COCOA BEACH, Fla. — An iguana is getting a new home. The female iguana is one of two that have been roaming a Cocoa Beach neighborhood for two years.
Residents said they thought the iguanas were pets that had escaped, and they called a trapper to capture them before they could reproduce.
"First of all, what are the chances of a male iguana meeting a female iguana in Cocoa Beach?" Cocoa Beach resident Tony Hernandez said.
The iguanas are susceptible to cold, but the pair living near Yacht Haven Drive has already survived two winters.
"If we allow another season to go pass without catching these iguanas, there's a good chance that we'll have an infestation of
iguanas in this neighborhood, and we already might have one," said Hernandez.
Iguanas are known to eat landscaping plants. Their burrows can undermine sidewalks, seawalls and foundations. The iguanas' droppings are a possible source of salmonella bacteria.
Hernandez decided to contact trapper James Dean.
"These iguanas can have 20 eggs at a time, and they can multiply from there. We don't want to be like Miami or the Keys, where they are falling from the trees," said Dean.
Dean set his traps on Friday and Monday, and there is one iguana left to capture.
"If we can trap them, we have to relocate them to a person who is responsible enough to keep them," said Dean.
The traps will remain there for the time being.