BOCA BEACON (Florida) 05 August 05 Veterinarians differ over iguana 'fix'
Two prominent veterinarians, both specializing in reptile medicine, disagree on whether biologist Jerry Jackson's plan can help reduce Gasparilla Island's population of spiny iguanas.
"Yes," said Dr. Douglas Mader, with the Marathon Veterinary Hospital. "It's quite simple, and it would probably work well for population control."
"No," said Elliott Jacobson, a research veterinarian at the University of Florida, Gainesville. "The cost of surgery would be several hundred dollars per lizard."
The invasive reptiles' burrows threaten the stability of sand dunes near the Boca Grande Lighthouse. They also eat local plants and animals and shelter in residents' houses, creating potential health problems.
Jackson wants to vasectomize the dominant male iguanas, but wasn't certain if the operation was feasible, or practical.
Coverage of the situation on the Beacon's web site drew the attention of Melissa Kaplan, author of "Iguanas for Dummies."
"It will require major surgery under general anesthesia, since the iguana testes are not under the vent flap, but inside the body cavity, nestled up near the lungs," Kaplan said, referring to a drawing on her web site.
She wondered why Jackson seemed to be ignoring several journal articles and biology texts that discuss the spiny iguana, and referred him to the two experts.
"Is it possible to vasectomize an iguana? Yes," Jacobson said. "Is it practical? Probably not, because of the cost and trying to determine how many animals need to be vasectomized to have an effect on the population."
The cost of surgery could run to several hundred dollars per lizard, Jacobson said.
Mader is the author of "Reptile Medicine and Surgery." One of his colleagues at the Marathon hospital, who consulted with him for this story, disagreed.
"It's fairly easy to do, using endoscopic surgery," said Dr. Alissa Raymond. "You just clamp the tubes. It might cost $200 for a pet iguana, but if a clinic was set up with veterinarians donating their time and instruments, the cost might be closer to $20 per animal.Without such expertise, Jackson was trying to "re-invent the wheel," Kaplan warned.
"When you've got lizards who can breed and lay several dozen eggs, and live down in burrows, I don't know if you can eradicate them," Kaplan warned. "I see this as being an ongoing problem in Florida. I don't see 10 percent eradication, because iguanas are so good at exploiting the environment.
"They're slowly spreading, exploiting a habitat that suits them," Kaplan said. "Unless you take all of central Florida down, it's not going to happen."
Veterinarians differ over iguana 'fix'