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Florida rang in the New Year under an Arctic chill — and the cold delivered one of the Sunshine State’s strangest spectacles: iguanas falling from the sky.
A sharp cold snap sent temperatures plunging across the state on New Year’s Eve, stunning cold-blooded iguanas and knocking them from trees in South Florida, with dramatic images spreading rapidly online.
Meteorologist Matt Devitt posted a photo Friday of a bright green iguana sprawled on the grass in Fort Myers after tumbling from a tree where temperatures dipped to 39 degrees.
“WE HAVE FALLING IGUANAS!” Devitt wrote, stressing the reptile “is not dead, just cold stunned.”
Similar scenes unfolded hundreds of miles away in Miami, where another meteorologist, Dylan Federico, shared viewer video of a motionless iguana clinging limply to a railing during the overnight freeze.
“We have frozen iguanas in Miami!” Federico wrote as temperatures dropped into the 40s in parts of South Florida.
The images captured a hallmark of Florida cold snaps: green iguanas temporarily shutting down when temperatures fall below their comfort zone.
Iguanas are ectothermic, meaning they rely on external heat to regulate their body temperature. When the mercury drops into the 40s — and especially below — their metabolism slows dramatically, often leaving them immobile.
As their muscles stiffen, iguanas resting high in trees can lose their grip and fall to the ground, sometimes from heights of several stories.
Wildlife officials have long warned Floridians not to assume the animals are dead.
In many cases, the reptiles recover once temperatures rise and sunlight warms their bodies, sometimes within hours.
The New Year’s cold snap was among the most widespread Florida has seen in years.
A strong cold front swept into the state in the final days of 2025, dragging frigid air deep into the peninsula after weeks of unseasonable warmth.
Forecasts called for lows in the 20s and 30s across North and Central Florida, with even South Florida dipping into the 40s — cold enough to trigger frost advisories, freeze warnings and cold-weather alerts across much of the state.
In Southwest Florida, officials said it was the coldest New Year’s Eve in roughly 25 years. Central Florida logged its coldest end-of-year temperatures in more than two decades.
The abrupt temperature swing left more than just iguanas struggling.
Cold-weather shelters were opened from the Panhandle to the Treasure Coast as officials urged residents to bring pets indoors, protect plants and check on elderly neighbors.
For iguanas, the freeze reignited a familiar debate in Florida.
Green iguanas are an invasive species, introduced decades ago through the pet trade and now firmly entrenched, particularly in South Florida. They are blamed for damaging seawalls, sidewalks and landscaping by burrowing, and for stripping vegetation.
Because they are nonnative, iguanas are not protected in Florida, except under anti-cruelty laws.
Wildlife officials consistently advise residents not to handle cold-stunned iguanas.
Though they may appear lifeless, warming them indoors can cause them to revive suddenly — and defensively — using sharp claws, teeth and powerful tails.
Relocating iguanas is illegal under state law, and experts say leaving them alone is the safest course for both people and animals.
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