a story on the news that said how overrun some towns are with them and how they just can't keep up with catching them. Yipes!

Julie, keep in mind it's an herbivore. Eats flowers and leaves and doesn't attack people unless it's in self defense. No, I don't want them running around my yard, but I wouldn't think you'd need firearms for protection. A trap would be a better idea, really.

Of course, I realize in areas that are becoming overrun with them, it's a problem that isn't going to go away easily, no matter what. In fact, it's possible it may NEVER go away. Might be too late, already.

Thanks for the photo, btw...it's a real beauty! Or it would be, in its proper place.

Marcia

I caught one several yrs ago here. Niece took it to pet shop and traded it in on a smaller one with more accessories. Cage, rocks, etc.

Funny, at my parents my dad hollered come look at this dinosaur. I had been told they don't bite so I jumped on it, sort of tackle style after chasing it back and forth along a wall for quite a while, and after convincing dad to do defensive blocking .. which he seemed to be a bit fearful of looking too much like a tree.

Scratched me up and chewed on me bit before I figured out how to hold on.

... toothless sharp scaley gums instead of teeth for riping up banana's and watermelon, those things got me good. They dont bite they rip.

Must have been somebody's pet at one time but it sure wasnt friendly and I can't recommend jumping on one thinking ,, they dont bite.

I got news for you, they are all over florida, we have them all over on the SW coast of Fl. too, from Naples all the way up the coast, don't know exactly how far, but Charlotte County for sure.

While I am sure there are some in the Orlando area, too, we are NOT overrun with them like south Florida is. At least, not yet. Perhaps our cooler winters keep the majority of them farther south.

Yep, Mikie, as mentioned above, they certainly CAN and WILL bite if you threaten them, and jumping on one would most surely feel like a threat to the iguana. But for Julie's sake, I just didn't want her to think they attack people. They are not dangerous in that regard. A trap would work best, if you want to catch one.

Marcia

I love frog legs, gator, chicken, shrimp, lobster, prawns, mussels, clams, scallops, escargot, conch but I seem to be suffering from appetite fatigue. That critter is starting to look interesting to me :)

Rednecks unite! It will soon be on the endangered list!

Good point, Sumala...once word gets out how good iguana is when when grilled with a half a can of BUD up it's backside, they will soon become scarce as hen's teeth! Now if only Cuban treefrogs tasted good with barbecue sauce!

Marcia