Goodyear firefighters saw a twist on the stereotypical cat stuck in a tree when they were called to remove a 5-foot iguana from a tree, authorities said.
The incident highlights potential dangers of keeping exotic animals as pets to owners and firefighters, and has prompted Goodyear firefighters to consider more training.
A man called firefighters about 6:15 p.m. Sept. 7 after he spotted the lizard in the backyard of his home on the 16300 block of West Fillmore Street, Goodyear fire spokesman Russ Braden said. Firefighters removed the lizard and placed it in a dog carrier they borrowed from one of the man’s neighbors.
When firefighters were unable to locate the iguana’s owner, an off-duty firefighter took the lizard to Capt. Ken Lawlor, who works out of a different station and volunteered to take the iguana to the Phoenix Herpetological Society the next morning.
The iguana, estimated to be about 8 to 10 years old, was in good condition when Lawlor brought it to the non-profit’s Reptile Sanctuary in northeast Scottsdale, curator Daniel Marchand said. The lizard’s owners claimed him a couple of days after he was brought in.
Lawlor said snake-removal calls are common and firefighters regularly train on the proper way to do it, but removing an iguana is unusual.
“It’s very unique,” he said. “This kind of raised an eyebrow.”
A lot of people keep exotic reptiles as pets. This can pose a threat to firefighters without proper training and to pet owners if they haven’t educated themselves about the animal, Marchand said.
Some reptiles, including iguanas, often become more aggressive as they mature, he said.
“If you want an exotic animal, you need to do your research and your homework. You have to understand how these animals work, why they become aggressive, why they do what they do,” Marchand said. “When you get into reptiles, they are extremely different and diverse in the sense that if you don’t know what they’re going to do or what their capabilities are, you can get yourself in trouble real fast.”
Last year, the herpetology society educated about 109,000 people, mostly children, at its Scottsdale facility about proper care, housing and feeding, he said. The organization holds yearly training sessions at the Palo Verde Nuclear Generating Station west of Buckeye, and offers training for hotels and other businesses around the Northeast Valley.
In addition, the sanctuary is setting up training seminars for Valley fire departments at an “affordable” price to teach firefighters basic reptile terminology and how to handle the exotic animals they could encounter on the job, Marchand said. Fire departments and other agencies, like Arizona Humane Society and Arizona Game and Fish Department, can call the organization for assistance.
“(We’re) trying to . . . make sure that all these types of organizations in the Valley are well-versed in how to handle the situation, or if they are just not comfortable with a situation, they can call us,” he said.
Lawlor said he took the idea of doing training on handling reptiles and other exotic animals to his training chief. The chief has not made a decision yet.
In the mean time, Lawlor can pass on the new information he learned to fellow firefighters.
“For me, this is more learning that I can bring back to my guys and teach them some more about this stuff,” he said.
Anyone who wants information about exotic animals or needs one removed can call the Phoenix Herpetological Society hotline at 602-550-1090.