Invasive Reptiles and Majestic Native Trees

When you think of invasive reptiles in South Florida, your list will include the green iguana and the Burmese python. Green iguanas (Iguana iguana) are large, typically green lizards, and some adults can take on an orange-brownish coloration.

If you live on a canal, your seawall and dock are a favorite sunbathing area for a “mess” of green iguanas and they can also undermine the seawall foundation by digging nesting burrows. According to FWC, green iguanas are not native to Florida and are considered an invasive species due to their impacts on native wildlife. Like all nonnative reptile species, green iguanas are not protected in Florida except by anti-cruelty law and can be humanely killed year-round on a private property with landowner permission. 

Green iguanas are known for their voracious appetite and forage on anything green! I suggest that you avoid plantings that they enjoy, such as flowering hibiscus, roses, orchids, and tender leaf garden vegetables. In my landscape, iguanas avoid eating crotons, ixoras, and bromeliads (thick leaves), citrus, oleander, and anything with strong scents. Just to annoy them, I plant wild hot peppers and a rosemary bush next to the leafy herbs.

And what about our beloved burrowing owls? According to Brittany Piersma, biologist for the Audubon of the Western Everglades, “we have zero evidence of evidence of green iguanas eating owl eggs/chicks or tortoise eggs.”

Burmese python (Python bivittatus) is one of the largest species of snakes, and yes, some have been observed and caught in areas of Marco Island. According to FWC, “historically, Burmese python populations in South Florida were centered in Everglades National Park in Miami-Dade County, but they eventually became established from Lake Okeechobee to Key Largo and from western Broward County west to Collier County.” Ian Bartoszek, a wildlife biologist from the Conservancy of Southwest Florida, remarked, “this is a generalist apex predator, and why we’re so interested in removing them from the ecosystem.” But these resilient reptiles continue to slither to new locations in Southwest Florida and are now found outside their previously established range, according to wildlife experts.

FWC has reported multiple sightings of Burmese pythons on Marco Island, indicating a presence of this invasive species in the area. Recent reports included one in December, 2025, with an 11-foot python caught by an expert trapper and handed over to state researchers.   

Burmese python observations can be reported to FWC’s Exotic Species Hotline at 888-Ive-Got1 (888-483-4681). Pythons must be humanely killed on site at the time of capture. Live transport of pythons is not allowed. FWC encourages people to capture and humanely kill pythons from private lands whenever possible. 

What to do when you observe a Burmese python in your neighborhood? If you observe a Burmese python in your neighborhood, FWC advises that you do not approach it. Instead, report the sighting to them by calling their nuisance animal hotline: 888-404-FWCC (3922) and take a photograph for verification from a safe distance.

Florida’s climate is host to both invasive nuisance reptiles and to majestic native plants.

Southern live oak (Quercus virginiana) is a native Floridian and the classic symbol of the South, draped in Spanish moss. According to experts, they are wind resistant and helps save nearby homes from hurricane wind damage. If you look up its towering, twisting limbs, you’ll observe a variety of air plants (epiphytes) such as Spanish moss, ferns, bromeliads, and even cacti - mostly all wind-blown and thriving. The Southern live oak provides shelter for local native wildlife, even the iguanas. Unfortunately, we also observe many live oaks planted near electric power lines or squeezed into small medians or next to buildings and are doomed to a lifetime of pruning. 

The gumbo limbo tree (Bursera simaruba) is a Florida native plant known for its peeling red bark. It is nicknamed the “tourist tree” because it resembles a tourist’s sunburned skin! Under the “peeling skin” is a green bark. It can lose all its leaves during a storm or cold weather but survives because it produces food (chlorophyll) in its trunk rather than on its leaves.