SUNRISE, FLA. (WSVN) - Cold-stunned iguanas are a common sight every time cold air grips South Florida. This past frigid weekend, the reptiles rained down from trees.
The Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission has given the public the chance to scoop up the iguanas and bring them to an FWC office where they’ll take care of them.
“He’s waking up, he’s like ‘don’t get me!'” said Jessica Kilgor from Iguana Solutions, carrying an iguana in her hand.
“They gave you places all around the county that you can bring frozen iguanas to, and they will safely and humanely put the iguanas down and dispose of the body,” she said. “This is not the solution to the problem, but it definitely makes a difference.”
Due to their cold-blooded nature, the invasive reptiles are unable to handle temperatures drops below 50 degrees, sending them into a temporary paralysis known as cold stunning.
“So these iguanas are frozen right now, but it’s only ‘semi-frozen’, and they’re cold, they’re so cold that sometimes their metabolism shuts down and they die, but sometimes they don’t and they start to wake up, so you can see here that this guy is very much awake.” said Kilgor.
7News spoke to some people who had collected the creatures and brought them to the FWC.
“Oh, at least between 50 and 100 [iguanas] easy, easy,” said Todd Hanna.
For Todd and his son, Daniel Hanna, catching frozen iguanas is a family affair.
“I love catching, I catch baby iguanas,” said Daniel.
David Smith and his wife have processed and eaten the “chickens of the trees” in the past, but not this weekend.
“We’re here today because we dropped off just over 100 pounds of iguanas that we picked up [Sunday] morning in Pompano Beach. I’ve never picked up so many in such a short time; it took us about 45 minutes to an hour to get 100 pounds,” said Smith. “The bigger ones eventually would revive after getting heated, but it would take a long time, and FWC knows how to handle them.”
FWC allows people to collect and drop off the invasive iguanas through Monday at one of their drop-off sites. Their South Florida offices are located in Marathon and Sunrise.
Afterward, a permit is required to collect and dispose of iguanas. FWC has advised that if a cold-stunned green iguana is encountered, do not bring it inside a home or building to warm up.
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