You do not have to live in S. FL to be interested in learning, with your kids, about iguanas. They are not natural to our area, yet they are taking over. Read this article from the Sun Sentinel today.

Just like pythons and other exotic creatures, iguanas were introduced into our subtropical terrain by uneducated pet owners, who could no longer care for their lizards and thus released them into the wild. They have reproduced in such astounding numbers, that they are causing problems here. When full grown, they can reach 5 feet in length, so they do not have many predators. They seem to enjoy life in well protected residential neighborhoods, and they are known to devour fruit trees, household plants and orchids and leave their poop (which can contain salmonella) all over the place.  The odor is atrocious! They also like to dig burrows, which can cause paved areas to collapse.

It is illegal to release iguanas into the wild here, but apparently that is not stopping many pet owners from doing so. I find them to be fascinating to watch and exotically beautiful (in a prehistoric sort of way), and I would be sad to hear they are being destroyed. If people would just leave exotic animals where they belong, we would not have this problem.  I am perfectly happy living with a standard poodle and not a lizard.

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Photo courtesy of Free Digital Photos

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