Large Invasive lizards making a home in Georgia

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources reports that Argentine black and white tegus – an invasive species of large lizard native to Argentina – are breeding in the wilds of Georgia.

Argentine black and white tegus can growing up to 4 feet long and weigh 10 pounds or more. They eat everything from bird eggs to small animals and plants.

The big tegus remain an issue in Tattnall and Toombs counties. Four Argentine black and white tegus were recently reported, on both sides of the county line.

The Georgia Department of Natural Resources report that Mendes resident Seth Edwards had a crew raking pine straw off I.S. Smith Road in eastern Toombs County when the leader called him on May 20. He was excited.

"He said, 'We killed a dragon!'" Edwards recalled. "I said, 'A what?' He said, 'A dragon ... a big lizard!'"

That tegu, caught as it scrambled for a gopher tortoise burrow, measured more than 3.5 feet long. Meanwhile, just east across the Ohoopee River in Tattnall County, Reidsville landowner Zack Bowen killed a 28- to 30-inch tegu on Ga. 147. Zack Bowen spotted the lizard crossing the road near his driveway May 24.

The tegus were the first confirmed in the region this spring, although a handful of unconfirmed yet credible sightings have also been reported.

Argentine black and white tegus are the world's largest tegu species and came here through the exotic pet trade. Apparently some pet owners found the lizards to be cute; but at some point they got too big to care for anymore so they released them into the wild to fend for themselves and a breeding population developed in the Georgia landscape.

A similar thing happened in South Florida with Burmese pythons and now there are tens of thousands of them and native populations of raccoons, rabbits, squirrels, opossums, are crashing as the big snakes prey on everything from rodents to alligators.

Georgia's only known wild population of tegus is in Toombs and Tattnall counties.

Georgia DNR is asking that residents who spot a tegu in the wild, alive or dead report it. Note the location, take a photo if possible and report the sighting online or by phone (478-994-1438) or by email.

As a non-native species, tegus in the wild in Georgia are not protected by state wildlife laws or regulations. They can be trapped or killed year-round on private land with landowner permission and in accord with animal cruelty regulations, local ordinances and appropriate safety measures.

Georgia DNR's Wildlife Resources Division is working with the public and partners to trap tegus, track sightings and assess the population in the area of Tattnall and Toombs counties. Georgia DNR tries to find homes for the tegus that they catch. The lizards go in and out of the wild and a pet environment with relative ease.

Tegus are most common in Florida and in Tattnall and Toombs Counties in Georgia; but isolated Argentine Black and White Tegus has been found in Alabama, Louisiana, and Texas as well.

If you have any exotic pet, don't let it loose. It is illegal to release a non-native animal into the wild without a permit.

More details at georgiawildlife.com/tegu

https://georgiawildlife.com/tegus?utm_campaign=&utm_content=&utm_medium=email&utm_source=govdelivery&utm_term=