Archives of The Cold Blooded News

The Newsletter of the Colorado Herpetological Society

Volume 32, Number 1;   January, 2005

No Easy Fix

No Solution Offered to Lizard Problem

If the residents of Boca Grande learned anything from their meeting with Lee County officials on Thursday night, Nov. 17, it was that the island's iguana problem will not be easily solved.

Animal Services handles cats and dogs, we don't do exotics," Scott Trebatoski, director of Lee County Animal Services, told the standing room only crowd at the Community Center. "We're not funded, trained or permitted for this. We're stepping up to be the lead agency."

Also present at the meeting were Lee County Commissioner Bob Janes, assistant Lee County manager Pete Winton, wildlife biologist Dr. Jerry Jackson with Florida Gulf Coast University and Animal Services investigator Lance Raiche. The meeting was sponsored by the Gasparilla Island Conservation and Improvement Association.

Although the iguanas have been around for years, Janes said the issue was first raised with the county last spring by a group of concerned island residents. "We've never had any complaints. I can't recall an e-mail into my office complaining about iguanas, so we didn't know," he said.

The purpose of the meeting was to obtain popular consensus on what to do with the pesky reptiles, Janes said.

That consensus, expressed over and over by those in attendance, was: get rid of them.

Not so easily done. Trebatoski said state animal cruelty laws prevent the iguanas from being gassed or drowned. Pesticides would poison native reptiles. Shooting them, while popular with the audience, "does create some problems," Jackson said.

While it would be impossible to eliminate the iguana population, Janes said, they could be controlled.

"How long will it take to get a solution?" one man asked.

"It depends how hard you're willing to work to do it, because it's going to take everyone involved to do it," Jackson answered. "It's going to take money from the county and money from elsewhere to try to eradicate them."

Jackson recommended live-trapping the iguanas using hibiscus flowers or dog food for bait, or capturing them with a nylon noose on a long pole. His idea to humanely euthanize the cold-blooded reptiles by chilling them in home freezers drew laughter from the audience.

Trebatoski suggested establishing a "containment unit" on the island to collect trapped iguanas, which would then be transported back to Animal Services headquarters, where they would be euthanized with injections of sodium pentabarbitol.

He offered no estimate of what such a service would cost to reduce the population, estimated by various sources to be in the thousands.

One woman, speaking in a lighter vein, suggested an iguana roundup as an alternative to the annual Tarpon Tournament. "No catch and release," she said.

A man accused the panel of delaying a solution. "You're all saying the same thing. You're talking in circles. Reduce the population today," he said, drawing applause.

Questions were raised about whether the iguanas could carry disease, or had ever injured a human.

While captive iguanas can transmit salmonella, the wild ones don't pose a health threat, Jackson said. And while they can "bite viciously" with their small teeth, and use their spiny tails as whips, Jackson said he couldn't imagine them inflicting serious injury.

If not controlled, Jackson warned, the omnivorous iguanas would be "devastating" to populations of beach birds and sea turtles. The community should contact their state representatives for help in dealing with the iguanas and the largely ignored problem of invasive exotic animals in general, he said.

The work of collecting the iguanas would be done by a licensed permitted operator, with the support of the community, Janes said. It could be financed through an addition to the municipal services benefit unit that currently funds street lighting on the island.

"We really won't know what it will cost until we put it out for bids," Janes said. "We have no idea, because we've never done it before."

The cooperation of Charlotte County would also be needed, but Janes said he wouldn't wait for them to start.

"In 1992, there was talk about an iguana removal program, and it got shot down here," Janes reminded the audience. "This is why it's so important to have community support in order to proceed."

Janes said the county would offer a program for the community to review before the end of the season. "We're very much interested in the problem, and we're going to try to take care of it for you," he said, drawing loud applause.