Only in Florida
By Jeff Moffitt
@moffittjc (112782)
Gainesville, Florida
January 15, 2023 10:39am CST
Yesterday, I wrote a discussion called Only in America about a theme park attraction dedicated to shooting automatic weapons for fun (which ironically is located in Florida, of all places). Today's discussion is more focused on something you would most likely see only in Florida (well, and maybe Texas).
Iguanas are an invasive species from Central America who have taken up residence in south Florida, and are thriving due to the tropical climate. They are even more prevalent than the invasive Burmese pythons that are thriving in the Florida Everglades.
Anyway, one unique things about iguanas is that when the temperature drops to a certain point (I want to say it is like 40-45 degrees F, or about 4-7 degrees C), the big lizards become catatonic and appear dead. But they're not. They just freeze up and can't move. Most of the iguanas in south Florida live in trees. And about 99% of the year it never gets cold enough in south Florida to affect the iguanas, but every now and then an extreme cold front will come through and actually make it all the way to south Florida, dropping the temps significantly there and causing the iguanas to stiffen up. And when that happens, they fall out of the trees in massive droves. News media often gives falling iguana alerts so that people will be on the lookout for these giant lizards falling from the trees.
But the funny thing now is that many of the weather forecasters will use iguanas as symbols in their daily forecasts to show the relative coldness of the low temps. A right side up iguana means the low temps will probably stay above 45 degrees, but an upside down iguana will mean the temps will drop below 45 or so. Pretty funny that the forecasters in south Florida have resorted to doing this. Only in Florida!
22 people like this
20 responses
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
Thankfully, they don't die. When the temperatures rise again, they will thaw out and come back to life. The unfortunate part is that many will get run over by cars when they fall from the trees, or a lot of people (mostly immigrants from Central America) will collect them while they are catatonic and then cook them up to serve iguana tacos at restaurants and food trucks. I guess iguanas are considered a delicacy in some countries.
3 people like this
@LadyDuck (438678)
• Switzerland
15 Jan
@moffittjc I have read that in some countries they consider iguanas a delicacy, the same those in Arizona consider rattlesnake a delicacy.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
@LadyDuck I have had rattlesnake meat here in Florida, although it is hard to find. It is actually not that bad. But like we say about most exotic meats, "it tastes just like chicken!" haha
3 people like this
@Juliaacv (77862)
• Canada
15 Jan
@moffittjc Oh I totally forgot about the hurricane season, you do get that hard some years don't you?
I had 3 family members suffer extreme damage at their places this past hurricane season, they all had places in Fort Myers Beach.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
@Juliaacv Ft Myers Beach is still a disaster zone, although they are doing a great job of cleaning up. It will take years to rebuild from the hurricane. Sadly, it wasn't even the winds of the hurricane that did all the damage, it was the tidal surge. Florida is so low-lying that there really isn't much we can do. Most of the land in south Florida is barely above sea level.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
That's funny, that is definitely one way of looking at our seasons. We also have other ways of looking at our seasons in Florida:
1. Tourist season, and not tourist season.
2. Summer, and Christmas.
3. Hurricane season, mosquito season, love bug season and wildfire season.
We have to get creative with our seasons here in Florida, because we really don't get the traditional seasons like everyone else does.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (126259)
• United States
15 Jan
I was reading about falling iguanas a few weeks ago online. I found it interesting and am happy I don't live there. 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
Thankfully, I live too far north for it to be an issue here. It gets cold enough here where it is currently out of the reptile's hospitable zone. Same thing with the giant pythons. But they are saying that over time, the iguanas and pythons will become more acclimated to the weather and slowly start migrating to central Florida. I'm still safe in north Florida, but if global warming continues on its current pace, maybe even north Florida won't be safe from all these invasive reptiles.
2 people like this
@DaddyEvil (126259)
• United States
15 Jan
@moffittjc I can just see you looking out windows to see if a python is waiting by your door for its "breakfast" before you go to work. 
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
@DaddyEvil Hey, I'm scare of little snakes. So imagine my fear of having to encounter a big snake!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan
They should make up signs that say that! "WARNING: Falling Iguanas. Keep your head up and your eyes on the trees."
1 person likes this
@just4him (278210)
• Green Bay, Wisconsin
16 Jan
@moffittjc They have warning signs for everything else, why not falling iguanas.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan
@just4him What we really need is warning signs to alert us to morons and idiots. "Warning: you are entering a no common sense zone. Enter at your own risk!"
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan
Have you ever seen a drop bear? I really want to know what they look like.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Jan
@JudyEv I don’t know that they’re not real, I’ve never seen one! So you will have to tell me all about it!
1 person likes this
@JudyEv (311563)
• Rockingham, Australia
17 Jan
@moffittjc You're kidding me, aren't you? You just want me to say they're not real. Well, I'm not going to say it!!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan
So, what's your "thing" up where you live?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan
@porwest SNOW MISSILES! Now that’s one I’ve never heard of either.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jan
@porwest Sometimes I think these weather sites sit around and make things up to keep us glued to their weather reports.
