MIAMI SHORES, FLA. (WSVN) - Reptiles unaccustomed to cold weather rained down from tree branches across South Florida neighborhoods after temperatures dropped into the 30s this weekend.
Cellphone videos captured iguanas on the ground throughout the region, Sunday morning.
“Only in South Florida does it rain iguanas,” said a man in cellphone video.
A 7News viewer sent in a video of a lizard lying on a sidewalk near Miami Shores. They suspect the iguana fell from a palm tree in their neighborhood.
Cellphone video recorded in Hollywood shows another reptile lying on the mud with both eyes shut.
“It’s alive; it’s just paralyzed. It can’t move in any way,” said Harold Rondan with Iguana Lifestyles.
Rondan said the invasive species thrives in the Sunshine State. That is, as long as it stays above 40 degrees.
Once temperatures plummet into the 30s…
“It becomes dormant,” said Rondan.
The iguanas freeze in place and tip over.
“If you see a frozen iguana, the best thing to do is, honestly, leave it alone, let nature take its course,” said Rondan.
Once the cold-blooded creatures warm up, they should wake right up.
When they do, experts said, they’ll be hungry, so they’ll be coming after plants and crops.
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