CA Press:Maybe iguana wanna go home

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Posted by desiree on July 30, 2002 at 11:37:24:

7/30/2002

Maybe iguana wanna go home
By RAMONA TURNER
Sentinel staff writer
SOQUEL � It�s a bird. It�s a kite. No, it�s an iguana.

And senior citizens in the Soquel Glen Mobile Home Park on Soquel Drive are trying to determine what to do about the nearly 6-foot reptile perched 60-80 feet up an oak tree. Park management says it doesn�t know whether to try to get it down or leave it alone.

"He�s huge! He�s beautiful!" said Bob Vallerga, a two-year resident of the park. His home is under the tree in which the iguana was sunning himself Monday.

"I�m sure he�s got a home somewhere," Vallerga said. "I�d love to see him returned."

Park manager Bev Douglas spotted the iguana around 8:45 a.m.

"His tail was hanging, and that�s what caught my eye," she said. "I thought it was a eucalyptus bark. But it had stripes, and I thought it was a kite or balloon. A friend got her binoculars, and I looked up at the tree and I said, �Oh my God!� "

The green iguana, which is not dangerous, comes from Central and South America and is a popular pet on the Central Coast.

A clerk at Pet Emporium on 41st Avenue in Capitola said he wouldn�t be surprised if the tree-bound lizard was freed by its owner because as iguanas mature, they become difficult to handle and their nails are like needle points.

The green iguana can grow up to 6 feet in length and live 30 to 40 years.

The seniors sought someone to pluck him from his perch. Both the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals and County Animal Services advised them to call a tree trimmer to retrieve the iguana. Beavers Expert Tree Care and Removal said they would do it for $100.

But pet experts say the iguana will be fine and with a little patience, he may be caught on the ground. Iguanas are clumsy on land but may be lured down with fruits and vegetables, they said.

Seniors at Soquel Glen have had other brushes with nature, such as squirrels, buzzards and deer. But the iguana is a first.

"People are not going to believe this," Vallerga said. "They�re going to think I�ve been hitting the sauce."

For information, call Soquel Glen Mobile Home Park at 476-5044.

Contact Ramona Turner at rturner@santa-cruz.com

Maybe iguana wanna go home

Follow Ups:

I will drive by and see if I can see it today.......nm cwatbay 07/31/02 (0)
Re: CA Press:Maybe iguana wanna go home Flavia Guimaraes 07/30/02 (3)
- Lizzy in 30 to 40 years, oh my. catsandlizards 07/31/02 (0)
- Godzilla, my love, I hope to see you grow in grumpiness eyespy 07/30/02 (1)
  - LOL!!!!n/m Flavia Guimaraes 07/30/02 (0)