Reptile & Amphibian Forums

IGUANA JOE NEED NOT REPLY!! ONCE AGAIN, IJ NEED NOT REPLY!!

I have an iguana, which unlike some have stated here, is being quite well taken care of and has been surviving for the past six months. I had some crass comments about it from some of those on this board, something about me not taking care of it properly, when in fact I took it in. But this is another story, although I DO NOT WANT THOSE PEOPLE TO COMMENT ON MY POSTS AGAIN! Or I will contact someone about abuse.

Iggy, however, has not grown at all since I've had him. He may've grown just a little. I feed him the proper diet, have him outside in the sunshine now, try to feed him a variety of foods etc. But he still eats very little, and I'm wondering if this is normal.

After six months, how big should an iguana be? Shouldn't it be growing? Are there any iguanas that stay small, and that for a long length of time? Moreover, what can I do to get him to grow and really chow down?

I perceive, moroever, that he might have a parasite or two. Anyone have any experience with parasites stunting growth?

Well, this is it. As I said before, IJ need not reply, and THAT TO ANY OF MY POSTS!

Parasites can stunt growth and stop the iguans from eating...
Tiny once had a stint of a few parasites, and he stop eating all together. Take a fecal sample to a vet and they should be able to give you a good dose of antibiotics. The thing that will stop the growth and eating most are worms. So I thin you will be fine jsut to get him/her checked by a vet and all should get worked out.
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Healthy and fat Igg(Tiny)

Healthy and FINALY shedding Mali Uro(Buddy)

Thanks LoRider. Thing is, I wonder how serious this can be, the costs, how to administer the medicine etc. You say take a fecal sample to the vet, but I can hardly find any.

What, do you think, would be the costs for me to take him in and get checked?

If I remember correctly, my vet was about $15 for office visit, $15 for the fecal check, then about $40-$50 for the meds. Tiny had worms and giardia (a parasite). The worming took about a month and a half to do. I had to give medicine 1 day every 2 weeks after the first dosage. It was a strange schedual, but nothing hard. All the meds Ive givin have been orally. Now they dont carge for office visits if you dont bring the ig in.

Where are you located in Florida? Im in Miami, so maybe I could help find a vet for you.

p.s. This is Tiny when I got him at 4 months old... Then him at 2 years

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Healthy and fat Igg(Tiny)

Healthy and FINALY shedding Mali Uro(Buddy)

Oops, those are both about the same age... heres the ones i meant to post...

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Healthy and fat Igg(Tiny)

Healthy and FINALY shedding Mali Uro(Buddy)

Many of the iguanas that were prizes at the local carnival grew very slowly, but after 2 years they are catching up.

Have you checked for worms or parasites?

No sorry, not yet. What are the costs for a checkup? Is it something requiring immediate attention?

Yes, reptiles can die of a bad enough worm problem. I took in two bearded dragons who who loaded and one died while I was still giving the medicine. I have seen another iguana on this forum die of worms.

The cost is probably about $50 plus medicine and recheck. it all should be $100.00 or less and it usually preceeds a growth spurt.

I did not see any prior posts for this information so can
you tell me about his set-up, lighting, temps and what you
are feeding him?

Here is a picture of Digit at 9 months old. I adopted
him from an animal shelter when he was about 4 months.

Thanks
Linda

Digit looks wonderful and about 3X the size of Iggy. It was what I'd expected Iggy to be at right about now.

As for the set up, I've put him in a large 2X3 birdcage, maybe even bigger. I've got food dishes for him above ground, with water; a perch, some branches, fake plants and a big bowl of water for him to swim in at the bottom.

For lighting, I used to use a ZooMed, 100-150W. Now I've got him outside all day. I live in Florida, USA. The temps climb to 80 in the day and about 60 at night.

Regarding food, I feed 'em the following: a variety of leafed lettuces, green beans, peas, carrots, mushrooms, tomatoes, spinach, zuchinni, squash, and whatever else I can find. I feed 'em apple, orange, strawberries and blueberries. I also try to squeeze in some banana.

