Another Florida cold snap, another "falling iguana" alert.

[WVBaker]

The National Weather Service in Miami on Monday issued an unofficial warning for possible "falling iguanas" later this week, due to a cold snap that's forecast to chill the Sunshine State by Christmas Day.

Iguanas are cold blooded and slow down or become immobile when temperatures drop.
Green iguanas are an invasive species in Florida known for eating through landscaping.
It could be the coldest Christmas in South Florida since 1999.

Falling iguana alert! Cold weather in Florida may cause iguanas to fall out of trees. But they're not dead.

"Brrr! Much colder temps expected for Christmas. Low temperatures in the 30s/40s and falling iguanas are possible."

www.usatoday.com

 

[Sea Six]

Temps dropping into the 40's, yet people argue with you that they are going swimming.

 

[WVBaker]

 

[Talent312]

As if hurricanes weren't enuff to deal with...
Folks up North complain about snow (whatever that is).
Consider having to look out for falling iguanas!
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[silentg]

It’s winter, we expect cold snaps, they don’t last long.

 

[Sea Six]

View attachment 30208

Yup, your typical winter Florida tourists - in the water for a few minutes. And a polar bear plunge ain't a swim

 

[Sea Six]

It’s winter, we expect cold snaps, they don’t last long.

Depends what you consider long. If you're coming down for a week, and we have a 6 day cold front, you're not going swimming

 

[LMD]

As a full time Naples resident I welcome the cold snaps! Summer is HOT and long!

 

[simpsontruckdriver]

One thing about falling Iguanas, because they are an invasive species, if you see one on the ground, you are encouraged to kill it. Or, if you are an experienced Iguana handler/keeper, you can take it and warm it up in your terrarium, but you SHALL NOT release it into the wild. That is why this happened, people kept them but when they had to get rid of them, just let them go (similar to the snake issue in the Everglades).

TS

 

[TheTimeTraveler]

The Iguanas are an invasive species and they do very serious damage to anything they can bury themselves into (bridge abutments, foundations, etc.) and Florida does encourage folks to eradicate them if ever given the opportunity.

Cold weather snaps gives folks the perfect chance to easily catch them and terminate them.



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[dioxide45]

One thing about falling Iguanas, because they are an invasive species, if you see one on the ground, you are encouraged to kill it. Or, if you are an experienced Iguana handler/keeper, you can take it and warm it up in your terrarium, but you SHALL NOT release it into the wild. That is why this happened, people kept them but when they had to get rid of them, just let them go (similar to the snake issue in the Everglades).

TS

Many were also set free because people left them behind when they fled Hurricane Andrew, thus the home was destroyed and the terrariums busted, but the snakes and lizards survived.

A female iguana can lay over 70 eggs a year. I don't understand why Florida Fish and Wildlife hasn't allocated funds for a bounty on iguanas. Shoot, even $1 a head and people would be out cleaning them up.