What is it?

Question

Lizard   I live in Key West, 22 years now.  Only 3 ties have I seen these guys.  What is he?  Are they indigenous, or released pets?  I have a pic of a smaller one with a tail that is shorter and not so striped, I am guessing that is the female, do you think?  Thanks for you help!
Loretta

Answer
It's a shame that they've made it all the way down to Key West now.  They are indeed an introduced invasive species, the Northern Curly-Tail lizard (Leiocephalus carinatus).

They're quite an active and aggressive species.  If you find populations of the native Green Anoles there, nurture those, as they're being driven out by the introduced brown anoles and curly-tails.

The only native lizards there are the Green Anole, the very small Ground Skink, and Florida Reef Gecko (also a very tiny animal),