We never much noticed the iguanas of Puerto Rico until we started to see them all over our property. We have seen them in our citrus trees, in the grassy areas and recently we saw a huge orange-spiked one climb our mango tree above the cabana. We are still so fascinated by these creatures we thought we should share a few pictures and videos of them.
Apparently they are not native to Puerto Rico, but have become quite an invasive now-feral species. The climate and vegetation here is perfect for them to thrive. They can cause a problem for landscaping efforts and eat some types of fruit. From what I understand, they are almost entirely vegetarian. Most people believe that they started as pets and were let go. These are the feral offspring. Some large ones can also be aggressive to humans if they feel threatened.
But so far, for us, they are just a part of the exotic background that is now our daily life and we are always amazed when we see these dinosaur looking creatures just roaming in our yard.
Iguana in the mandarin orange tree Looking disapprovingly at us from his perch in the mango tree
We caught this one on video as he climbed through the gate and up the mango tree. So cool!
One thing we have been combating living here are all the biting and stinging creatures. Britton has been stung by a few bees and more than a few ants. I have stepped directly into two huge ant piles and did the ants-in-my-pants dance trying to shake them off and run from the pile at the same time as they bit and stung their fire poison into my poor feet.
We kind of expect it when we are outside, but the hardest thing to get used to are all the bugs INSIDE! Between cleaning out the perimeter around the house and Kitty killing them, most of the cockroaches have (thankfully) disappeared. So lately our biggest (little) enemies have been the mosquitoes -they especially love me! When we are working in the yard we make sure to wear strong bug repellents but usually when we come back into the cabana we shower and wash it all off because we don’t like all those chemicals inside the house or on our skin.
Darn mosquito got my leg!
So we were sort of sitting ducks for the smart little suckers- the mosquitos of Puerto Rico- because they were inside as well! In Colorado the mosquitos are pretty big, slow and dumb. You can easily smack them as they fly mid-air or when they land on your body. Here in Puerto Rico we could tell they were different. They are small, nimble and strike most often when your guard is down.
Especially at the ankles. We call them little ankle biters. That’s why I started wearing these mosquito-repelling bracelets/anklets that are infused with plant oils (like lemon eucalyptus or geranoil) that aren’t attractive to mosquitos. From ant attacks to these mosquitoes, my feet and ankles have definitely felt the brunt of the attacks and I may have scars from the scratching that ensues later.
The mosquitoes go after your feet and ankles for a couple of reasons: 1) feet are smellier and sweatier than other areas -very attractive to these little vampires and 2) you don’t notice your feet as much as other parts of your body -until too late.
One less mosquito!
So I did a little research about the mosquitos of Puerto Rico and found that they are a different species than those in Colorado. The main species you have to worry about in Colorado are the Culex variety -those that carry West Nile Virus. Here in Puerto Rico it is the Aedes mosquito, specifically the Aedes Aegypti that carry the viruses of Dengue Fever and Yellow Fever.
They are considered better flyers and found in tropical areas. They also need flooded areas to breed unlike the Colorado varieties that need still water to breed. This also explains why many times in the dry season (winter) when we have been in Puerto Rico, we didn’t see a single mosquito. The Aedes mosquito likes to hide in dark spaces -like under beds, in closets, on the floor of our truck cab and as we have found, even in our kitchen cabinets! They are like the monsters under the bed eating at our ankles when we are sitting on the bed, when climbing into the truck or chewing on us as we sleep!
So we have devised a plan against these blood suckers. Outside we use the stronger repellents including those that contain DEET (ugh). We keep the doors and truck windows shut at all times to keep them from entering and hiding out. If we see that there are some in the house, then we wear our “indoor” plant-based repellents, burn citronella candles and light incense. We also run the fans to make them lose their direction when in flight.
Our inside arsenal against mosquitoes
So far this has been working and it is nice to sleep without the buzzing in our ears that means bites are imminent. We also considered getting a mosquito net over the bed, but I think if we can just keep those doors closed we can decrease the problem greatly. Life in the tropics is ever a learning experience in things big and small.
In Colorado, from about October 1 through May 1 or roughly for about six months out of the year, we hermetically seal ourselves away from the harsh winters and nature. And even in the summers we take great pains to keep ourselves comfortable if we are inside. Generally speaking, we Coloradoans love to play in the outdoors, but we live indoors. There is a very clear line between indoors and outdoors. When sealing ourselves away we literally look for leaks of air and try to close them up using various methods. And this is smart. It is expensive to heat and cool a house. There is only a brief time in spring and fall when you could just keep your doors open and feel as comfortable inside as out, but most people don’t. It is set up to be either indoor or outdoor and so that’s just how it is.
So living here in Puerto Rico now where most days it is around the ideal temperature that we try to replicate in Colorado in our cars, offices and homes, it is very tempting to just leave the windows and doors wide open. Indoors and outdoors are basically the same. The lines here are much more blurred. Sure, you can get air conditioning and attempt to seal yourself in, but there is just much less of a point to it. It is mild summer weather nearly all the time.
The weather starts out cooler in the early morning, around 75, and progresses to a peak temperature of about 90 by about 3pm. That’s when we have been heading to the beach and swimming to cool down a bit. But even the sea water is about the same nice warm temperature as outside. In or out of the water, both feel great.
