Florida going through an iguana invasion? (Boca Raton, Sarasota: home, price, adult)

[sunrico90]

Is this a problem in your area, many news articles mentioned that South Florida has a problem... Are the owners the problem?

[Lilybeans]

I've seen iguanas in trees. owners are no longer the problem. The iguanas have established themselves here.

[sunrico90]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

I've seen iguanas in trees. owners are no longer the problem. The iguanas have established themselves here.

WOW!!!! What are the locations?

[SoFLGal]

There are lots of iguanas on Boca Grande. Drive down by the shoreline and they sit on the rocks and sun themselves. Apparently, the are making a nuisance out of themselves eating all of the hibiscus flowers, etc. The average price of a home in this are is 1.5 million.

It's a big problem out there. They even have an "Iguana tax".

Here are a few articles about it:
USATODAY.com - Non-native iguanas sink their claws into Fla. island
HeraldTribune.com - News - News stories about Sarasota, Manatee and Charlotte counties in Florida, from the newspapers of record. - HeraldTribune.com
Iguana war cost? About $55 per home next year « The BocaNut Telegraph

[kali81]

The Cuban night anoles are a huge problem here off Palm Beach Lakes, I have them everywhere! All of the iguanas I've seen in the area were huge, probably 3 feet, including the tail, which makes me think they were released as adults. I even have pictures of a "wild" one at the zoo. I saw it swimming in the lake while the tourists took pictures of our "native lizards". I didn't bother to correct them.

[Lilybeans]

I've seen iguanas in Boca Raton and in Stuart.

I would be more worried about the monitor lizards that are established on the west coast.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by Lilybeans

I've seen iguanas in Boca Raton and in Stuart.

I would be more worried about the monitor lizards that are established on the west coast.

MONITOR LIZARDS!? I would probably die if I saw one.

[hdzup3]

where are they? im moving to the west coast.... i never heard of them and i just looked them up.. how did they get there?

[ksgator]

Originally Posted by TriMT7

MONITOR LIZARDS!? I would probably die if I saw one.

The last time I was in West Palm I saw on the local news that there was a monitor lizard on the loose in one of the neighborhoods and they estimated the weight to be around 80 lbs . Not exactly some cute little critter in your garden.

[TriMT7]

Originally Posted by ksgator

The last time I was in West Palm I saw on the local news that there was a monitor lizard on the loose in one of the neighborhoods and they estimated the weight to be around 80 lbs . Not exactly some cute little critter in your garden.

Great.

How does a lizard GROW to 80 lbs in a populated area without being discovered by the time it's 1-79 lbs, anyway?