Frozen Iguanas
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (118459)
Gainesville, Florida
December 15, 2015 6:21pm CST
Iguanas are large, lizard-like reptiles that can grow to three or four feet long. They are native to northern South America and Central America. Over time, they have slowly migrated north into Texas and other southern parts of the United States, including the southernmost regions of Florida. Due to them being reptiles, iguanas cannot migrate too far north into the United States, as they cannot survive winters.
If you've ever been to south Florida, you will find Iguanas thriving in the warm, tropical environment. In fact, Iguanas like the climate so much that it seems like they are completely taking over south Florida. They are everywhere! While not dangerous, they can be a nuisance!
South Florida rarely gets cold snaps, and even more rarely gets hard freezes. But, interestingly enough, when the temperature drops below 40 degrees, Iguanas essentially become dormant. It's like their bodies completely shut down!
Since iguanas live in trees and bushes, whenever it drops below 40 degrees it is fun to go outside and shake the trees and bushes, and watch all the iguanas fall out and on to the ground! It's like they have gone into a catatonic state, or that they are dead and rigor mortis has set in, but they are still very much alive!
Florida Wildlife officials will often use this tactic to thin out the iguana population. However, it doesn't happen that often since it rarely gets cold down in south Florida!
8 people like this
9 responses
@VivaLaDani13 (60355)
• Perth, Australia
21 Mar 17
@moffittjc I have never heard about that before! It reminds me of when people scare goats. Goats just seize up and fall over lol it’s so weird!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
22 Mar 17
My daughter and I were just talking about goats the other day, and she was telling me how funny it is that goats will just freeze up and fall over when you scare them. I told her we should get a goat! haha
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
23 Mar 17
@VivaLaDani13 Other than scaring them two or three times a day so I could watch them fall over, I would take very good care of them!
2 people like this
@VivaLaDani13 (60355)
• Perth, Australia
22 Mar 17
@moffittjc HAHA! Poor wittle goats! 
2 people like this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
16 Dec 15
I was picturing actual frozen Iguanas, which would be amusing. I was wondering how they'd survive being cold-blooded. The Isabella Tiger Moth, which is well known as a Wooly-Bear Caterpillar, is a fuzzy black and burnt-orange caterpillar that comes out in fall and overwinters and becomes active in the spring before its metamorphosis. They actually do freeze solid, and then thaw out. People have seen them emerge from a block of ice perfectly fine. I understand that in the arctic they can't get enough nutrients to grow fast enough and can freeze and thaw for seven years. That's one hardy little insect!
2 people like this
@OneOfMany (12150)
• United States
19 Dec 15
@moffittjc I think it's a form of hibernation that they undergo when their organs freeze up. Or a type of cryogenic sleep. They are neat. I love picking them up and having them curl into a fuzzy little ball in my hand. The other good thing about them is that they eat grass, so they aren't destructive to trees at all.
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Dec 15
That is crazy! It's amazing how life has been able to evolve over time to adapt to the harsh conditions faced throughout the world! I wonder how those caterpillars stay alive while they are frozen? Or, how do they come back to life after being frozen? That is just amazing!
2 people like this
@hereandthere (45651)
• Philippines
17 Dec 15
@moffittjc aside from scaring people (probably because of their looks) are they harmless? they don't bite, shoot or leave poison, or damage things?
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Dec 15
Overpopulation. They are literally everywhere, and because of their size, they can often startle or frighten people when they encounter them.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Dec 15
@hereandthere As far as I know, they are perfectly harmless. They may bite, but I'm sure it probably doesn't hurt too much. And they are not poisonous or anything. I do know that you can eat them, but it's not something Americans are fond of doing. It's more common in Mexico, where iguanas are part of the people's regular diet.
1 person likes this
@LadyDuck (458230)
• Switzerland
16 Dec 15
It is the same for lizards, they hibernate in winter, but sometimes they come out in a sunny day and they go into a catatonic state if the sun disappear under a cloud. I moved one in a safe area two days ago, the poor lizard was near my entry door, too close to the bowl of food for the cat.
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
17 Dec 15
we have l izards here in southern califo rnia and lately its been down to freezing i never see them this time of year when I worked in the library we had one little
fellow who came in when patrons came in. He caused quite
a stir one day as he crawled i nto the shirt of this plump mam who had fallen asleep reading the c rrent newspaperl He let out these piercing screams I ran to him and found l ittle Louie the baby lizard hanging onto the mans shirt I walked over and picked the baby up and the man q it yelling and he gav eme the oddest look. I told him" this is louie hes just a baby and he was cold. Im sorry he frightened you; I will put him outside. sorry. He asked me arent you afraid o f that that thing? I told him no he will not hurt us hes more frightejed of us than we are of him sir.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Dec 15
@Hatley Lizards are so harmless, but it's quite funny to see how so many people react to them! You'd think that they were huge dinosaurs instead of little ole harmless lizards!
@just4him (306386)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
16 Dec 15
Even though that sounds like an over population of iguanas, shaking the trees seems cruel to me.
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Dec 15
I don't think it hurts the iguanas, at least I haven't heard or seen anything to suggest that, but you could be right. However, it is the quickest, cheapest and easiest method of ridding iguanas from an area. Just to be clear, it doesn't happen very often, as the geographical area of south Florida where they live hardly ever gets freezes or cold weather below 40 degrees.
2 people like this
@just4him (306386)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
18 Dec 15
@moffittjc That's good then. Right now I don't think the country is getting very low temps anywhere. We have them today along with some flurries, but temps are expected to rise again in the next couple days.
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Dec 15
I don't live in south Florida anymore, so I can't shake the trees! Well, I guess I could still shake the trees here where I live, but no iguanas would fall out of them, just pine cones and maybe an occasional squirrel! lol I can't believe you called me a big meanie!
1 person likes this
@Castlerock34 (2259)
• Minneapolis, Minnesota
17 Dec 15
@moffittjc poor little creatures, I feel bad for them and then you come along shaking trees poor guys lol
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Dec 15
But even so, most reptiles still can move around if necessary. Iguanas become completely comatose. You can pick them up and play catch with them, and they wont even blink an eye! It's like they're not even real!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325854)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Dec 15
Isn't that interesting? The animal world is full of surprises. There is a US bird (can't remember the name offhand) which drums its feet on the ground. This fools the earthworms into thinking it's raining and they come to the surface, thus providing food for the birds.
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Dec 15
That's pretty cool! I wasn't aware of that! Sounds like a smart bird! I was reading recently that researchers have found that crows are smarter than we think as well. If you startle, scare or upset a crow, that crow will let all the other crows know, and then all the crows become angry with you. But if you do something that pleases a crow, it will communicate that to all the other crows and they'll leave you alone!
2 people like this
@JudyEv (325854)
• Rockingham, Australia
16 Dec 15
@moffittjc Our crows are very timid so even if they're angry they wouldn't come near you. Having said that, in the city, they've learnt that they won't be harmed and they are now a menace in car parks, raiding the bins, etc.
2 people like this
@marijuana (570)
• Tel Aviv, Israel
16 Dec 15
I am glad to know they are harmless. They look like they are highly dangerous :D
@moffittjc (118459)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Dec 15
They actually make very good pets! That's how they got introduced into south Florida originally. Probably either escaped from their cages, or else pet owners released them into the wild when they got too big to take care of.
