Pool cages are a classic trap — for the iguana. They climb the screen or drop in off the roof, then can't get back up the slick frame, so they end up circling the deck tearing up screen and leaving droppings in the pool. It's one of the most common calls I get in Palm Beach County, and it's often a repeat once one has found the way in.
The play is to give it an obvious exit. Open the largest door fully, close off other directions, and calmly herd it toward the opening — iguanas run from pressure, so you steer rather than chase.
Herding it out without wrecking your screen
A panicked iguana claws through screen fast, so the goal is calm pressure, not a chase. The routine that works:
- Open the biggest door all the way and prop it
- Close the door to the house so it can't get inside
- Move slowly behind it, steering it toward the open gap
- Give it a clear, obvious path to daylight — they run to the opening
- If it panics and won't go, use a long-handled net rather than grabbing
Find how it got in
Take a minute to find how it got in, because a torn screen panel, a gap at the roofline, or an overhanging branch just lets the next one repeat the whole thing. Closing that access is the difference between a one-time nuisance and a monthly one. If a tree limb is dropping them onto the cage from above, trimming it back off the enclosure does more than any amount of chasing.
Common questions
Will it leave on its own?
Sometimes, if you open a door and back off, but many won't find the gap and will keep tearing at the screen looking for a way up. Herding it toward an open door is faster and saves your enclosure.
How did it get in the cage?
Usually a torn screen, a gap at the roofline, or a drop from an overhanging branch. Finding and closing that is what stops the repeat visits — otherwise you'll be doing this again next week.
Can it climb back out the way it came?
Usually not — that's the whole problem. The screen and frame are too slick for them to climb from the deck side, so they get stuck circling and damaging the enclosure until someone lets them out.