Then the storms have been rolling in and everything cools down again. At dusk, the jungle comes alive and you can hear all the bugs and frogs, birds and bats beginning their “day”. We have screens on our windows now to keep the mosquitoes or random bee out and we usually close the doors to the cabana at dusk. But last night it was so cool listening to the rain and all the jungle awakening that we just left the doors wide open. When the rains stopped, Britton went to sit on the top of the cabana and I laid in bed reading with the doors still open.
Kitty heard a rustling noise outside and jumped under the covers like he does. I went to pull him out and pet him when I saw this!
It was a huge crab looking spider on the edge of the bed. It wasn’t moving much, but it freaked me out so much that I called Britton in to help me clear off the bed and look for anything else that may just be lying in wait for us. As we were shaking everything out, we found a cockroach!…in our bed! Yuck! We tried to get Kitty to get it but he was scared of the broom.
I know there is a lot of rotting fruit around especially from the huge mango tree above the cabana and so there are probably a lot of cockroaches around. But they just have to be the creepiest creature. I can deal with most spiders (but that crab spider was really ugly) and even snakes, but the cockroaches, man they are huge here and some of them even fly! I don’t know if I will ever get used to them. I had never seen one in Colorado, ever. Talk about being “sheltered”, literally. Thankfully we don’t see them very often in the cabana but the few times we have is too many.
Creepiest creature contest winner
So after that experience I was still squirming with chills running down my back as we removed the cucaracha and started to put the bed back together when Britton says, “Whoa, what’s that?!” and I was not looking forward to what could possibly be worse than what I had already seen. When we see a little tiny frog jumping. Britton caught it with a glass and we looked at it.
A coquí! They are rarely seen because they are so small and quick, but apparently last night was the night that every creature of the jungle decided to form a welcoming committee and visit our little cabin. Coquís are the source of the whistling “Co-Key” sound at night and an emblem of Puerto Rico. Yes, Puerto Rico was welcoming us! A good omen. Don’t worry. Everything will be all right. It seemed to remind us.
I was so happy to see this little guy that it ALMOST made up for the other visitors of the evening. Life in la jungla. I guess we need to remember to shut our doors at dusk or be prepared for all sorts of interesting visitors. So while the weather feels the same indoor and out, I am not quite prepared for all the creepy crawly wildlife just yet. And maybe we just need to get screen doors, too.
Meow, let me get you caught up with how things have been going for me. I have a sneaking suspicion that I can’t quite confirm that my humans drugged me for the trip here to Puerto Rico. When we first arrived, I hardly remember a thing. And truth be told, this is the way everyone should travel. You get knocked out and wake up where you want to be. No hassles, or at least none that I can remember. But still, I find that rather rude of them not to tell me.
Anymeow, yesterday I finally felt up to the task that I was born to do. It took me nearly a week in bed for the jet lag and drugs to wear off. I mostly hung out in my bed that I generously share with my humans because they are so cute and warm.
As I got more and more comfortable with my new abode, I began practicing for my night out. While in the living structure I have begun catching and mortally wounding the occasional cucaracha that would attempt to breach our security.
Poor sucker never saw it coming
I also scoped out the area and chose my lookout points.
And I managed to finally get enough to eat without all the ants eating my food and stinging my tongue. It’s hard to find good human help these days, but I finally got through to them.
My delicious crunchies floating in an ant-proof moat. An ingenious solution (thanks Kat-rina and I love your name BTW)
So, suffice it to say I was prepared for this grand adventure. Really this night and many more to come was the culmination of a lot of hard work and the reason I bought the tickets and brought along these two servants in the first place.
I left the sleeping structure after being served my crunchies around 10am and headed straight to the jungle. There is a lot of good game to hunt here. I saw many birds, lizards, bugs and frogs. But the rats! That is going to take some practice. All in good time, my friend, I thought.
I took a few cat naps in the tall grasses and sniffed around the palms a bit. I know there are some locals in these parts and I want to get to know these cats with strange accents. Like they say “Mew” instead of “meow”. They also prefer to be called “Gatos” instead of “cats”. So strange. But I found the gato toilet above the sleeping structure and knew these local gatos must hang out here a lot. I thought I might want my servants around just in case things got ugly (they are pretty good at wound care when I have been in scuffles in Greeley I must say), but alas they were off romping about in some blue rumbler machine, I think they call it a guagua. All I can hope is that they were at least getting me some more crunchies.
So by the time they returned in the evening I was deep in the forest. My night eyes were on and I had a great time partying with my new pals and pouncing on lizards. We even stalked a rat and almost had him. I could hear my humans calling to me. They were scaring off all the good hunts. I will need to remind them that I am the only one to call them. They are only to speak when spoken to. But they are in a new place and that has to be somewhat stressful for the poor creatures. So the next morning after they called me about a million times, I returned to the back door and meowed for them to let me in. I was so hungry! I caught a few lizards, but I rarely eat anything I catch. I am a crunchy-cat through and through. I just hunt for the sport of it.
So that was my first night out. I think I chose well in a place to move. A cat’s paradise, or should I say paraiso de gato.
