Reptiles feel deep freeze
http://www.keynoter.com/a...008/01/07/news/news03.txtIguanas that toppled from trees in a torpor during this week's cold snap could spring back to life, experts say.
Just “don't take them inside,” warned Dr. Doug Mader, owner of the Marathon Veterinary Clinic.
“When they're cold and in a torpor - the reptile version of hibernation - you can touch them or handle them up. But when they warm up, they go back to being a wild animal.”
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Mader recounted a story from the last severe temperature plunge that littered the ground with stunned iguanas unable to move.
“One sweet lady called because she was so worried after seeing an iguana fall out of her tree. She thought it was dead and frozen,” he said.
“We told her not to take it into the house. It was a big one, maybe 5 feet. But you know how people are,” Mader said. “When it woke up, she couldn't understand why it seemed to be coming after her. She couldn't get it to leave.”
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“When they start dropping from trees because they can't hang on, it can look like it's raining iguanas,” Heeter said. “But when they wake up, they are not docile. They want to get away.”
This Tavernier iguana (top) is in basically a state of suspended animation due to the cold temperatures.
Keynoter photo by KEVIN WADLOW