Not sure if the poster you addressed will reply, given his post is a year old. His images appear to be symptomatic of the physiological disorder, oedema - see below. Given your issue is in the upper (youngest) leaves, it might not be the same. It's not unusual for leaves of F. lyrata to emerge with pinhead or slightly smaller size dots covering the leaf surface nearly entirely. This often occurs when the air is dry, as it usually is in winter or when air conditioning is operating for days on end. That particular condition is simply expression of the purple pigment anthocyanin, and it will fade as the leaves mature. That's said w/o my being able to see an image of what you're describing, which would be very helpful. Oedema Oedema is a physiological disorder that can affect all plants. It occurs when the plant takes up more water than it can rid itself of via the process of transpiration. The word itself means 'swelling', which is usually the first symptom, and comes in the form of pale blisters or water-filled bumps on foliage. Under a variety of circumstances/cultural conditions, a plant's internal water pressure (turgidity) can become so high that some leaf cells rupture and leak their contents into inter-cellular spaces in leaf tissue, creating wet or weepy areas. Symptoms vary by plant, but as the malady progresses, areas of the leaf turn yellow, brown, brown with reddish overtones or even black, with older damage appearing as corky/ scaly/ ridged patches, or wart/gall-like bumpy growth. Symptoms are seen more frequently in plants that are fleshy, are usually more pronounced on the underside of leaves, and older/lower leaves are more likely to be affected than younger/upper leaves. Oedema is most common in houseplants during the winter/early spring months, is driven primarily by excessive water retention in the soil, and can be intensified via several additional cultural influences. Cool temperatures, high humidity levels, low light conditions, or partial defoliation can individually or collectively act to intensify the problem, as can anything else that slows transpiration. Nutritional deficiencies of Ca and Mg are also known contributors to the malady. Some things that can help you prevent oedema: * Increase light levels and temperature * Monitor water needs carefully – avoid over-watering. I'd heartily recommend a soil with drainage so sharp (fast) that when you to water to beyond the saturation point you needn't worry about prolonged periods of soil saturation wrecking root health/function. Your soil choice should be a key that unlocks the solutions to many potential problems. * Avoid misting or getting water on foliage. It slows transpiration and increases turgidity. * Water as soon as you get up in the AM. When stomata close in preparation for the dark cycle, turgidity builds. If you water early in the day, it gives the plant an opportunity to remove (for its own needs) some of the excess water in the soil. * Put a fan in the room or otherwise increase air flow/circulation. Avoid over-crowding your plants. Questions? Al

All this reminds me of Marek's disease in poultry. Some of the ornamental breeders on finding Marek's in one bird cull their whole flocks over and over. On discussing this with my avian veterinarian he says that all birds carry Marek's but, some show symptoms and some do not via stress or poor genetics. One of my friends that had a large collection of Hippeastrum collection gave me his entire collection because of perceived TMV several years ago (large). He was going to burn them. I adjusted the PH of the soil, sprayed for bugs, and all turned back a dark green. Go figure. Are they infected? I don't really care. They bloom and grow fine for a long time. A few look mosaic when I first drag them out of the basement and put in the full sun when their leaves are burned. Maybe that is what he saw. Who knows.

Hi Peg- you're too sweet. I will do so before bed tonight. Dave- personally I don't know much about electric fences (I mean, I get the general principle and all, but beyond that I'm entirely uninformed), but I googled "iguana" and "electric fence" and found that others have used them for that purpose. As far as I can tell, those who have report mixed results. It seems like a good idea if it could be done fairly cheaply (apparently, the condo association is low on funds right now). It's now on my research list-- thanks. There's this fellow up the coast about 40-50 miles from me, somewhere in Palm Beach Co., I believe--he has a website on which he talks about his trials and tribulations with iguana infestation on his property. Evidently, the iguanas scoffed at HIS electric fence...anyway, he now advocates this control method (which gets a huge OMG from me!): He sets up snares where they travel regularly, and when they ensnare themselves, he removes them from the snare with his bare hands, and then throws them in an old freezer!!! (He says that FL authorities have confirmed to him that freezing is considered humane.) I take no position on that last statement, but, I could just never ever do what he does. Call me a wuss, and I will accept the label LOL...I COULD NOT DO IT. Iguanas give me the heebie-jeebies!!!! At any rate, I know that this thread is probably making you all pretty weary. I understand--who wants to read depressing news (and there's more, but I'm sparing you all)? So, I'll stop, I think. I do want to say that there are more kind suggestions in this thread than I've been able to acknowledge or reply to, and I want to thank everyone for their thoughts and ideas. What is very clear to me now is that I will probably never solve this problem completely...but I'll keep trying, and when I find an effective solution--whenever that might be--I'll update everyone. Take care, and may your backyards stay iguana-free. Greg

You don't have room to store all that stuff....cut veggies and fruits etc. Can you possibly order out the mac and cheese? You're going to make yourself crazy! Plan out your plan of attack....when you will make what and where you will store it. Then who will buy what and where you will store that....and how you will thaw and re-heat what needs to be reheated. Realize that it will take a LOOONG time to thaw a gallon of pulled pork or shredded turkey....and to be safe it should be defrosted in the refrigerator...or a picnic cooler and the temperature carefully monitored so it stays cool until it's ready to be heated. You don't want to give people food poisioning. Hard liquor won't melt any kind of plastic....it's not a solvent for anything like that. And take advantage of all the neighbor's refrigerator and oven space that you can....and don't over look the grill to heat things...or keep them warm....and use all the picnic coolers you can find. Yes...have a few stories...like the time I invited 2 people who used to be married, with their present spouses....figured out it was fine....but one man's new wife had a fit and spent 3 hours cowering by the front door lest she run into her husband's ex wife! And there was the sweet young thing who went upstairs and went to bed in my teenaged daughter's bed....and when daughter came home, we had to wake her so my daughter could go to bed, and the time that our pastor and his wife who invited to our new years Eve party, came after another party at 4 AM....because there were lights on and they knew we were up. And the time the dog drank the drippings from the keg and got so drunk she almost couldn't get up the steps into the house, or the time I bought cheap plastic watering cans to fill with flowers for table decorations....and a couple of them leaked...luckily that was an outside party....and the wedding shower where the groom had to be helped out the door. And the time I decided I could make pizza for 45 kids and had crusts and pepperoni and a vat of sauce....and grated 10 pounds of cheese by hand!!..Took me 3 days to clean the oven after that!