Brown Basilisk - Good or bad for fruit production?

[Mr. Clean]

Are Brown Basilisk good or bad for fruit production? 

http://myfwc.com/wildlifehabitats/nonnatives/reptiles/brown-basilisk/

This article says the Basilisk eats smaller lizards, which presumably may lead to an increase in bug populations due to fewer lizards.

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Lizard-Species/Brown-Basilisk-(Striped-or-Common)/

This says they will snack on fruits.
http://animals.mom.me/basilisks-eat-11298.html

[bsbullie]

I believe they will snack in fruits.

[achetadomestica]

I use to catch brown basilisks in Miami over 25 years ago. They are primarily insectivores. They are part of the landscape
and are one of many new introduced species which are not going to disappear. They have a "Big" python hunting contest
every year and kill a couple hundred pythons from the Everglades. This is the biggest joke in the world. Pythons are here
to stay. I have heard that the pythons were accidently introduced from Hurricane Andrew but I saw pythons before the hurricane.
I use to work with reptiles and I made extra money catching mostly exotic species including Brown anole, Knight anole, Jamaican anole, Nile monitor, crested anole, bark anole, cane toad, basilisk, iguana, spiny iguana, veiled chameleon, Cuban tree frog, curly tail, agama, blind snake, and I am sure I am forgetting more. Iguanas are primarily herbivores but in the wild an iguana will forage. They don't typically strip a tree or plant and kill it. Squirrels do far more damage to fruit and they return every day. If it makes you feel better to kill a reptile, unfortunately irresponsible people have introduced them and there is no way to eradicate them. There is allot of fear associated with reptiles and with it goes tons of misinformation. Now there is a law about keeping large pythons without a permit, TOO LATE!

[zands]

I use to catch brown basilisks in Miami over 25 years ago. They are primarily insectivores. They are part of the landscape
and are one of many new introduced species which are not going to disappear. They have a "Big" python hunting contest
every year and kill a couple hundred pythons from the Everglades. This is the biggest joke in the world. Pythons are here
to stay. I have heard that the pythons were accidently introduced from Hurricane Andrew but I saw pythons before the hurricane.
I use to work with reptiles and I made extra money catching mostly exotic species including Brown anole, Knight anole, Jamaican anole, Nile monitor, crested anole, bark anole, cane toad, basilisk, iguana, spiny iguana, veiled chameleon, Cuban tree frog, curly tail, agama, blind snake, and I am sure I am forgetting more. Iguanas are primarily herbivores but in the wild an iguana will forage. They don't typically strip a tree or plant and kill it. Squirrels do far more damage to fruit and they return every day. If it makes you feel better to kill a reptile, unfortunately irresponsible people have introduced them and there is no way to eradicate them. There is allot of fear associated with reptiles and with it goes tons of misinformation. Now there is a law about keeping large pythons without a permit, TOO LATE!

A good cold winter in the southern Everglades would wrap up the python problem.

[achetadomestica]

I use to catch brown basilisks in Miami over 25 years ago. They are primarily insectivores. They are part of the landscape
and are one of many new introduced species which are not going to disappear. They have a "Big" python hunting contest
every year and kill a couple hundred pythons from the Everglades. This is the biggest joke in the world. Pythons are here
to stay. I have heard that the pythons were accidently introduced from Hurricane Andrew but I saw pythons before the hurricane.
I use to work with reptiles and I made extra money catching mostly exotic species including Brown anole, Knight anole, Jamaican anole, Nile monitor, crested anole, bark anole, cane toad, basilisk, iguana, spiny iguana, veiled chameleon, Cuban tree frog, curly tail, agama, blind snake, and I am sure I am forgetting more. Iguanas are primarily herbivores but in the wild an iguana will forage. They don't typically strip a tree or plant and kill it. Squirrels do far more damage to fruit and they return every day. If it makes you feel better to kill a reptile, unfortunately irresponsible people have introduced them and there is no way to eradicate them. There is allot of fear associated with reptiles and with it goes tons of misinformation. Now there is a law about keeping large pythons without a permit, TOO LATE!

A good cold winter in the southern Everglades would wrap up the python problem.

The pythons/snakes sense the drop in the barometric pressure and hide before the cold front comes through and
unfortunately some of the pythons will go underground or maybe a stump and will be sheltered. Many years ago
it got down to 32F in Miami and there were iguanas falling out of trees and drowning in canals. It really severely
cut down on the population for a few years but it didn't eradicate them.

