HOLLYWOOD, Fla. -- An iguana got into a Hollywood home through the sewer system and winded up in a guest bathroom toilet.

"I was in a rush. I ran in to go to the bathroom and fortunately looked down," said Suzanne Brown.

Brown said that before she sat she saw two eyes staring at her.

"I was totally shocked, but my son was in the other room so I didn't want to scream. I threw the lid down quickly," said Brown.

The iguana measured 9 inches.

"My wife called me freaking out and said there was an 'alligator' in the toilet," said Alan Brown.

Bill Simpson of Trapper John Rodent Specialists of Boca Raton came out to the home to remove the iguana. Simpson said getting a call to remove an iguana is rare.

"We get a few calls a year where critters go down the vent pipe up on the roof. Usually it's rats," said Simpson.

Trappers said rodents get in through plumbing stacks in the house. But at the Brown house, how the iguana got in the sewer system is a mystery because their stacks are covered with a thick wire mesh.

Cutting trees back away from your home so that critters can't crawl up won't do the trick, said Simpson.

"Most of the critters down here don't need a tree to get up on the roof. They can climb right up the stucco, including rats," said Simpson.

Simpson did let the iguana go in the neighborhood, but it eventually returned to the Brown house, where it was seen in the back yard.

Brown's recommendation is to look before you sit.

Tips for homeowners:

Plug up holes with mesh wiring

Plug up dryer holes

Critterproof your home for $100 to $1,000. Cost depends on how big the house is.