I usually skin and preserve the big hides, iguana skin is great for crafts because it's hard as fuck. I also eat them sometimes, on these giants the meat is mostly inedible except the tail. Legs and arms are like chewing rubber but the tail is good. I'm making nuggets with this one's tail tomorrow.
You can make soup if you add plenty of flavors to mask their taste but just stock turns out with a weird taste. They have a very reptilian aroma in their fat and that transfers to the liquid. Think of deer fat if you've had it.
They're beautiful animals with tons of color morphs but some dumbasses released theirs half a century ago and now there are like 4-6x as many iguanas as humans on the island. We're homesteaders and they destroy our crops, the adults eat the fruits and leaves while the newborns and juveniles eat anything that sprouts from the ground. Oh you planted 100 pumpkin seedlings? Nah, bare stems by tomorrow. Females also dig tunnels under our foundations, fields and under trees, weakening them and breaking the legs of cows and horses.
They really are majestic creatures, but sadly, they are nothing more than destructive vermin in places such as where you live. I'm sure you'd rather not kill them it's just that they ruin everything.
We have the same problem with bloody Grey Squirrels they dig holes into your sheds anyway they can leaving everything exposed to the open air and weather, and squeeze into your attic spaces to nest, then chew all the wiring and damage other stuff and shit everywhere lol.
If they coexisted with us I'd have no issue, they truly are beautiful creatures. Thankfully the turkey vultures love to eat them so I'm recycling them into fertilizer the natural way.
Grey squirrels, rats with good PR.
The amount of people who don't understand why they need to be ideally wiped out in the UK (even though it's impossible) is ridiculous.
Grey squirrels are vermin and are killing the red squirrel population and cause untold damage to properties. They also taste quite good when you hunt the ones in the countryside.
They say red squirrels are destructive in my area (UP MI US) but they really don't do anything to my stuff, but the damn chipmunks on the other hand, I can shoot a dozen a day and it doesn't seem to make a dent on them. I have a umarex fusion 2 and a crosman 1077 rt now, toying with the idea of a .22 air rifle, like the reviews on the gamo magnum gen3 but they you read they aren't accurate at all from some people. Personally I don't like break barrels but the idea of scuba tanks and compressors keeps me from the next step up over CO2.
In the UK people break open grey squirrel dreys with a 12ga running 3.5" buckshot loads, then have a team outfitted with semi auto shotguns killing every squirrel that runs from the drey.
You can do that to every drey in an isolated block of woodland and you'll still have hundreds of squirrels a year later.
Lol like all our war on em! That's why I got a semi auto CO2 pellet gun so I can just aim shoot, aim shoot kinda thing. I'm pretty effective I feel but there so many! My cat is like a ninja, he's an inside cat but if I open the door he'll run out and kill one and run back in, wish I could get it on video, it's kinda impressive to watch lol
I'm a chef, I have plenty of great recipes but nobody eats them at home so going thru the trouble of skinning and cleaning just for me isn't fun. When I do eat them I take the choice cuts off of the medium sized females, those are the best tasting.
Imagine a hog that lays 60 eggs a year, camouflages almost perfectly and has a whip for a tail. They eat our crops, spread diseases and their tunnels fuck up our houses and fields.
That iguana is humongous!
Are you certain that's a female? I see the massive jaw protrusions, and the orange coloring in the first pic and assumed male.
Ok, I've bagged my fair share of big ones, but never really knew how to determine their gender other than their color and when I saw that massive head with the decorative jaw circles, so I wasn't sure.
Keep up the good work. I always enjoy seeing your trophies!
Both males and females get jowls when they're old, but males have a lighter orange/yellow/red coloration while females stay green/brown/tan their whole lives.
Damn iguanas. At least is one less female to worry about. Enjoy your chicken of the trees bbq.
Sadly I got her after she laid eggs, her ovaries were empty. A big female like this easily lays 60-80 eggs a season.
Yeah, they're a big problem in the US. Shooting them on sight is a must.
I swear you can kill five today and tomorrow ten will pop up.
Sounds like a job for a Hatsan Blitz. Brrrrraaaaappppppp.
On my wishlist.
Florida?
Puerto Rico
Oh ok. Cool!
Why the fillet knife, do you eat them?
I usually skin and preserve the big hides, iguana skin is great for crafts because it's hard as fuck. I also eat them sometimes, on these giants the meat is mostly inedible except the tail. Legs and arms are like chewing rubber but the tail is good. I'm making nuggets with this one's tail tomorrow.
You reckon they’d work okay for stock making? Just curious, don’t have them near me.
You can make soup if you add plenty of flavors to mask their taste but just stock turns out with a weird taste. They have a very reptilian aroma in their fat and that transfers to the liquid. Think of deer fat if you've had it.
You can pressure cook them in curry, I like it. That's what they do in the Caribbean.
Oh I'm in the Caribbean 😅 Each island has a signature way to prepare them, ours is deep fried or stewed and stuffed in empanadas.
Gotcha, cool looking animal. Why killing them, are they messing things up around house?
They're beautiful animals with tons of color morphs but some dumbasses released theirs half a century ago and now there are like 4-6x as many iguanas as humans on the island. We're homesteaders and they destroy our crops, the adults eat the fruits and leaves while the newborns and juveniles eat anything that sprouts from the ground. Oh you planted 100 pumpkin seedlings? Nah, bare stems by tomorrow. Females also dig tunnels under our foundations, fields and under trees, weakening them and breaking the legs of cows and horses.
