Frozen Alligator and Iguana on a stick. Awesome

[aceplace57]

I’d always assumed that reptiles died in abnormally frigid weather. I badly misjudged their innate survival instincts.

I still suspect a long term climate change would eventually wipe them out. But they can survive a few days of harsh weather.

Two examples…
Frozen iguanas falling out of trees in Florida.

Iguanas are falling out of trees in Florida because it’s so cold. Please...

Frozen gators in the Swamp. Snouts poking out of the ice. That’s just incredible they can do that and survive. A human would die within minutes.

Alligators in North Carolina poke their noses through ice to survive freezing...

And in South Florida, it is “raining iguanas.”

Green iguanas, like most reptiles, are coldblooded animals, so they become immobile when the temperature falls to a certain level, said Kristen Sommers of the Florida Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission.

Under 50 degrees Fahrenheit (10 degrees Celsius), they become sluggish. Under 40 degrees (4.44 degrees Celsius), their blood stops moving as much, Sommers said.

They like to sit in trees, and “it’s become cold enough that they fall out”.

The alligators went into the water last week during the “bomb cyclone” that hit the East coast. The water in the swamp was warmer than the air, explained Howard.

The animals are experiencing brumation, a process cold-blooded animals go through that lowers their metabolism so they can survive cold climates, similar to warm-blooded mammals’ hibernation.

“It is very, very abnormal for southeastern North Carolina,” Howard said of the ice and freezing temps. “It is not abnormal for the [the alligators] to do this because they know they have to breathe.”

[aceplace57]

Corrected Frozen Gator link

Alligators in North Carolina poke their noses through ice to survive freezing...

The Google Amp link refused to work.

[cochrane]

I wish was in Tijuana, eating barbecued iguana.

[aceplace57]

They are probably are feasting on fried iguana in Florida right now.

Fresh, frozen in your own backyard. Ready to dip in batter, fry, & eat.

[Two_Many_Cats]

(Pounding disco beat)

It’s raining iguanas!
Hallelujah, it’s raining iguanas! Hosannas!
Scales gray! Long and lean!
I always thought that they were greeeeen…
It’s raining iguanas!

[panache45]

*Every time it rains, it rains
Iguanas from heaven.
Don’t you know each tree contains
Iguanas from heaven.
*

[Grrr]

This sounds kind of terrifying (For the iguanas), I mean, are they still conscious when they are “frozen” like that?

[aceplace57]

It seems that reptiles go into a suspended state in cold. Their heart rate slows down and I’d guess brain activity slows down too.

The article says they wake up after the sun warms them.

[kayaker]

@cochrane

I wish was in Tijuana, eating barbecued iguana.

I’ve had iguana fricassee made from freshly caught beach iguana. I was not impressed. There’s not a whole lot of meat and you have to gnaw what’s there off of the bones.

[Dung_Beetle]

Hey there cochrane, hear the dj
Can’t understand just what does he say