I have some iguana pellets but these he doesn't eat. I also introduce many other foods, some I can't now remember.

Thing is, he was eating the leafed lettuce(the very nutritious kind) for quite a while. Now he's stopped.

I don't know what to make of 'em. He seems very lifely, will run around his cage and all. BUT HE JUST DOESN'T EAT MUCH!

I would like to take 'em to the vet, but worry about the where to find one and how much it'll cost me.

You mentioned a Zoomed bulb. I believe this is just for heat.
Do you have a UVB source like the Iguana light or Reptisun 5.0
for indoors. It is great that he can soak up some real sun
but make sure you have this for his indoor cage.

You mentioned lettuces; make sure you are giving the dark
greens like turnip, mustard, escarole, and endive. I would
not give him any spinach except maybe once in a great while
added to his food if he likes. Mine don't like it!

Also, while a bird cage can work, it doesn't hold humidity
and heat well. You might want to start thinking about a
larger enclosure too. I will attach a picture of Digit's
cage. It was pretty cheap to build but very functional.
He is at the very top on the right under the light. The cage
is 5'wide, 2.5'deep and 6' tall.
Lastly, you can take a fecal sample to the vet for a check.
It would be much cheaper than taking the ig. It could be
something very simple to fix. You mentioned that you cannot
find any stool??? That is a little bothersome because mine
have no trouble leaving it all around

Keep us updated.
Linda

That's a wonderful setup, Linda. I've wanted to build one like that but have waited until it starts growing. I know the "birdcage" won't suffice, but it'll have to do for now. But the humidity where I live is at 70, sometimes more. It's sub-tropical in Florida.

Do you think I should still keep his cage enclosed?

Well, I'll see about the fecal sample too. Right now he's really feisty, but a little skinny still, not eating much. Could be the change in weather.

I've got him outside all day and night. It's all I can do for now. We'll get back to you, and I'll see about a vet.

I am not going to get into 'bashing', 'slamming', etc but I have a couple of questions to help us figure out what the problem may be.

- What is the size of the enclosure that Iggy is in?
- What are the daytime/nighttime/basking temperatures in the enclosure and how do you keep them regulated?
- When was the last time that you took Iggy to the vet and did the vet say there were any problems or give a clean bill of health?
- Have you had Iggy checked for parasites?
- What do you have in Iggy's enclosure (water dish, food bowl, hide, climbing structures, etc)?
- How often is the enclosure cleaned?
- What do you use to clean it?
- What do you feed Iggy, and how often?
- What were the responses that you recieved in the past and what changes have you made since then?
- What other reptiles do you have or have you had in the past?

These questions will help us give you advice on what you should do. I am not bashing, slamming, etc but you do need to understand that when you ask a question on any message board some people feel very strongly about their views on things and if they feel that the person is not doing everything they should to care for an animal they want to make sure that the person understands it. That in itself is not abuse or slamming.

Now, having said that I think everyone can agree on the following:

- Vet care is important and is not an option, it is a responsibility that comes with owning or caring for any animal. If my child is sick I take them to the doctor. It is no different with an animal, an owner is responsible for providing the proper care for their pet.

- The only world that you pet may ever know is the one you provide for it. I am sure that everyone wants the best for their pets and that is what we should provide them. Food, water, shelter, and an overall proper enviornment is the very least we can do for these little guys (no matter how much hissing, bitting, and tailwhipping we recieve in return). We had more than enough resources prior to getting this guys/gals and we have no excuse for not using the resources. Ours, Bud, was dropped in our laps so we had to learn as we went but from day one with us he got the proper care.

