# Night of the Iguana in Florida **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 22, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799 "2020-01-22T13:45:03Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![panache45](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/panache45/32/64_2.png) [@panache45](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/panache45)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 1:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/1 "2020-01-22T13:45:03Z")
As many Floridians know, falling iguanas are a hazard in times of low temperatures. Tonight will be one of those times, due to nobody nailing them to the trees. So be sure to leave home with a REALLY strong umbrella. ---
**Author:** ![VOW](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/vow/32/3043_2.png) [@VOW](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/VOW)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 2:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/2 "2020-01-22T14:21:17Z")
I saw a clip of this on the news this AM. The silly things literally freeze in place, so when they fall out of the trees they are found belly-up, looking like they were playing the kids’ game of Statues. People grab them by the tail and drag them out to a patch of sunshine so they can thaw. ~VOW ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 3:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/3 "2020-01-22T15:48:13Z")
Give natural selection long enough, and eventually we’ll see a breed of Woolly Iguana. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 4:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/4 "2020-01-22T16:06:03Z")
> [@VOW](#): > > I saw a clip of this on the news this AM. The silly things literally freeze in place, so when they fall out of the trees they are found belly-up, looking like they were playing the kids’ game of Statues. People grab them by the tail and drag them out to a patch of sunshine so they can thaw. > ~VOW I thought their tails pulled off, like skinks. A friend’s daughter grabbed her pet by the tail, and it came off. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 4:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/5 "2020-01-22T16:17:12Z")
Just before Christmas, a big one (4+ feet) appeared on my back lawn. This was after three days of cool rain, so it must have needed to warm up. I was not happy to see it. It’s the second time I’ve seen one in Ft Myers and the first time near my place. I circled around it trying to think of how to catch it when it freaked a made a beeline to the corner of the lawn and after flailing at the fence for a minute, into the canal. ---
**Author:** ![Darren\_Garrison](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/darren_garrison/32/92_2.png) [@Darren\_Garrison](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Darren_Garrison)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 4:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/6 "2020-01-22T16:51:03Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Give natural selection long enough, and eventually we’ll see a breed of Woolly Iguana. Woolly iguanaaaaaa! Woolly iguana. Woolly iIguana woolly iguana woolly iguana. ---
**Author:** ![River\_Hippie](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/river_hippie/32/26_2.png) [@River\_Hippie](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/River_Hippie)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 9:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/7 "2020-01-22T21:34:57Z")
Check YouTube for field dressing methods and recipes. Never had iguana but apparently they are not too bad. ---
**Author:** ![rsat3acr](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/a3d4f5/32.png) [@rsat3acr](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/rsat3acr)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/8 "2020-01-22T23:29:56Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Check YouTube for field dressing methods and recipes. Never had iguana but apparently they are not too bad. taste like chicken ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 11:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/9 "2020-01-22T23:55:30Z")
> [@River\_Hippie](#): > > Check YouTube for field dressing methods and recipes. Never had iguana but apparently they are not too bad. I’ve had them stewed in tomato sauce. They are quite tasty, though there’s not a lot of meat on them. ---
**Author:** ![Colibri](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/colibri/32/1841_2.png) [@Colibri](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Colibri)\ **Post date:** [January 22, 2020, 11:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/10 "2020-01-22T23:56:35Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > I thought their tails pulled off, like skinks. > A friend’s daughter grabbed her pet by the tail, and it came off. In my experience, iguana tails are not that fragile. You can generally pick them up by the tail without breaking it. ---
**Author:** ![elfkin477](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/a9a28c/32.png) [@elfkin477](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elfkin477)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 12:27am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/11 "2020-01-23T00:27:51Z")
So…I’ve read a little about this, but the stories leave out my biggest question - are they dead? I guess not necessarily, I think frogs freeze in ponds overwinter, but it’s weird that the stories haven’t said if the poor things survive this or not. ---
