COLUMBIA, S.C. — What should you do if you see a lizard the size of a dog running around your yard or in the woods?
South Carolina Department of Natural Resources says call them. Argentine black and white tegus are not native to the state, and in fact, were outlawed in 2021.
Will Dillman, assistant chief of wildlife at DNR, said call or email them and send them a photo.
“We will provide additional guidance based on the information we receive,” he said.
He said you could also shoot them, as long as it’s legal to discharge a weapon at that location.
They are pests. They eat eggs of ground-nesting birds such as quail and turkeys; alligators and gopher tortoises, chicken eggs, fruit, vegetables, plants, pet food, carrion and small live animals, from grasshoppers to young gopher tortoises, an endangered species in South Carolina.
Once a darling of the pet trade, tegus have been spotted across South Carolina, from tiny Cleveland in the mountains to Charleston and Horry County.
State Herpetologist Andrew Grosse said the first tegu confirmed in the state was in 2020 and since then the Department of Natural Resources has confirmed 32 tegus — three red tegus and 29 Argentine black and white tegus — in 17 counties from the coast to the Upstate.
SCDNR has received 114 reports of tegus over that same time in 27 counties, he said. The agency can confirm records if there is a photo that clearly identifies the animal or it is captured.
They got into the wild because people got them as pets and when they got too big — they can grow to 4 feet long — they let them go.
That is how many of South Carolina’s most pernicious creatures got here in the first place, like wild boar and brown marmorated stink bugs.
People who have tegus as pets may keep them, but they have to be registered and microchipped. No more can be brought into the state.
Dillman said people who have captured or killed tegus have turned them over to SCDNR. The animals were euthanized, if needed, and necropsied.
“The necropsies can provide important information on body condition, diet, reproductive status, and sex,” he said. “These necropsies have revealed both reproductively mature male and female tegus, including females with maturing ova.”
Don’t just pick one up, many wildlife experts have said. They are not venomous, but have powerful jaws. If they bite and let go, it’s not so bad. But if they thrash around with their sharp teeth gripped into flesh they could take off a hand or finger.
The late South Carolina naturalist Rudy Mancke said it’s best to throw a sheet over them and let an expert come get them.
