How frigid lizards falling from trees revealed the reptiles’ growing cold tolerance

Some lizards can go to 5.5° C, 4 degrees colder than thought, before they can’t move any more

iguana motionless after Florida cold snap

When temperatures drop below a critical limit, reptiles can lose the ability to move, which can cause the animals to fall out of trees where they were sleeping. This iguana was photographed in Key Biscayne, Fla., following a cold snap in January.

Brett Pierce

After the coldest night in south Florida in a decade, lizards were dropping out of palm trees, landing legs up.