After a harrowing journey, Miles waits for a new home
Iguana was found at Lake George, taken to Reptile Humane Society
Searching for a place to sunbathe at high altitude, a green iguana, native to the tropics, found himself totally out of his element as he balanced on a boat railing on Lake George in Park County.
What he did find that late July day was a nearby camper. The man had spotted the reptile the night before, while camping, and now here the creature was again, drawn to the warmth of his metal boat. The man attempted to pick the lizard up, and perhaps sensing that the person wanted to help, the iguana leapt from the railing onto the man’s shoulder.
Darcy Mount, the park manager for Eleven Mile and Spinney Mountain state parks, was in disbelief — a difficult reaction to get out of someone who deals with a variety of odd situations in the wilderness.
“I have responded to calls of eagles struggling in the water,” Mount wrote in a Colorado Parks and Wildlife column about finding an iguana. “I’ve had a gull wrapped in fishing line. I’ve answered calls about skunks that were actually raccoons. And there was a report of a fox that was, in fact, a Labrador.”
But never has she, or any Colorado Parks and Wildlife rangers that she knows of, found an iguana in the wilderness, Mount said in a phone interview Tuesday.
Fortunately, the iguana found the right people to rescue him from peril. Now, the iguana that park staff named Miles has found refuge at the Colorado Reptile Humane Society in Longmont.
Ann- Elizabeth Nash, the executive director of Colorado Reptile Humane Society, said Miles was brought to the nonprofit on Aug. 4, after Mount called to tell her about the situation. The nonprofit aims to use education and action to improve the lives of reptiles and amphibians in captivity.
Miles is 2 years old and is a green iguana, bred to have both blue and green coloring, Nash explained. Iguanas typically live between 15 to 20 years.
Miles had burn scars along his spines, likely from a cold habitat that forced him to get too close to a heat lamp. He was also underweight, missing a couple of toes, and was discovered to have poor eyesight.
Nash revels at just how amazing it is that Miles was found. Iguanas can die in 40- degree temperatures and the lizard may have made an easy snack for a hungry predator.
Mount said that she strongly suspects that Miles was abandoned, because no one called Colorado search of him.
With many organizations, like the Colorado Reptile Humane Society, available, Mount said there’s no excuse for abandoning a helpless animal.
Miles, who Nash said Mount named after Eleven Mile State Park, has gained weight and his health has improved.
Miles is now ready to be adopted. Nash said his ideal owner will be someone who is conscious of his vision problems and is able to provide him a loving home.
“He’s a really nice animal … he has a very mild personality,” Nash said. “That goes a long way to helping him find the perfect home.”
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