Fort Myers Beach iguana knocked out from cold snap
Fort Myers Beach resident Scott Safford encountered a strange guest in his driveway Thursday morning.
The Wednesday to Thursday overnight temperatures in the mid-30s had put one unfortunate iguana in a stupor.
Iguanas are an invasive species in Florida. Native to central America and Mexico, these cold-blooded reptiles can’t handle anything besides tropical weather.
“Most of our native species are able to handle that (short cold). It’s only for a few hours,” said Chris Lechowicz, Sanibel-Captiva Conservation Foundation’s herpetologist and wildlife and habitat management program director.
Lechowicz warns that just because an iguana seems dead doesn’t mean it is. The cold temperatures cause them to get into a stupor since their bodies cold-blooded.
“Leave it there. It might not be dead,” he said. “A lot of times they’re not dead, they’re crawling out to warm up.”
Once the sun warms their body temperatures, they can wake back up. Extended cold temperatures, however, can kill the iguanas – and other tropical invasives.
Lechowicz said in 2010, a cold spell hit for several days that kept temperatures in the 30s and 40s. Several days of cold can kill iguanas.
Long-term periods of cold can effect some native species as well, such as the American Crocodile, Lechowicz said. But this week’s cold isn’t predicted to last past Friday. According to the forecast from the National Weather Service, Fort Myers Beach should see a low of 41 degrees Thursday evening and a high of 66 degrees Friday, with temperatures returning to the mid-70s over the weekend.
If someone feels compelled to help out a “frozen” iguana, our local experts say don’t.
Brian Bohlman, spokesman for CROW Wildlife Rehabilitation on Sanibel, said if someone were to bring in a sick or injured iguana, CROW wouldn’t be allowed to release them because of their invasive status.
Lechowicz concurred – it’s illegal to release an invasive species into Florida’s habitats.
“It’s best to leave it alone,” he said.