What’s spiny and scaly, has sharp claws, is green all over, follows a strict vegetarian diet, has four legs and can be found locally on St. Pete Beach? Green iguanas!
Yep… that’s right…iguanas! Over the past few years, these green, spiky reptiles have been growing in population after seeing a sharp decline in numbers in 2010 caused by a harsh winter freeze that swept South Florida, wiping out a large portion of the green iguana population. Since 2010, green iguanas have made a tremendous comeback and have actually become quite invasive in South Florida in areas such as Palm Beach, Miami-Dade County, Brevard County, Broward County and the Keys.
These large lizards have arrived in Florida via the exotic pet trade from tropical origins such as Mexico, Brazil, Central America and the Caribbean Islands. These large reptiles have adapted well to Florida habitat, they breed more than once a year and they can live 15 to 20 years in the wild. Despite being rather difficult to care for properly, green iguanas are among the most popular reptile pets in the United States next to imports such as the Leaf-Toed Gecko, Ball Python, Oriental Water Dragon and King Ratsnake. Most captive iguanas die within their first year because they are not properly cared for and many either escape or are set free by their owners, thus repopulating in these South Florida communities.
Green iguanas are among the largest lizards in the Americas and average a length of 6.5 feet and weigh about 11 pounds! These reptiles are herbivores, meaning they do not eat meat, rather feeding on flowers, leaves and fruit and they generally live near water, in tropical climates, and are excellent swimmers. Green iguana’s habitats range from the rainforests of northern Mexico to southern Brazil and many other places, and they spend the majority of their lives in the canopy, usually only coming down to mate, lay eggs or change trees. Green iguanas are very fast and agile on land despite their stout build, and they have very strong jaws with razor-sharp teeth. Their sharp tails, which make up half their body length, can be used as whips to drive off predators and can also detach if caught or attacked and will grow back without permanent damage. Green iguanas also have a primitive third eye on top of their head that can’t form images, but can detect predators. If threatened, they are also tough enough to leap from great heights and land on solid ground from as high as 40 feet in order to escape predators and survive.
Predators are not the only enemy iguanas have to ward off…cold weather also poses a huge threat for these reptiles. Green iguanas living and breeding in Florida are only able to survive in the year-round warmth of the southern areas of the state. They do not create their own body heat, so they are unable to withstand the colder temperatures that occur on a regular basis in areas north of Orlando. When iguanas are in areas or situations where the temperature drops in the 40’s or below, their slow metabolism becomes even more sluggish until they may even appear to be in a near-comatose state. If they do find themselves in these frigid circumstances and are hiding in trees, iguanas may fall off branches and they will often lie frozen and will be unresponsive to touch. Once temperatures begin to rise, iguanas usually recover from their dormant state by sunning themselves to help speed up their metabolism. However, if these periods of cold weather last for more than a few days in a row, like the harsh Florida winter of 2010, iguanas cannot recover and thus do not survive. Green iguanas thrive in the tropical climate of South Florida and have not endured any freezes since 2010, so there has been a recent overtaking by these reptiles in several southern counties because they continue to breed.
Although many people obtain these green iguanas as exotic pets, too many of them end up perishing due to lack of proper care by their owners or they escape and are killed by predators or cold weather. A St. Pete Beach hotel is doing its part to make sure these helpless creatures that have made their way to Florida get the proper care and habitat that they need to survive and prosper. For the past seven years, the Sirata Beach Resort, located at 5300 Gulf Boulevard, has been taking in and housing unwanted green iguanas in their very own Iguana Sanctuary located right on the hotel property.
“We’re a 501(c)(3) organization, and our mission is a combination of taking in unwanted iguanas that people either have as pets or they find,” says Lenné Nicklaus-Ball, Vice President of Sirata Beach Resort. “We have an educational component where we work with Petco and we talk to people about taking in exotic pets.”
Many people that take on the task of adopting an exotic pet, such as the green iguana, are not equipped to properly care for them, or the owners become frustrated or tired of the maintenance and energy it takes to provide care for these reptiles. Just like any other house pet, like cats and dogs, iguanas require and deserve the same level of care and attention that you would provide any other pet. According to the Green Iguana Society website, “Spending quality time with an iguana and acclimating it to the life of a human’s pet is another part of iguana husbandry that takes a lot of time and patience. Cleaning, disinfecting and sterilizing the habitat also involves a lot of maintenance. Once an iguana owner gets used to doing all the daily and weekly chores, it can be easy, but they are still not low maintenance pets.”
The folks at the Sirata Beach Resort want to provide unwanted iguanas with a good home and proper care, especially during winter months when iguana care is particularly important and crucial to their survival. The Iguana Sanctuary on the hotel’s property has to be equipped with all the necessities that the 30 iguanas will need to make it through the frigid winter temperatures.
“They can’t live here because when the cold comes in they die, so you’ll find them south of here,” adds Lenné Nicklaus-Ball. “In their habitat we’ve put Plexiglas around it and they have heat lamps and heating beds [to protect them from the cold in the winter].”
Not only do they want to make sure these rescued green iguanas have a proper habitat and level of care year round at the hotel’s sanctuary, but they also want these iguanas and other exotic pets to stop being imported. Sirata Beach Resort is willing to give up the iguanas they have for adoption as long as they are being taken by owners that can rightly care for and attend to care them.
“Our goal is not to just collect them, but if someone wants to adopt and iguana and they can provide a real habitat, take care of them and take them to the vet, then we have no problem having people take them,” she says.
Lenné’s and the rest of the Sirata staff’s passion for these spiny, green reptiles has become the catalyst to host their second annual Reptail Rally, which is an electric race car event that raises money for the Gulf Coast Iguana Sanctuary, which rescues and provides habitat for abandoned Iguanas in Pinellas County. Part of the proceeds from Reptail Rally will also go to Horsepower for Kids, which is an organization that serves inner-city children, at-risk children, and any child that could benefit from riding, learning about and loving horses.
The Second Annual Reptail Rally will take place in the parking lot of the Sirata Beach Resort on St. Pete Beach Saturday, December 14 and Sunday, December 15. This one-of-a-kind event will begin Friday night with a kickoff party featuring live music by the Horny Toads at Harry’s Beach Bar, and then the races will begin on Saturday morning, with an award ceremony to follow on Sunday. This event is put on by Tampa Grand Prix and these electric cars can go up to 60 miles per hour! There will be 20 teams, three people per team, participating in this electric race car event, and the entry fee is $1,500 per team. At the end of the event, there will be fantastic prizes and cash prizes of $5,000 awarded to the first three teams!
This event is right around the corner, so make sure you get your three-person team together and register at www.gulfcoastiguanasanctuary.com or contact Sirata Beach Resort at 727.363.5148 for more information. Please do your part to help save these majestic creatures and raise awareness about the responsibilities of exotic pet ownership! PN
Story by Sarah Meitz • Photos by Jim Tizzano
Date: October 2, 2013
Thank you for the article. I’ve read a lot about the damage these iguanas are doing to plants and property by burrowing behind seawalls, under foundations, etc.
What is you opinion on helping them in light of these other issues?