The green iguana is a reptile and one of the largest lizard species, can reach a size of 6.5 feet and weigh up to 11 pounds. The green iguana is not all green all over; they have green, brown, tan, and gray scales, with most males being bright orange. They normally hang around grass, trees and are excellent swimmers, so this color mix is ​​great for allowing them to blend in with their surroundings. Iguanas are normally active during the day and are herbivorous despite their razor-sharp teeth and tail. They are fast, agile creatures that can run quickly on land and leap from trees up to 40 feet tall and land on the ground without injury. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayThe green iguana comes naturally from the rainforests of northern Mexico, Central America, the Caribbean Islands, and southern Brazil, where they will remain in the canopy until it is time to mate, lay eggs, or move on to another tree. The green iguana can lay 14 to 76 eggs at a time. The green iguana thrives in Florida's climate; however, they lose much of the cover provided by rainforests. However, where they lose trees, they gain rivers and canals where they can swim to cool off, bake and travel from place to place. Iguanas are excellent swimmers, as they can hold their breath for up to 30 minutes and are able to use their tails as a rudder allowing them to move from place to place faster and more effectively. The green iguana was introduced to Florida in the 1960s along the Gulf Coast and Atlantic coast. These primarily coastal and suburban counties are home to numerous trees, canals, and sunny sidewalks that have created the perfect breeding ground for iguanas. The green iguana was originally introduced to eliminate another parasite, the raccoon. They were introduced without knowing that they are primarily herbivorous species, they reproduce faster than raccoons and quickly disperse across the land they place them on through the use of waterways. Now we not only have a raccoon problem, we also have an iguana problem. There are no real predators for iguanas as they are very fast, so any predators they have are unable to catch them, and the only time we have seen a real decrease in their population size was in 2010, when in the south There was a cold wave in Florida and the iguanas couldn't survive the 30 degree temperatures. Patrick Barry told David Fleshler of the Sun-Sentinel "The numbers are increasing due to the lack of predators and our warmer winters of late, with another winter like the last few, where the temperature never gets into the 30s or even '40s, we'll see an exceptional number of these guys next summer." The iguana has little to no impact on native species, as they are primarily herbivores, so they only eat plants, but when they eat meat it is duck eggs, which are also invasive, or insects. The impact they have on people living in iguana infested communities has to take into account the cosmetic effects iguanas have, as burrowing iguanas make their communities look bad the minimal impact makes them more of an inconvenience than anything else , since the public sees nothing wrong with them, so taking action to try to remove them is difficult. Iguanas are difficult to get rid of because they reproduce quickly and can live up to 20 years. The green iguana has quickly become a pest, so eliminating it from our environment would have no effect.