Another Bad Boy Anole-Eating Lizard Gaining Ground In Florida

These are at least three large breeding populations as far north as Stuart, Florida… it is amazing to me how they have spread across 8 lane super roads such as US-1!! I estimate that one of these populations consists of about 5-10 breeding coloration males and at least 50 females, some of which appeared gravid yesterday when I visited the site. They appear to eat fire ants too… a study waiting to happen!

While walking the bridge that seperates punta gorda and port charlotte we noticed about six on the rocks by the river with one large very atractive male. He let us get about ten feet away before he moved to the next rock

Saw one today at the 711 near the mall. Jensen beach. Got a video.

A big breeding colony is at the Seminole Inn at Indiantown – saw two large makes and little ones everywhere.

Home Depot in Jenson beach us 1 had a few and the big one they named Lary

We have them in Fort Pierce as well at the Walmary.

Say my first one today at a Burger King in Indiantown. Looked like a large male with a smaller female. I used to raise bearded dragons so was very interested in seeing this species. Unlike the bearded dragons these appear to be much less friendly. Anyone know if they are known to carry desease or bite.

I saw one at Walmart in Homestead Florida.

Spotted one of these guys yesterday in N. Ft Myers, Florida. Nearly 12 inches long.

Ironically, I just took a pic of one on the back of another but that one had a partial reddish nose and white stripes on a black body. I think it’s obvious Male n Female. I’m trying to send the pic through but not sure how. The male looked about 10 in, Female not sure but looked as though she was missing full tail, guessing about 6 in. In Georgetown FL, South of Palatka.

SAW ONE ON MY PORCH . I LIVE WEST OF TURNPIKE ABOUT 4 MILES IN FT. PIERCE.

Just saw one in key largo

Maybe the homestead one got a ride to Wells Fargo parking lot in Key Largo. Just saw him there. He was very striking and fast. We had to look him up on the internet finding this site. Noticed the curly tails in Ft Lauderdale 17 years ago and now they are at my doorstep in Key West. Hate to see this invasion taking out brown anoles but I remember when they started pushing out the lime green anoles we had in Key West when I was a child. They are very rare now.

In have a huge population of these Redheads on my farm off SR76 in Stuart. Probably over 100 living on the 6 acre property. Several of the males are massive, like an Iguana, in size. Its hard to go 2 minutes without seeing one ( or several). On the good side, we have no roaches or palmetto bugs anymore!

There does not seem to be a significant decrease in Curly Tails or other varieties of Lizards as we only had a small number of them, which are still there, prior to the Redhead invasion. The Redhead makes a very pretty decoration sitting on the walls sunning, or hanging on a building side. They are not friendly in any way, and they can run like mad, when scared.

Saw one today in downtown Okeechobee. Looked remarkably like lizards I saw on the hotel grounds in the capital of Chad, in Africa. The Chad lizards may have been a bit larger, and their heads were MUCH redder. Two different species? The Chad lizards were also fearless — came to my chair looking for food.

Just spotted one on Walt Disney World Property – Orlando, FL

I seen one in Okeechobee fl

I have been watching a mating couple with offspring in Stuart FL daily. They pretty much stay in a 200 square a foot area which has a high amount of traffic.

I have an entire FAMILY of them living in the ceiling overhang of my front porch in White City, Florida.

One spotted on Hutchison Island.4/10

been in florida awhile and never seen a population rise so quick, the brown anoles are getting theirs now just like they did to the the green anole population in the 80’s.

I work at Lyngate Park in Port St Lucie Florida these guys are taking over eating everything in sight

Just saw one on US1 in Melbourne

There’s a pretty big colony of these at FPL plant on Hutchinson Island and it is pretty amazing how big they can get. There’s a male that’s at least 2’ (w/ tail)

12/30/18 saw one of these lizards at Shell Station at US-1 and 53rd Ave in Vero Beach

Dozens of them live in my neighborhood. St. Lucie West, Port Saint Lucie

they’ve headed west.
one on my lanai in Naples, FL. a male.
first time ever on property.

This guy is living in the bushes in front of the Taste Buds of India restaurant in Normandy Isle.

