The Night of the Iguanna

[bubba]

You may recall "The Night of the Iguanna", John Huston's 1964 drama starring Richard Burton, Ava Gardener, Deborah Kerr and Sue Lyon (whatever happened to Sue Lyon/Hot!). This was a rather twisted and slightly insane script that anyone prone to the edgy from one admittedly facetious has to love (See Dr. Strangelove, Cool Hand Luke, etc...).

Filmed in Mismaloya, just south of Puerto Vallarto (20 degrees 40'N 105 degrees 16'W), in the Mexican state of Jalisco, Ava Gardener introduced the iguanna to American consciousness(or to anyone else who watched this movie).However, we are knee deep in these looney looking characters in PB County and So. Fl. They reproduce in legendary style (4x a year).

They are not aggressive but they are not shy. They have incredible bite strength but are veggies. It has been revealed that they are slightly venomous notwithstanding conventional wisdom that the nasty swelling and bleeding from extremely rare bites resulted from infection.

 

How far north in Florida are the iguannas trending? Your information would be helpful.

[RedRabbit]

I'm not aware of any north of Gasparilla Island on the west coast. There might be some slightly further, but I'm pretty sure they don't go as far as Englewood. 

[Silas_Sancona]

51 minutes ago, RedRabbit said:

I'm not aware of any north of Gasparilla Island on the west coast. There might be some slightly further, but I'm pretty sure they don't go as far as Englewood. 

I think you are correct, though i'd thought id heard of Iguanas being observed somewhere around Sarasota and Manatee county not all that long ago. Inaturalist also has suspected, observational data from around St. Pete /Tampa, and around Orlando and Titusville though id take those lightly. Outside of the questionable reports, Ft. Pierce looks like the current northern boundary on the east coast there. Think they have also established? / are establishing populations? near Brownsville, TX. 

[Umbrae]

Have not heard of any in Brownsville but on my next foray south i will keep am eye out for them

[Silas_Sancona]

15 minutes ago, Umbrae said:

Have not heard of any in Brownsville but on my next foray south i will keep am eye out for them

I hadn't either until seeing that the species was listed by the Texas Invasive Species Institute. Their site goes on to say they have supposedly been established in that part of the state "since at least the 1990's", after slowly moving their way north out of southern Mexico..

Wish they included a map of where iguanas have been documented / observed there. 

Edited August 6, 2018 by Silas_Sancona
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[Umbrae]

I think that may be wishful thinking on their parts 

[Silas_Sancona]

1 hour ago, Umbrae said:

I think that may be wishful thinking on their parts 

Certainly possible. It could also be miss- identifying sightings of the Western Spiny tailed Iguana, Ctenosaura pectinata which is a documented introduced species in Cameron County as Green Iguanas, though i'd think even a casual observer would be able to distinguish between the two. 

[bubba]

Saw Nile Monitor Lizard (5 footer) in the Glades near C-51 this winter. I know they have domesticated in Lee County. Hopefully the mass invasion of iguanas is limited to SE Florida. Crazy stuff here. Ducks and Curly Tails looking around like WTF. Even the parrots do not know what to think!

[Silas_Sancona]

20 minutes ago, bubba said:

Saw Nile Monitor Lizard (5 footer) in the Glades near C-51 this winter. I know they have domesticated in Lee County. Hopefully the mass invasion of iguanas is limited to SE Florida. Crazy stuff here. Ducks and Curly Tails looking around like WTF. Even the parrots do not know what to think!

Evidently Iguanas are edible, and considered a delicacy by some as well, containing more Protein than Chicken.  I guess that's one way of beating ..err, eating...   back an invasion, lol.

Edited August 6, 2018 by Silas_Sancona
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[RedRabbit]

25 minutes ago, bubba said:

Saw Nile Monitor Lizard (5 footer) in the Glades near C-51 this winter. I know they have domesticated in Lee County. Hopefully the mass invasion of iguanas is limited to SE Florida. Crazy stuff here. Ducks and Curly Tails looking around like WTF. Even the parrots do not know what to think!

I don't mind iguanas so much, but I'd rather not see monitor's proliferating. I've read they get up to 10' in length so it's not something you'd really want to encounter.  

[bubba]

No stray cats anymore in Lee County!

[Cape Garrett]

Have green and brown spiny iguanas here in Cape Coral.   Had 2 green ones at my previous home that loved the papaya leaves.  You could find them up hi in those trees every day.  Also have Nile monitor lizards.  They can get pretty large.

