While I was away on vacation in California, the bottom latch of my spiny-tailed iguana’s enclosure somehow came open. Did the pet sitter forget to secure it, or did a loose screw allow the iguana to wiggle it open? We’ll never know. However it happened, Twizzler escaped. Fortunately, Twizzler’s enclosure is located inside my dedicated “reptile room,” so at least he was contained within one room rather than running loose throughout the whole house!
Foil, Pack Rats, and a Missing Lizard
This wasn’t the first time Twizzler had managed to escape. A year earlier, he successfully slipped past me when I opened his enclosure door. Fortunately, he couldn’t get out of the reptile room then either. Unfortunately, pack rats had previously chewed a few holes in the built-in cabinets along one wall of the room.
I evicted those pack rats shortly after moving in, even though they tried to buy my mercy by bringing me “toys” they had collected from the previous owner’s kids! Those tiny treasures pulled at my heartstrings a bit, but I simply had to eliminate the sound of midnight calisthenics in the walls. Instead of completely repairing the wood, I stuffed thick wads of aluminum foil into the holes.
I severely underestimated Twizzler. A bit of foil was not going to slow him down; he yanked out the wad and dashed right inside the wall cabinet! My fervent hope was that there was no exit to the outside of the house.
I placed a plate of Twizzler’s favorite food under a nearby enclosure where a lizard could easily reach it, but my free-roaming sulcata tortoise, Duke, could not. The next morning, the food had been partially eaten, giving me hope that Twizzler was still hiding inside the cabinet wall.
Setting the Mouse Trap for a Spiny-Tailed Iguana
It was time to get serious. Twizzler was still inside the wall, and I couldn’t reach him. Since I didn’t feel like dismantling the entire cabinet system just yet, I brought out a small humane rodent trap. It seemed just large enough for a spiny-tailed iguana.
The trap relies on a hanging hook: when the bait is taken, the door drops shut. I drilled a small hole through a one-inch piece of zucchini, suspended it carefully from the hook, and laid a few delicious power greens underneath.
The next morning, the trap was sprung! Had I caught Twizzler?
No, just a very surprised little house mouse… I carried the scared little rodent out to my backyard and released it.
I rebaited the trap with fresh zucchini and set it back in front of the hole. A few hours later, I had to reset it after Duke the tortoise jostled it trying to get to the squash (good thing he didn’t crush it!).
Once again, the trap was sprung the following morning. Another mouse, and it didn’t look like the first one returning. Released. By now, I was getting concerned that there might actually be a way out of the house through that hole.
A third morning brought a third mouse capture. It, too, appeared to be a different visitor.
Then, later that afternoon, I spotted a lizard tail scurrying right under Duke! I searched the room but couldn’t locate him. Still, I was reassured that Twizzler could indeed be tempted out of that wall!
The Return of the Escaped Iguana
The next morning, I heard something of substantial size behind Twizzler’s enclosure, a heavy body thumping against a plastic storage tub and claws scrambling on wood!
There he was, clinging to the wall behind his enclosure! I tried to corner him, but he sprinted right back toward his hole, ripping out the new ball of foil I had shoved in during the pursuit.
I suspected Twizzler was looking for food near his original enclosure. I rebaited the trap, placed a generous handful of greens inside, set it carefully in front of the hole, and waited.
Within an hour, Twizzler was safely inside the trap, his body curled up tight to fit! He was actually much bigger than I had realized, and I was so relieved to see his tail hadn’t been damaged.
I placed the trap inside his enclosure and carefully raised the door. Out he ran! I had already set out a large bowl of fresh food and water, and when I checked back an hour later, the entire plate was clean! He had been starving—I suspect those mice were the ones eating the food plates I’d put out earlier!
I am currently working on designing a larger enclosure that allows easy access while preventing future heroic leaps. I’ve thought about plugging the cabinet hole more permanently, but part of me wants to know where he goes if he ever manages to escape again!
I do have one remaining question: Have those mice been living in my reptile room all these years? Are there still more? Only time will tell!
Want to help elementary students learn more about desert reptiles and their habitats? Check out my downloadable workbooks for fun science activities, coloring pages, and puzzles featuring our local wildlife!