1 person likes this
I knew there were iguanas there, but I had no idea about them falling 
. Aren't there iguana umbrellas @much2say (52232)
• Los Angeles, California
20 Jan
@moffittjc Oh wow! I've never been to FL, but I've been to the beachside restaurants plenty of times out here. Never seen the wires or fishlines, but now that I think of it I don't know how the birds are kept out of the eating areas here. Those divebombing birds must be super ballsy!!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan
I don't know about iguana umbrellas, but have you ever been to beachside restaurants in Florida? Many of them have wires or fishing line strung up all over the place above the guest tables to keep the birds and seagulls from dive-bombing the tables for food. Those birds can get quite aggressive.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Jan
@much2say The seagulls can get pretty ballsy, but it's really the pelicans they have to keep out. Since they're much bigger birds than the seagulls, those pelicans can probably cause some damage to any meals sitting on a table in the outside areas of the beachside restaurants.
1 person likes this
@FourWalls (55140)
• United States
15 Jan
Yes, I do believe Florida is the only place you’ll hear a “falling iguana warning” issued.
2 people like this
@FourWalls (55140)
• United States
15 Jan
@moffittjc — when I got out west of Fort Worth (I was driving to L.A. to have my car shipped to my new duty station) all the trees disappeared off the mountains. When I called my mom that evening I said, “You’re not going to believe this, there are no trees on the mountains here!”
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
I would think it would happen in southern Texas too, but maybe not, since that climate is more desert-like and probably doesn't have all the trees we have in Florida. I think it's hilarious that they have to issue warnings about falling iguanas to keep people safe from getting hit on the head.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
@FourWalls I remember how confused I was when I saw the same thing on my first visit to the mountains of Colorado. I remember asking my dad, "Where did all the trees go?" He had to explain to me that at a certain altitude that trees can't grow.
2 people like this
@wolfgirl569 (77976)
• Marion, Ohio
16 Jan
That is a cute way to show the weather
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan
Otherwise, our weather forecasts are boring and monotonous: hot, humid, 50% chance of rain. Pretty much every day of the year, except for the 3 days of winter we get.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
It's rare here. Global warming has really messed things up. It used to be that when winter arrived, it would get cold here in Florida (say lows at about 45-50), and it would stay that way for several months. Now, it will stay hot, and then every once in a while a cold front will come through and drop lows into the 20s for a few days, and then it will get hot again. It's like we go from one extreme to the other.
There are 1-2 days here a year where it will actually be colder in Florida than in Canada. It's crazy but true.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan
@sallypup If you don’t mind my asking, what part of the country do you live in now?
Oh wait…you live in Washington now, don’t you?
1 person likes this
@sallypup (54727)
• Centralia, Washington
15 Jan
@moffittjc Amazing. I am getting used to lots of rain and tons milder temps now that I have moved across my state.
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
20 Jan
That's probably something you'll never have to worry about in the Philippines! What kind of interesting animals do they have to warn you about in your country?
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
21 Jan
@sol_cee That’s horrible to hear. I hope those kids are okay
1 person likes this
@sol_cee (38267)
• Philippines
21 Jan
@moffittjc this isn’t a happy story but I woke up today to the news that a stray dog bit two kids in my neighborhood. They say the dog has gone crazy because it hasn’t eaten for days
1 person likes this
@andriaperry (117670)
• Anniston, Alabama
16 Jan
Here they should do frozen nipples, lol .
2 people like this
@NJChicaa (111715)
• United States
15 Jan
That is funny. I've seen news stories about frozen lizards. That's got to be creepy to see.
In Cozumel we go to a restaurant called The Lobster House. In front of the restaurant there is a pond, a boardwalk over it, and lots of trees. You feel like you are in the middle of the jungle when it is dark. The waiters will greet you with a huge flashlight to point out all of the big lizards up in the trees. Sometimes they even have a visitor--a crocodile named "Melissa".
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
15 Jan
I can imagine there are lots of iguanas in Cozumel. It's crazy how large their population has become in south Florida. They are literally everywhere. Whenever I visit family, we sit around the pool deck and watch all the iguanas sunning themselves. If there wasn't a screen enclosure around the pool, they would all probably be swimming in the pool!
2 people like this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan
I guess they have to break up the monotony with a little humor. Like, how many times can they come on and say it's going to be hot and humid and there's a 50% chance of rain? Because that's literally the forecast for Florida every day of the year except for the 3 days of winter we have.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
17 Jan
@CarolDM I like when news stations (especially small, local stations) do things differently. I don’t like the cookie-cutter, boring, mundane big market stations.
1 person likes this
@CarolDM (204960)
• Nashville, Tennessee
16 Jan
@moffittjc They do have a mundane job. Especially in Florida. I know, right! They did great with this idea.
1 person likes this
@snowy22315 (154353)
• United States
15 Jan
That is really cute. I liked that story.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
16 Jan
Thanks. I thought it was a cool story too. I got a little chuckle out of it when I saw it.
1 person likes this
@RebeccasFarm (102784)
• Wheat Ridge, Colorado
30 Jan
Oh it is funny Jeff.
But here it is brutal at the moment below zero farenheit.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
31 Jan
So sorry to hear that. I guess I probably shouldn’t tell you that here in Florida it was a beautiful sunny day with temps in the low 80s. I almost called out sick today and went to the beach.
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
19 Jan
@Tampa_girl7 It would certainly make an interesting story to tell the grandkids someday!
1 person likes this
@moffittjc (112782)
• Gainesville, Florida
18 Jan
It’s all fun and games until someone loses an eye (by looking up at falling iguanas)!
1 person likes this
@LindaOHio (122171)
• United States
15 Jan
That's pretty funny. The bad part is that they survive. They are shooting iguanas by the hundreds but can't make a dent. They are causing so much destruction, etc.
1 person likes this