So, since you love Iggy and want to give him the best home possible then there should be no bashing, slamming or anything else going on here. Please answer those questions as soon as possible so that we can all help you with Iggy.
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-0-1 Rescued Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-2-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet, Isis
0-0-1 Rescued Fit and Trim Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

It could be that he's growing very slowly! That's just my opinion. Iguana on a diet of plants and vegetables, not iguana food, grows very slowly. These things hardly grow at all for a long. I guess if you just feed them plants, they'll mature at the right age! Iguana raise at farms for food are fed animal's protein to accelarate their growth rate. And I heard commercial iguana's food isn't safe either because they are not regulated. If you read, the iguana growth rate chart on Mellissa's Kaplin site, you will see that they grow very slowly, but they can live as long as 30 years...maybe more. This is why they grow slowly! Here is the site:
www.anapsid.org

Grow real slowly on a vegitarian diet? No way. Sorry, but for the first year and a half Tiny was constantly shedding and growing... I got him at about 4 months of age, and he is about 2 years old now and 3 feet long (maybe a wee bit more now) I dont know, but thats not slow growing to me.

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Healthy and fat Igg(Tiny)

Healthy and FINALY shedding Mali Uro(Buddy)

I didn't mean to upset you! Maybe mine is still very young, and yes, he sheds regularly, but it seems he's not growing as rapidly as the others and I hope! I don't think he has internal parasites or kept at too cool temperature because he poops everyday, and his poop is very solid. I heard if you kept them too cool, they will not poop everyday, which they should. And if they had parasites, the poop doesn't hold its shape and become runny. Maybe you could tell me what I did wrong. Like I said...my first guess is: he/she was still very young when I got it.

np
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Bryan, Atlanta GA

1-0-0 Rescued Ball Python - Apep
0-0-1 Rescued Bearded Dragon - Zeus
0-0-1 Rescued Non-Alpha Green Iguana - Bud
1-2-0 Rescued Rats... no wait... ROTTEN Little Cats - Ra, Bastet, Isis
0-0-1 Rescued Fit and Trim Panda Hamster - Mr. Fluffy
1-0-0 Horse... whoops... BIG Golden Retriever - Jake
0-1-0 Wife
2-0-0 Kids

I got Digit at 4 months of age(12" long). He is 2 years old
now and just shy of 4'. He is in constant shed which means
he is growing very rapidly.

They grow very quickly if conditions are right. I have got
to get a new picture of him and get it posted.

Linda

Hey thanks, Paradon. It's what I'm hoping, because he looks so lively. I'm thinking soon as summer kicks in, he might accelerate and get fatter.

Here's the link:
Growth Chart Link

What, exactly, is the "vent"?

My iguana I've had for roughly 7mos. I could swear that it's no biger than 12" STL.

Is this okay, normal?

He looks quite thin too.

Again, I don't know what the "vent" is. Enlighten me here, and tell me if you think his size is okay.

The vent is where the opening of the cloaca is...that area is just above the tail, on the ventral side. This is where the hemipenie are located, also. I hope this help! Anyway, I think your is still pretty young, and like you said, when summer kicks in, he is going to rapidly grow.

My recommendation on feeding you iguana is that you feed him high fiber diet. Plants that have a lot of cellulose...that woody stuff on plants. I buy a pack of dried alphalpha for my ig, and I right now I give him a lot of clovers that they grow to feed cows on pastures. i believe they're called subterranean clovers. They grow like crazy where I live! the reason I tell you to give them high fiber diet is because herbivores have a very interesting way to get nutrient out of the plants they eat. Very few animals posess enzymes that can attack the plants' cellulose. Cellulose are made up of long chains of glucose (or sugar) molecules. Certainly, all verterbrate can't directly digest it, but some micro-organisms can. That's why safely inside of the herbivores exist these micro-organisms to help them break down the cellulose into fatty acids, glucose, and starch that the host animals can used to nurish their bodies. When I give him dried alphalfa I give him the stems, also; that's where most of the cellulose are concentrated. I rehydrate it and cut them up into very very small pieces, so my baby ig won't choke on the woody stems. When I give him clovers I tend to give him the hold plants with the roots, and I also cut them up into pieces so my it can't pick out just the clovers. I hope this help!

If you wonder where I got this infomation from... I was reading a chapter from my old zoology book.

Thanks a million, Paradon. I'm going to look into getting Iggy some alfalfa.