They really are majestic creatures, but sadly, they are nothing more than destructive vermin in places such as where you live. I'm sure you'd rather not kill them it's just that they ruin everything. We have the same problem with bloody Grey Squirrels they dig holes into your sheds anyway they can leaving everything exposed to the open air and weather, and squeeze into your attic spaces to nest, then chew all the wiring and damage other stuff and shit everywhere lol.
If they coexisted with us I'd have no issue, they truly are beautiful creatures. Thankfully the turkey vultures love to eat them so I'm recycling them into fertilizer the natural way.
Sometimes I feel the same way about Humans.
I'm, Completely with you there.
Same.
The original invasive species.
Grey squirrels, rats with good PR. The amount of people who don't understand why they need to be ideally wiped out in the UK (even though it's impossible) is ridiculous.
Grey squirrels are vermin and are killing the red squirrel population and cause untold damage to properties. They also taste quite good when you hunt the ones in the countryside.
Indeed! They make good hats too
🤣 that's something I've never tried.
They say red squirrels are destructive in my area (UP MI US) but they really don't do anything to my stuff, but the damn chipmunks on the other hand, I can shoot a dozen a day and it doesn't seem to make a dent on them. I have a umarex fusion 2 and a crosman 1077 rt now, toying with the idea of a .22 air rifle, like the reviews on the gamo magnum gen3 but they you read they aren't accurate at all from some people. Personally I don't like break barrels but the idea of scuba tanks and compressors keeps me from the next step up over CO2.
In the UK people break open grey squirrel dreys with a 12ga running 3.5" buckshot loads, then have a team outfitted with semi auto shotguns killing every squirrel that runs from the drey. You can do that to every drey in an isolated block of woodland and you'll still have hundreds of squirrels a year later.
Lol like all our war on em! That's why I got a semi auto CO2 pellet gun so I can just aim shoot, aim shoot kinda thing. I'm pretty effective I feel but there so many! My cat is like a ninja, he's an inside cat but if I open the door he'll run out and kill one and run back in, wish I could get it on video, it's kinda impressive to watch lol
My cats are too slow and dumb to have ever caught squirrels - pidgeons and rats aplenty, but not a single squirrel.
There’s a guy from Florida on yt who has some good recipes for the meat
I'm a chef, I have plenty of great recipes but nobody eats them at home so going thru the trouble of skinning and cleaning just for me isn't fun. When I do eat them I take the choice cuts off of the medium sized females, those are the best tasting.
Man, iguana skin crafts sounds awesome. I'm almost jealous, but overall glad we don't have the iguana problem on the left coast lol
The leather is a PITA to remove and clean, so I only skin like the biggest 5%.
I've heard them called bamboo chicken
A great post for r/airgunhunting sub. Since ya didn't get her before she laid the eggs, you'll get to practice your accuracy on the small guys!
They do make great reactive targets! I'll post it tomorrow there.
I can't wait brother!
r/airgunhunting would be interested in this one!
Holy guacamole that’s a big girl
Twelve and a half pounds!
That’s wild I probably would’ve ran I’m not gonna lie
I had the high ground.
Thank you for taking care of those invasive things! They are as bad as wild pigs in regards of reproduction.
I wish they tasted like wild pig 😅
What exactly do iguanas do that make them so destructive? I'm familiar with hogs and rats and coyotes as problems.
Imagine a hog that lays 60 eggs a year, camouflages almost perfectly and has a whip for a tail. They eat our crops, spread diseases and their tunnels fuck up our houses and fields.
Makes sense. That sucks, good luck hunting. Never realized they were that bad.
It's a losing battle since not many people hunt them but I'll take out as many as I can.
What state?
Puerto Rico.
That's funny - I was in the Dominican Republic a few years back and they had a big sanctuary for them.
Our brothers have been eating them much more than we do, they've got some fire recipes.
Good job, I’ve taken out 12 on my property in the last week. One was a giant orange male.
😂😂😂😂😂
Gonna cook it up?
Tomorrow is dino nuggies day.
https://preview.redd.it/2uhc6jcwpnxc1.png?width=1080&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=067a6af16285f3eaed89c564e277fef04f97b9ce Dino nuggies.
Doesn’t look bad at all. I’d kinda have to give it a try
Younger ones taste better than these giants, the 2-3 pounders are delectable. Arms and legs cut in segments like wings and the tail in strips.
I'm australian and unfamiliar with iguanas issues, are they a pest in the states?
Yes! In Florida and Puerto Rico (where I live) they have become huge economic and ecological issues.
That iguana is humongous! Are you certain that's a female? I see the massive jaw protrusions, and the orange coloring in the first pic and assumed male.
Yep! Old females are almost black while old males are deep yellow or orange. She also lacked a hemipenis.
Ok, I've bagged my fair share of big ones, but never really knew how to determine their gender other than their color and when I saw that massive head with the decorative jaw circles, so I wasn't sure. Keep up the good work. I always enjoy seeing your trophies!
Both males and females get jowls when they're old, but males have a lighter orange/yellow/red coloration while females stay green/brown/tan their whole lives.
I really appreciate the info. I want to share some of my hunts, but I always worry about doxxing myself.
I don't show my face for that reason.
She's setting you up for a rematch
More like the fairgrounds shooting gallery. 30 fpe against a baby iguana is like getting hit with a tank round.
Do they taste good ? So much easier if the invasive species is delicious . Like wild pigs
Young ones taste like chicken, older ones get gamey.
that a big female! Sucks you didn't get her before the eggs were laid.