Wildlife Officials: Florida Facing Invasive Giant Reptile Species Takeover

The Tegu lizard is a native species of Argentina and is primarily found throughout South America. The four-foot reptile has been spotted in large numbers across Florida, which means that it's now been classified as invasive.

Previously established in sites of West-Central and South Florida, the Giant Argentine Tegu lizard has found another fertile breeding ground in Tampa, Florida. Wildlife officials have spotted more than 100 of the black and white lizards in Hillsboro County and it is now considered the third Tegu breeding population in the state.

One of the issues is that the Tegu has very few predators and can defend themselves very effectively in the wild thanks to their powerful jaws. However, they also make very good house pets, and if taken care of properly, they become attached to their owner. Domesticated Tegu can live up to twelve years.  

But in the wild they can pose various issues. They reproduce very efficiently, laying between 25-50 eggs at a time, while also possessing an expansive diet. The Tegu will eat anything from plants to animals, including amphibians and birds, says Tessie Offner of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission. Offner believes there's another explanation for the Tegu's growing presence.

"People buy these cute little lizards at the pet store and then they grow to be too big for an aquarium and they are too expensive to feed and then they just set them free in the preserves," she said in this USA Today article.

The problem is that the Tegu's native environment is that of the more uninhabited and wildlife areas of Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, and Uruguay. Their overbearing presence in Florida is likely to pose an issue for people as well as other domesticated pets and wildlife preserves.

As a result of the threat, the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission have taken measures to trap the lizards and humanely euthanize them. The FWC has planted 28 traps throughout Hillsboro County to help provide a solution for their growing presence. Hopefully, due to the reptile's invasive nature, these actions don't cause a stir among other wildlife groups.

To read more about the Tegu lizard and its presence in Florida, visit this USA Today article.