Florida man picks up cold blooded iguana from under a tree and then makes tacos with its meat
TikTok user @gray.davis has a habit of making a meal out of everything, but no one was prepared for this one. Exactly a week ago, he uploaded a video on his profile in which he picked up an iguana from under a tree and used its meat to make tacos, dividing the internet. While many people were grossed out by what they saw, others raised concerns about iguana life, while others held that his practices aligned with “ethical meat consumption.”
Gray Davis’s video of him making tacos out of iguana meat has turned out to be quite popular, with millions of views. Not only that, but two days ago, he posted another video on his TikTok profile, mentioning that his story got picked up by several online news publications that reported on the matter. However, in most of them, he received hate for his actions.
From tree to table: The journey of iguana frozen in time
No one anticipated what would happen next when Gray Davis opened his TikTok video holding an immovable iguana in his hand and said that it was “so cold” in South Florida that they were falling out of trees. But, at around 4 seconds, people learned that he was about to cook the reptile and use it as filling for his tacos. He explained that green iguanas, like the one he held, are an “invasive species” in South Florida and “compete” with the region’s “native wildlife for resources.” He continued, stating that since these iguanas are not native to South Florida, they aren’t adapted to the cold climate, which is why they become “too cold” and fall from trees. Davis then noted, “Whenever we have these cold fronts, and they start falling down, a lot of people will go out and collect them to help control the number and the population. But, they do have the nickname chicken of the trees because they are absolutely delicious. So rather than let this one go to waste, we’re going to make tacos.”
He then skipped the part of preparing the iguana for cooking, mentioning that his video might be taken down. After that, he revealed that he had found 20 eggs inside the iguana, noting that he would use them along with the skin and other parts, as he prefers to “waste as little as possible.” He then boiled the iguana meat in a mixture of onion, garlic, bay leaf, and salt. After removing the iguana meat from the mixture, Davis added the iguana eggs to the same solution and soft-boiled them. He then mixed the eggs with avocados, garlic, olive oil, salt, and lime juice. Once the iguana egg sauce was ready, Davis separated the iguana meat from the bone, added seasonings of choice, and cooked it in a frying pan until it was “nice and crispy.” Next, Davis prepared the tacos and filled them with the iguana meat. He then dipped it in the sauce and took a big bite. He ended the video by saying, “If you can’t beat ’em, eat ’em.”
People show a wide range of reactions to Gray Davis’s iguana tacos
As previously mentioned, the responses to Gray Davis’s iguana tacos were quite mixed. Some individuals supported his endeavour, while others were critical. However, the majority seemed to enjoy it, leaving a variety of amusing comments on his post.
“21 souls in one meal is crazy,” wrote @user207297505. “Reasonably I know there is literally nothing wrong abt this but it doesn’t FEEL right esp after seasoning mom w her babies,” wrote user @ddxoe. “As a vegan, this is ethical meat consumption. Respect,” wrote user @cloroxbleachforag. “Everybody is hating but this is the definition of ethical meat eating,” user @kayjaypea also wrote. User @truckerduck0620 wrote, “imagine taking a nap then waking up in a taco shell…..”
The iguana problem in Florida is a serious one
Pierce Kannamer, founder of Iggy Trap, an organisation that specialises in capturing invasive species, including green iguanas in Florida, according to an article published by NBC 6 South Florida on February 4, 2026, has said that there are an estimated “tens of millions of iguanas across Florida.”
The same article also mentions the number of iguanas that Kannamer and his team had managed to capture between February 1 and February 4, 2026, which is “over 1,500.”
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