Residents of Florida are not used to dealing with bitter-cold winter weather.
They have to learn how to adjust on the fly.
And a Florida man made one awful decision in cold weather that came back to bite him.
Iguanas start falling from the trees in Florida from cold weather
Florida was hit with a major winter storm that swept through the southeast.
Most of the state dealt with unseasonably cold temperatures and parts of the panhandle received a record-breaking amount of snow.
One of the unique hazards for Florida residents, when they are hit with a cold snap, is the threat of iguanas falling from trees.
Green iguanas were brought to Florida as pets from Central and South America.
Their owners began to release them into the wild when they did not want to care for them anymore.
Iguanas became an invasive species in Florida because they have no natural predators and quickly reproduce.
These lizards are used to a warm tropical climate which is not a problem for them most of the year in Florida.
Iguanas are cold-blooded so they have no way to warm themselves up in cold weather.
They began to slow down once the temperature dips below 50 degrees.
When it drops below 45 degrees, they become cold-stunned.
Their bodies shut down to only the most essential functions and they appear to be lifeless.
Iguanas have been known to fall out of trees and occasionally land on people when they are cold-stunned.
The temperature dipped low enough in South Florida, where most of them live, to send them plummeting down from trees.
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A male iguana can grow up to five feet long and weigh as much as 20 pounds.
A Florida man makes a big mistake collecting iguanas
Zoo Miami communications director Ron Magill told a cautionary tale about cold-stunned iguanas.
A Florida man began gathering iguanas up to presumably eat them as they laid lifeless on the ground during the cold weather.
Magill said that in some Central American countries, the iguana is considered a delicacy.
He got more than he bargained for.
“So this gentleman just thought, wow, I just have a bunch of protein here. He’s on Key Biscayne,” Magill explained. “He’s sort of picking up all these iguanas that appear to be dead on the road that had fallen out of trees. They turned gray and were not moving at all and very cold to the touch.”
The iguanas appeared to be lifeless, but they were not dead.
“And he put them into his vehicle. He’s loading them up like he was stocking up for a big barbecue,” Magill added. “When they went back into the vehicle, the vehicle warmed up, and those iguanas started coming back to life. And all of a sudden, they started getting up and running around in the car, and it caused an accident.”
Iguanas can bite, claw, and use their long tails as a whip when they feel the need to defend themselves.
Florida residents are better off letting frozen iguanas lie when cold weather hits the state.
DeSantis Daily will keep you up-to-date on any new developments in this story.