[GDLWyverex]

My former room mate had a rather large green Iguana which had the run of the house and occasionally, my garden. They are the only vegetarians that I have met that eat raw alocasias.  All other vegetarians that I have encountered will not eat any araceaes, be they philodendrums, anthuriums, alocasias...

Iguanas have HUGE appetites and are able to reach the hardest to get to, rare, expensive plants with uncanny accuracy and frequency. They are TOTALLY incompatible with rare plant gardens.

They are otherwise great pets. They are intelligent and responsive to their owners. They love to be scratched and are very social. But watch out for the tail which can send you flying across the room with broken bones. They are incredibly strong.

 

Richard

[Cape Garrett]

On 8/6/2018, 8:02:16, Cape Garrett said:

Have green and brown spiny iguanas here in Cape Coral.   Had 2 green ones at my previous home that loved the papaya leaves.  You could find them up hi in those trees every day.  Also have Nile monitor lizards.  They can get pretty large.

Here's a little baby green iguana I came across last week here in the Cape.

[bubba]

They want some! Noticed a whole new batch of younger youngsters today. It may be more like 8 times a year! Fasten your seatbelts!

[Missi]

The iguana population in Naples is starting to increase. The freeze of 2010 killed off many of the breeding age iguanas.The survivors have matured and are creating young of their own. I have a friend who lives in Lehigh Acres and works in Labelle (both inland towns) and he sees populations of green iguanas in the areas near canals.

For fun, here is my currently unnamed boy, a color mutation that called "False Red". He's maybe 3 years old and small for his age because he was not properly cared for by his first owner. I took him from someone who was neglecting him. He survived a nasty skin infection of some sort (vet and pathologist are still not sure what it was) and has recovered and fattened up with proper care! He lives on my lanai in a spare parrot cage with proper lighting above. Will have to add supplemental heat soon for the winter. I bring him inside to work on taming him in the evenings. He has bitten me a few times. I've been bitten several times by several green iguanas in my years. They have no venom, but they can carry bacteria in their mouths (and what creature doesn't) which can make a bite infected. Simple wound care and cleanliness will see that it heals like any other cut. The iguana tail whip won't break adult human bones but it will leave a painful welt! When mine outgrows the cage, I may move him down into a large outdoor enclosure, or I may create something inside for him - definitely somewhere where he doesn't have access to my coveted plants or plants that might be toxic to him. Have not decided yet.

 

[bubba]

Way to go Missi! Take good care of him and I am sure you will. The more I watch Iguanas, the more I like them! Great story.

[Hillizard]

As a teenager, back in the previous century, I raised three iguanas for over ten years, two females and one male. This was years before they'd invaded Florida and before you could buy commercially-produced Iguana 'diet' in cans at pet shops. My largest female even laid eggs twice. She mated with the male during a bath I gave them in the shower. I incubated the eggs in damp, warm sand but none ever hatched. When I went off to college I donated the lizards to the Calif. Academy of Sciences, which had a reptile exhibit at the time. I was never as infatuated with them as this guy: https://www.facebook.com/HenryLizardlover

They are called "bamboo chicken" in Belize, but when I lived there I diplomatically turned down offers to sample their meat; too close to eating a pet for me.

I agree they are not venomous, but can be host to lots of bacteria (incl. Salmonella). I was bitten and scratched countless times. One trick I learned whenever I needed to pick up one of my lizards, and they weren't in a cooperative mood, was to make fast circles in the air with your index finger close to the eye of the Iguana watching you. Eventually they grow tired of watching your finger movements and close their eye(s). That's when you reach over and hook your fingers firmly on either size of their head. Always worked for me.

[Mangosteen]

No iguanas here on the Big Island, but plenty of geckos.

[Missi]

14 hours ago, Hillizard said:

before you could buy commercially-produced Iguana 'diet' in cans at pet shops.

That's okay because these products are garbage, just a marketing gimmick. Some contain egg and whey protein! Green iguanas (Iguana iguana) should never have animal proteins, not even as juveniles. They contain corn, wheat products, and countless artificial ingredients. Iguanas still require the good, old-fashioned nutritious, dark, leafy greens and tropical fruit for optimal health! 

I'm going to try your tip of moving the finger around by the eye! I have to grab my boy with a towel to get him out of his cage since the previous owner rarely handled him as a baby. Once he's in the house and settles down, he's much more handleable.

[Missi]

13 hours ago, Mangosteen said:

No iguanas here on the Big Island, but plenty of geckos.

I LOVE these little dudes!!