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Project Noah Nature School
That is our beautiful Nellie!
It looks like an annual cicada. Not sure of the exact species
This is from a non-native wild green iguana on Zoo Miami grounds. These little mites live in the creases and folds of the iguana's skin and can cause some irritation.
Hi Ava,
It would take a very large amount of these ticks to make an adult iguana sick. Most just cause some skin irritation. There are a few diseases that can be transferred by ticks among iguanas but most are only mildly pathogenic. This tick species prefers ectotherms and we also find them attached to the invasive marine toad down here in South Florida.
They are fairly easy to remove and we submit them for identification.
Thank you, Atul! I have updated the post with the species id. :)
It appears to be eating another snake and not shedding.
