In Florida, iguanas are falling from suburban trees

MIAMI BEACH, FLA. » It’s so cold in Florida that iguanas are falling from their perches in suburban trees.

Temperatures dipped below40degrees early Thursday in parts of South Florida, according to the National Weather Service in Miami.

That’s chilly enough to immobilize green iguanas common in Miami’s suburbs.

Palm Beach Post columnist Frank Cerabino tweeted a photograph of an iguana lying belly-up next to his swimming pool. WPEC-TV posted images of an iguana on its back on a Palm Beach County road.

The cold-blooded creatures native to Central and South America start to get sluggish when temperatures fall below 50 degrees, said Kristen Sommers, who oversees the nonnative fish and wildlife program for the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

They’re not the only reptiles stunned by this week’s cold snap: Sea turtles also stiffen up when temperatures fall. The wildlife commission’s biologists have been rescuing coldstunned sea turtles found floating listlessly on the water or near shore, but no such rescue is planned for iguanas.

Well-meaning residents finding stiffened iguanas are advised to leave them alone, as they may feel threatened and bite once they warm up.

Green iguanas are an invasive species in Florida known for eating through landscaping and digging burrows that undermine infrastructure. They can grow over 5 feet long, and their droppings can be a potential source of salmonella bacteria, which causes food poisoning.

The wildlife commission has begun holding workshops to train homeowners and property managers to trap or manage iguanas.