They have become fairly numerous in the area of the Falls shopping mall in east Kendall, on the south side of Miami. They occur in and around the malls, in the local neighborhoods, along the canals and in the Briar Bay golf course. You notice the males more easily, of course. The first time I saw a female on a local palm trunk I thought I was looking at Sceloporus, but then the male appeared from around the other side of the tree and chased her up into the fronds.
They don’t seem to have impacted either the anole or the gecko population but I suspect our parthenogenic gecko species, at least, will merrily outbreed their depredations. The big tokays can handle these interlopers easily. The anoles have survived native birds, cats, Everglades racers, young yellow rat snakes and kingsnakes for generations. I suspect they’ll weather the agamid problem too.

Incidentally, I saw what for me was a new hybrid on the ol’ anole chassis the other day: a grey dorsal background with black checker markings like any number of our Caribbean and central American species and hybrids, but with very bright green splotches between the black markings. Thought at first I was looking at an amieva (also numerous around here) but, no, definitely an anole. Very beautiful. Haven’t seen it again, unfortunately.

I live in Homestead and Agamas are all over the place. I see the big ones everytime I go near the driveway and now there’s some little guys out there too. They must be eating the regular anoles because we hardly see them around anymore.

me and 4 friends seen this exact lizard today in winter park florida we were like wtf is that.

Went out walking today and saw a lizard I had never seen before, came home, googled, and found out it’s the lizard from this blog. Sighting on roadside, Big Pine Key, FL.

Just spotted one in Vero Beach -N side of CVS on US #1

I just seen one of those red headed lizards in Sebastian Florida, it was about 6 to 8 inches long

I just saw one in Aventura, Miami right near the mall

I operate a small wholesale Coconut farm in Stuart, Fl., and have watched this invasive species literally take over the farm in the last (2) years.

At first, not knowing anything about them, I was intrigued by their colors and speed on the ground and in trees. Then I realized they were multiplying very rapidly, while other beneficial species of lizards were disappearing–most notably, my Chameleons. It didn’t take me long to figure out that the Agamas, as they increased in numbers, were targeting other species and were clearly establishing themselves as a dominant, invasive reptile.

First, the Chameleons disappeared, followed by the Curly Tails and last, the Anoles. The Agamas don’t play fair; they target the younger, more vulnerable of the other species and easily win as they are larger, faster, and have a voracious appetite. The available bugs and worms were not enough to keep them fed. I’m convinced they will eat anything alive if it’s small enough to swallow and they can catch it.

So, what to do. My Chameleons were very helpful for our younger Coconuts as they preyed on destructive bug larvae. The Curly Tails really didn’t contribute much but they mostly kept to themselves and caused no harm to others. The Anoles simply eat bugs and fight with each other, which is sometimes entertaining. The Agamas are impossible to stalk and physically catch. They also seem to have a keen sense of danger, even to the point of learning how to avoid humans trying to catch them. But they do have one weakness–as a dominant species they are arrogant enough in their own way to stare down a human from what they perceive as a safe distance. Enter the .22 caliber rifle.

The .177 BB gun or pellet rifle is not enough to take down even an adolescent Agama lizard; it will only wound the animal which is not acceptable, even for an invasive species. A larger, heavier projectile is needed. A .177 caliber BB weighs in at around 5 grains; not enough kinetic energy, even at a higher fps, to penetrate the animal for an ethical kill. The .22 caliber ‘Calibre’ cartridge fit the bill perfectly. The projectile weighs in at 20 grains, so even at a low rate of feet per second, the impact energy is enough to seriously disable/kill even the large, adult male Agama. The Calibre cartridge is a “primer-fired” round, meaning it does not utilize a powder charge like a normal rifle cartridge. The round is very quiet–makes less noise than a pellet rifle. Calibre rounds come in a variety of loads, rated by the applicable FPS (feet per second) thresholds. Because of the heavier grain, travel distance of the projectile is very small and thus presents a very low threat in terms of lethal range. Simply put, it is the perfect round for close, precision eradication of the Agama lizard.

My Anoles have returned to their usual frolicking games, chasing each other in between pushups. The Chameleons are making a slow come back; the Curly Tails seemed not to notice anything Jurassic-political, it’s business as usual with them. But the invasive, African Agamas have met their match with the apex predator in the form of the .22 caliber Calibre round.

There are a lot of African redhead agamas running around Fairchild Tropical Gardens. I wonder if they are displacing the South Florida Green Anoles? By Gregg L. Friedman MD