Florida man finds iguana in toilet: ‘I thought I was in Jurassic Park’

HOLLYWOOD, Fla. (WSVN) - A trip to the bathroom turned into a nightmare when a Florida man found an iguana lurking in his toilet.

For 58-year-old John Riddle, a trip to the bathroom Friday left him freaked out. He found an iguana hissing and splashing around in his toilet bowl.

“I thought I was in Jurassic Park or something,” he said. “I was scared. I’m not a reptile fan.”

Riddle found the iguana after he noticed the bathroom door off his pool deck was still open and went to close it. That’s when he saw the scaly intruder in the toilet.

“It turned around and opened its mouth, and that’s all I needed to see to back off for a minute and figure out what was going on,” he said.

Riddle says the iguana then went deeper into the toilet. While trying his best to stay calm and figure out what to do next, he grabbed a nearby baby gate to keep the creature from sneaking out and running into his bedroom.

About an hour later, the iguana was still splashing around in the toilet, but now, Riddle was ready to act.

“I was trying to work up the nerve to grab him and throw him out, but before I did that, he crawled out and crawled behind the toilet. That’s when I grabbed the strainer and shooed him out,” he said.

The iguana then dove into Riddle’s pool and eventually ran into the backyard. He believes it got in when he left the door open while walking his dogs.

“It’s a story to tell, for sure. Hopefully, we can avoid any instances in the future,” Riddle said.

Iguanas are not native to Florida, but years ago, someone released their pet lizard. Hundreds of the scaly reptiles are now thriving in the Sunshine State’s warm climate.

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