Are iguanas a problem in Florida, and what can I do about them?

They come from Central America and tropical South America and were first reported in Florida in the 1960s, in Miami-Dade County. They now live in Broward, Martin, Miami-Dade, Monroe and Palm Beach counties on the Atlantic Coast and in Collier and Lee counties on the Gulf Coast. They do not handle cold well, so ones seen farther north are likely escaped or released pets.

Males can grow to more than five feet long and weigh up to 17 pounds. Iguanas damage landscape plants, and their burrows can wear away and collapse sidewalks, foundations, seawalls and canal banks. They leave droppings on docks, boats, seawalls and porches, and they can spread Salmonella to people.

Green iguanas have been on Florida's prohibited species list since April 29, 2021. They are not protected except by the anti-cruelty law, and the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission (FWC), the state wildlife agency, encourages landowners to remove them. A captured iguana cannot be released elsewhere in Florida. For help, the FWC suggests a professional nuisance wildlife trapper; its website has a trapper search. Owners can give up a pet iguana through the FWC's Exotic Pet Amnesty Program without penalty.

The FWC says never bring a cold-stunned iguana inside to warm up, because it can recover fast and defend itself with its tail, teeth and claws. During a cold spell on February 1 and 2, 2026, a temporary FWC order let people bring live, cold-stunned iguanas to FWC offices without a permit, and the FWC reported 5,195 iguanas removed. That order has ended, and the FWC no longer takes live iguanas.

The FWC's main office in Tallahassee is 850-488-4676.

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