July 5 (UPI) -- A Florida man who discovered a large iguana in his toilet donned a gas mask, bulletproof vest and ski gloves to remove the lizard from the commode.

David Adams posted a series of photos to Facebook documenting the process of removing the iguana that he discovered in his toilet after apparently sliding down a plumbing vent from the roof of his Miami home.


Adams wrote:

"Mission accomplished! Thanks to some old ski gloves, a towel, anti-riot gear (gas mask and bullet proof vest). Apparently the pesky critter got in through the plumbing vent on our roof and slid down into the toilet. Seemed very happy to make it back to the bushes outside. Hissed at me and had a couple of jaw snaps, but then scampered away to rejoin the reptilian hordes in our neighborhood."

He said he donned the gas mask after calling pest control and being advised to protect his eyes from the iguana's spiny tail.

"The gas mask was all I had," he wrote.

He said a pest control expert offered a second theory of how the iguana ended up in the toilet.

"Omar from Key Biscayne Pest Control says more likely the iguana got into our toilet via the sewer system. Although they are not amphibians, they can hold their breath for 5-7 minutes underwater and swim up pipes into your toilet," he wrote in a comment on the post.