Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.  Classified within the family Iguanidae we find some of the most the world’s most popularly kept lizards, such as the Green Iguana (Iguana iguana) and the Chuckwalla (Sauromalus obesus).  As we will see, this diverse group is also populated by a number of oddities as well – rare island dwellers and [...]

A Control Program Backfires
Hello, Frank Indiviglio here. Please see Part I of this article for background information. With introduced green iguanas (Iguana iguana) driving endangered burrowing owls from their nests and raccoons (Procyon lotor) devouring sea turtle eggs, the Florida Department of Environmental Protection initiated control measures. At a preserve in Dania Beach, an intensive [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Released and escaped green iguanas (Iguana iguana) have now established huge populations in southern Florida. Although I must admit to a certain degree of fascination with introduced species, there can be no doubt that the massive lizards have caused a great many problems in their adopted environment.
An Impressive but Bothersome Invader
Normally arboreal, [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
Breeding season aggression is a potentially serious concern for owners of male green iguanas.  Spurred by reproductive hormones, mature males, even those which have been placid for years, may suddenly become dangerously aggressive.  This most often, although not necessarily, occurs in the late winter to early spring in the USA, so I [...]

Hello, Frank Indiviglio here.
I grew up “knowing” green iguanas to be largely arboreal lizards of thickly-forested habitats.  In time, I was able to confirm that impression by observing them high in the canopy of a Costa Rican rainforest, and in the tall trees of Tortuguero Island, Costa Rica…where, in accordance with what I had read, [...]