[bsbullie]

I use to catch brown basilisks in Miami over 25 years ago. They are primarily insectivores. They are part of the landscape
and are one of many new introduced species which are not going to disappear. They have a "Big" python hunting contest
every year and kill a couple hundred pythons from the Everglades. This is the biggest joke in the world. Pythons are here
to stay. I have heard that the pythons were accidently introduced from Hurricane Andrew but I saw pythons before the hurricane.
I use to work with reptiles and I made extra money catching mostly exotic species including Brown anole, Knight anole, Jamaican anole, Nile monitor, crested anole, bark anole, cane toad, basilisk, iguana, spiny iguana, veiled chameleon, Cuban tree frog, curly tail, agama, blind snake, and I am sure I am forgetting more. Iguanas are primarily herbivores but in the wild an iguana will forage. They don't typically strip a tree or plant and kill it. Squirrels do far more damage to fruit and they return every day. If it makes you feel better to kill a reptile, unfortunately irresponsible people have introduced them and there is no way to eradicate them. There is allot of fear associated with reptiles and with it goes tons of misinformation. Now there is a law about keeping large pythons without a permit, TOO LATE!

A good cold winter in the southern Everglades would wrap up the python problem.

Highly doubt it.   There may be some loss but otherwise they would be able to find warm enough areas to make it through it.

[roblack]

No need to worry about basilisks messing with your fruit much. Doubt they would go after a whole fruit. Might munch on a fallen busted open fruit.
 
I saw an anole eating a berry yesterday, usually they eat bugs or each other. Hope it doesn't go rogue.

As for them eating other lizards that eat other bugs, maybe there could be an indirect effect. I've considered that with all the Giant Cuban Knight anoles around here. However, we still have a ton of lizards, and bugs. They don't seem to be causing a problem. Seems the system is in balance.

Super cool lizards.

[cbss_daviefl]

I have lost around 10 trees to iguanas, mostly mulberry and sugar-apple. A 6 ft iguana will climb a 2 ft tree to get to a snack, which results in a snapped tree.  I have only seen a few this year but I keep the air rifle ready.

I have seen basilisks messing with my trees but they do minimal damage.

Iguanas are primarily herbivores but in the wild an iguana will forage. They don't typically strip a tree or plant and kill it.

[BrianL]

Basilisks (all four species) arn't really big fruit eaters.  They might learn to eat something or eat something already open on the ground, but usually at the overripe stage.

[Finca La Isla]

I think it more likely that basilisks will munch on new foliage growth than on fruits.

[zands]

I use to catch brown basilisks in Miami over 25 years ago. They are primarily insectivores. They are part of the landscape
and are one of many new introduced species which are not going to disappear. They have a "Big" python hunting contest
every year and kill a couple hundred pythons from the Everglades. This is the biggest joke in the world. Pythons are here
to stay. I have heard that the pythons were accidently introduced from Hurricane Andrew but I saw pythons before the hurricane.
I use to work with reptiles and I made extra money catching mostly exotic species including Brown anole, Knight anole, Jamaican anole, Nile monitor, crested anole, bark anole, cane toad, basilisk, iguana, spiny iguana, veiled chameleon, Cuban tree frog, curly tail, agama, blind snake, and I am sure I am forgetting more. Iguanas are primarily herbivores but in the wild an iguana will forage. They don't typically strip a tree or plant and kill it. Squirrels do far more damage to fruit and they return every day. If it makes you feel better to kill a reptile, unfortunately irresponsible people have introduced them and there is no way to eradicate them. There is allot of fear associated with reptiles and with it goes tons of misinformation. Now there is a law about keeping large pythons without a permit, TOO LATE!

A good cold winter in the southern Everglades would wrap up the python problem.

The pythons/snakes sense the drop in the barometric pressure and hide before the cold front comes through and
unfortunately some of the pythons will go underground or maybe a stump and will be sheltered. Many years ago
it got down to 32F in Miami and there were iguanas falling out of trees and drowning in canals. It really severely
cut down on the population for a few years but it didn't eradicate them.

Was this 1988 or so? My parents grafted mango tree (don't know what kind) froze down to the rootstock and produced small yellow mangoes after that, that I liked. Parents were amazed that a decimated tree could bounce back like that but alas...only from the rootstock.

[Alejandro45]

Wow what a topic. I love reptiles just as much if not more than plants, no scratch that way more....

In any case basilisk lizards are mainly insectivores and you will never have a problem with them eating your greens down to the trunk. They are really neat and watching them run on there hind legs is so very fun to watch.

O slats and veils Chameleons are another controversial lizard living down here.. I have never seen one but I hear they live down in the avocado groves in homestead. Maybe the growers are trying a more natural approach to insect control?

Now spinytail and green iguanas do regularly eat greens in adult hood. But they are not like squirrels or birds that travel much faster and farther trying multiple fruits at a time It's a double edge sword though yes they eat leaves and fruit but they also are heavy snail eaters. There was even a report on how many native tree snails they eat.

Freezes do kill off many of the non native wildlife but that is also making a more cold tolerant reptile that will be better equipped for the cold next time a freeze comes down.