Iguana rescued after escaping 100ft up a tree in Kent

BBC News

09-07-2025

When a 4ft iguana went missing for three days, it took a chainsaw, a pair of binoculars and a thermal imaging drone to locate the mischievous reptile.The iguana, named Blue, went on her escapade on Sunday which culminated in her scaling 100ft up a tree near Rainham, Kent. Her owner Dean Tyrrell immediately contacted the National Centre for Reptile Welfare in Tonbridge for assistance.He said Blue - who is now safe at home but "slightly grumpy" had been in the conservatory sitting on the window sill and it was believed she jumped onto the door handle and opened the door.
Chris Newman, director of the centre, told Radio Kent he was confident Blue could be rescued quickly as "what goes up must eventually come down".Mr Newman said they were "relieved" there were no adjoining trees which meant there should not be much difficulty in locating and recapturing Blue.He explained iguanas blend into their environment, especially green ones, and was hoping Blue, given her colour, would stand out.However, the clever reptile was "hiding pretty well" and her owner could not spot her for quite some time.This meant Mr Tyrrell had to borrow a pair of binoculars from a friend and a thermal imaging drone from another friend to eventually locate her. Mr Tyrrell said despite the best efforts of the fire service, they could not access her.
"Iguanas are very adept climbers. Once she was up the tree she was in her element," Mr Newman added. "She had plenty of food to eat and was quite happy. I think she was having a great time because the weather was nice and the sun was shining." Mr Newman said they had to call their friend Danny, owner of Axework Arts and an expert tree climber, for help.When Danny arrived on Tuesday, the rescue operation did not go to plan as it was a warm day and the iguana was moving around.
"Danny returned the following morning and Blue hadn't had time to wake up, so Danny could see her," Mr Newman said."It was a question of figuring out how to get an iguana out of a tree safely."Blue was rescued on Wednesday which involved Danny climbing up the tree, sawing off the branch and gently lowering her down on a rope while she was still clinging to branch."She is safely back inside the house but I think she was slightly grumpy because she quite enjoyed her escapade up the tree," Mr Newman said."But everyone's pleased to get Blue back. It was a really good day.""It had been a stressful three days but Blue is doing well. I want to thank Danny and everyone for their help," Mr Tyrrell added.