Tegu Turmoil: New Florida Law Allows Giant Reptiles To Be Killed

MIAMI, FL – No one would ever accuse them of being cute. But lizard lovers say the tegu, a reptile native to Argentina, is intelligent, has loads of personality and can even be trained to do tricks like a dog.

Therefore, Floridians who tout the traits of tegus aren’t happy about the new Florida law allowing them to be trapped and killed on public lands.

Signing the bill into law this week, Florida Gov. Rick Scott declared war on tegus, pythons and lionfish, all nonnative species that are now thriving in the wilds of Florida.

There’s a good reason to eradicate wild tegus, said officials with the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

The black and white species of lizard, which can grow up to four feet long, is carnivorous, dining on bird and reptile eggs, frogs, lizards, snakes, rats and insects.

“The problem is these large lizards compete with and feast on our native wildlife,” said Kristen Sommers, who leads the agency’s Wildlife Impact Management Section.

Of particular concern is the tegu’s appetite for gopher tortoise eggs and the eggs of the rare American crocodile, both of which are federally protected.

Environmentalists fear that, as their population in the wild grows, they'll decimate the gopher tortoise population.

The problem is tegus reproduce quickly, laying as many as 35 eggs at a time. Since they were first imported to Florida in 2002 by exotic pet vendors, escaped tegus have quickly established breeding populations in Miami-Dade, Broward, Polk and Hillsborough counties, according to FWC Commissioner Richard Hanas.

“One of our priorities is to conserve our native species and protect them from the threat of invasive species,” said Hanas. “We need to do whatever we can to meet that challenge.”

That includes declaring open season on the giant lizards just as the state has done with the nonnative Burmese python.

In 2017, Florida began allowing Burmese pythons to be killed any time of the year on 22 state wildlife management and environmental areas. Both traps and firearms can be used, and there is no bag limit.

Now the same fate awaits wild tegus.

This saddens licensed tegu breeder Laura Roberts, owner of Your Tegu in Sanford.

“I’m conflicted,” she said. “I agree that we need to protect the gopher tortoise and I know something has to be done to keep the tegu population in check. But I’m not happy about tegus being hunted and killed.”

Roberts was introduced to tegus by her reptile-loving 10-year-old daughter, Lacey, in 2006.

“They weren’t readily available back then but she wanted one so we searched until we finally found one for her,” Roberts said.

Roberts didn’t expect that she’d become equally enamored with the giant reptiles.

“They make great pets,” she said. “They’re very smart and can be very affectionate. We kept our first tegu on our screened porch but it figured out how to use the cat door to get into the house. It would sit on the couch and watch TV with me.”

Although she can’t provide any proof, she said it’s common knowledge among tegu breeders that the population of wild tegus in the Miami-Dade area came from a breeder who had inadequate housing, allowing some of his tegus to escape into the wild where they began breeding.

She said the breeding colony in Polk County was reportedly started by a negligent breeder who intentionally released tegus he felt were inferior breeders.

Nevertheless, licensed St. Petersburg trapper Dave Lueck, who had a pet tegu as a child, said he’d never guess wild tegus were a problem in Hillsborough County.

Lueck’s license gives him the authority to trap nonnative species that pose a nuisance, including the tegu. But he said it’s been more than two years since he was called to trap one.

“We don’t have as big a problem in Tampa Bay as they do down south, probably because we occasionally get freezes here that keep the population down,” he said. “But of all the nonnative species I’m called to trap, tegus are at the extreme bottom of the list of problems I see in this area.”

Last year,100 wild tegus were trapped in Hillsborough County while more than 1,200 were captured in Miami-Dade County, according to the FWC.

Lueck is committed to relocating the native species he traps, such as coyotes, bobcats, otters, raccoons and native snakes, to conservation areas where they can’t pose a problem. However, Florida law prohibits him from releasing nonnative species back into the environment.

Therefore, the only alternatives for trapped tegus is to kill them or find someone to adopt them, he said.

Roberts would prefer to see wild tegus placed in wildlife sanctuaries or adopted into homes.

“We have four tegus that were caught in the wild in south Florida,” she said. “I have a friend who traps them and relocates them to pet homes. Even if they’ve been living in the wild, they can be easily domesticated and make good pets. I’ve had iguanas that were more aggressive than tegus.”

The declaration of war on tegus has proven more controversial than the one on Burmese pythons.

A post about tegus on the FWC Facebook page elicited nearly 250 comments from people on both sides of the debate.

While Roberts said there are good points on both sides of the issue, she bristles when someone claims tegus should be eradicated because they are a threat to cats and small dogs.

“I’ve never heard of a tegu eating a dog or cat,” she said. “My tegus have never bothered my dogs or cats. They’re predators and tegus don’t prey on predators. I’ve had iguanas that were meaner and more aggressive.”

Images via Your Tegu