Temperatures are expected to drop further in South Florida on Saturday – so low, in fact, that the National Weather Service is warning that iguanas can fall of the trees. The iguanas, who are cold-blooded, cannot stand the cold and when temperatures drop below 50 degrees, they are slow and seem dead.
O The Miami National Weather Service tweeted on Friday that “some of our iguan friends can sleep tomorrow morning, planning or not”. He was followed with “don’t be surprised if you see them falling from the trees as the casualties fall for the 30s and 40s.”
Christmas night will be the coldest night of the season in South Florida, with temperatures between 40 and 30 degrees, according to CBS Miami.
Zoo Miami communications director Ron Magill told CBS Miami that the danger to iguanas depends on the size of the iguana. He said that the bigger the iguana, the colder it can tolerate for long periods.
He said that many iguanas in South Florida have adapted to dig deep holes, so they are isolated from the cold. Iguanas also tend to live near large bodies of water, which can be hotter than the air temperature, so they can help them survive short periods of cold.
Adult iguanas have an average size of 6.6 feet and weigh 11 pounds, according to National Geographic. They are also tough enough to land on solid ground at a height of up to 12 meters and survive, according to National Geographic.