**Author:** ![penultima\_thule](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/penultima_thule/32/3833_2.png) [@penultima\_thule](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/penultima_thule)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 12:38am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/12 "2020-01-23T00:38:40Z")
> [@Colibri](#): > > Give natural selection long enough, and eventually we’ll see a breed of Woolly Iguana. … there goes the Australian monopoly on drop bears. ---
**Author:** ![gotpasswords](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/c57346/32.png) [@gotpasswords](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gotpasswords)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 1:09am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/13 "2020-01-23T01:09:13Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > So…I’ve read a little about this, but the stories leave out my biggest question - are they dead? I guess not necessarily, I think frogs freeze in ponds overwinter, but it’s weird that the stories haven’t said if the poor things survive this or not. They’re more or less hibernating. Don’t know what’s a fatal low tempfor them, but in the 30-40 range, they temporarily shut down and lose their grip on the trees they’re in. As long as they don’t fall so far that they actually break something, they’ll thaw out and scurry off. ---
**Author:** ![Ethilrist](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ethilrist/32/4604_2.png) [@Ethilrist](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ethilrist)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 1:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/14 "2020-01-23T01:35:14Z")
They should be quite well protected. If they survive the freezing process, that is. ---
**Author:** ![Northern\_Piper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/northern_piper/32/5304_2.png) [@Northern\_Piper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Northern_Piper)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 2:14am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/15 "2020-01-23T02:14:39Z")
> [@elfkin477](#): > > So…I’ve read a little about this, but the stories leave out my biggest question - are they dead? I guess not necessarily, I think frogs freeze in ponds overwinter, but it’s weird that the stories haven’t said if the poor things survive this or not. I think their survival rates go up if they’re revived with nice meals of hot stewed road-starlings. ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/16 "2020-01-23T02:18:40Z")
> [@rsat3acr](#): > > taste like chicken Chicken of the Trees, they call them. (For real!) [https://www.usatoday.com/amp/4543262002](https://www.usatoday.com/amp/4543262002) ---
**Author:** ![muldoonthief](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/muldoonthief/32/3188_2.png) [@muldoonthief](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/muldoonthief)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 1:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/17 "2020-01-23T13:17:53Z")
> [@Ethilrist](#): > > They should be quite well protected. If they survive the freezing process, that is. They’re no good to us dead. ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 4:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/18 "2020-01-23T16:03:32Z")
All over FB the fight is raging between those who want to eliminate the invasive species and those who want the sweet lovable lizards to roam free because, hey, humans are a way worse invasive species. ---
**Author:** ![Annie-Xmas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ecc23a/32.png) [@Annie-Xmas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Annie-Xmas)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 4:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/19 "2020-01-23T16:48:36Z")
> [@Moriarty](#): > > Chicken of the Trees, they call them. > > (For real!) > [https://www.usatoday.com/amp/4543262002](https://www.usatoday.com/amp/4543262002) > [@muldoonthief](#): > > They’re no good to us dead. Sure they are. You can eat them! ---
**Author:** ![Moriarty](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/moriarty/32/49_2.png) [@Moriarty](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Moriarty)\ **Post date:** [January 23, 2020, 5:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799/20 "2020-01-23T17:19:29Z")
> [@Hypno-Toad](#): > > All over FB the fight is raging between those who want to eliminate the invasive species and those who want the sweet lovable lizards to roam free because, hey, humans are a way worse invasive species. As somebody who used to live in the Fort Lauderdale area, I can tell you that they are incredibly common, but don’t really do anything except lay out in the sun (they are usually seen on people’s backyard docks - Fort Lauderdale has [a lot of waterfront property](https://www.wheretraveler.com/ft-lauderdale/fort-lauderdale-venice-america), due to all of the canals). In fact, they are kind of cool looking. The problem is that they leave gross poop everywhere. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/night-of-the-iguana-in-florida/846799.md?page=2)