An innovative pizza shop is coming under fire for adding iguana meat as a topping.

Iguanas are an invasive species in Florida, where they’ve flourished and have become beloved new residents by many. But the docile reptiles aren’t built for cold weather, which sometimes hits the Sunshine State as it did this past winter.

After the latest record-breaking cold front had iguanas falling from trees, the folks at Bucks Coal Fired Pizza in South Florida thought the giant lizards might make a tasty treat and added them to the menu.

“My buddy hit me up and was like, ‘How do you feel about me bringing in some iguana meat and making iguana pizza?’ I said, ‘Absolutely,’” pizzeria owner Frankie Cecere said.

FLORIDA: Restaurant faces backlash after selling pizza with iguana meat as a topping >>> https://t.co/FqfEX7KKcY pic.twitter.com/VTsKLWphXm

— WJHG-TV (@WJHG_TV) February 17, 2026

And at first, the addition was a big hit.

“We have received about 1,500 calls for iguana pizza … It’s highly sought after, apparently,” he said.

But the celebration was short-lived as promotion of the new item also brought heated backlash and fervent calls to Florida’s health department.

“People called in saying we had live iguanas in house, like an animal cruelty issue,” said Cecere. “We don’t have live iguanas here.”

“Nope, and the fact that he put the lizard in the oven and then used the blade to cut the pie, I’ll never eat there,” an angry person wrote on Instagram in response to the promotion.

“This has to be against every health code violation in the book! This place should be shut down!” another wrote.

Bucks Coal Fired Pizza serves gator meat and venison, but iguana meat is where some customers are drawing the line.

The pizzeria says it’ll be scaling back the new item for now while they work out regulatory issues.

“I thought it would fall under catch and cook,” said Cecere.

“You don’t need a license to harvest iguanas because they’re an invasive species, but apparently there’s no statute for it,” he added.

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