COCOA, Fla. – People who live around Lake Poinsett are used to seeing alligators.
But one homeowner says another reptile has her a lot more creeped out.
“They’re huge. They’re so big. They look like mini dinosaurs,” Brady Deluca said. “That’s so dramatic, I know, but they are so disgusting.”
The City of Cape Canaveral recently shared a message saying Brevard County is asking for help spotting Argentine black and white tegus, an invasive species that state wildlife officials say can threaten native wildlife.
Deluca recently captured video of one of the large lizards crossing a road in her neighborhood and heading toward a canal.
“OH NO, IT’S BACK,” she recalled thinking.
That’s because this wasn’t her first encounter with one.
Last year, Deluca said a smaller tegu somehow ended up inside a neighbor’s crab trap.
“We tried to trap it. Failed miserably. Got in the water,” she said. “We learned they’re great swimmers.”
Her neighbor showed News 6 the trap where the lizard was found before escaping.
“I think those traps are a little over 24 inches, so he was probably close to three foot,” he said.
Deluca says she’s used to sharing her Lake Poinsett neighborhood with alligators, but these lizards are another story.
“We’re used to the gators because they’re here and they don’t bother us. We don’t bother them,” she said. “But these are new and different. And I don’t like them.”
According to the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission, Argentine black and white tegus can grow to nearly 5 feet long. The agency says the invasive lizards are strong swimmers and have been documented eating the eggs of native wildlife, including alligators and sea turtles.
That worries Deluca, who recently watched a pair of sandhill cranes raise two chicks near her home.
“We had two babies here for a couple weeks, and now they only have one,” Deluca said. “Now I’m going to sit here and worry that one of the tegus got it.”
Still, she hopes she won’t have to worry about seeing any more.
“I would love to think that no more show up,” Deluca said. “That would make my day.”
FWC encourages anyone who spots a tegu to take a picture, note the location and report the sighting through the IveGot1 app or the Exotic Species Hotline. The agency advises people not to try to handle the animals themselves.