Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, recently a (friend) had moved out of state and left this iguana at his apt. Its a 9 Year old Male, First off Bad News! He Is Dehydrated And Skinny! It Has Been Like 7 Or So Years Scince I Have Had One. Mine Died From OLD AGE Or So I Assume ( 24 Years Old And Was My Dads, Whom I Had For 6 Years)

Anyways, I Have A Fake Tree That Is (REP-SAFE), And UVA/UVB Lighting. Im Feeding Collard, Mustard, Kale, Dandilion, Turnip Greens And Watercrest. He Is Eating Like A Champ, But I Want To Know If There Is Anything Else I Can Do To Nurse Him Back To Health.

I Am Supplimenting Calcium, But I Want To Make Sure Im Doing It Right. Im Not Really Asking Pet Store Advise ( Never DO).

His Cage Is 8 Feet Tall , 5 Feet Wide And 5 Feet Deep.
Newspaper Is The Substrate, 3 Levels With Shelves, Fake Rep-safe Tree, Seprate Water Dish.

Daily (Or I Atleast Try To) Take Him Outside Onto My Deck In The Sun, He Sits There For Hours Basking.

Anything Else I Can Do? He Has A VET Vist In 3 Days!

You seem to be doing an excellent job.

Dehydration: You could give him daily baths. They tend to drink while they are bathing. And they can absorb a small amount of water through the cloaca. Also mist him often. He may lick the water from his mouth. Make sure there is a water dish in the cage even if you do not see him drink from it. A very excellent rehabber recommends fully hydrated RepCal Iguana Food pellets. They can get extra water into him. They soak water until they reach twice their size. 1-2 tablespoon dry would be a good amount for a grown adult. You can use Gatorade or Pedialyte to hydrate them to add eletrolytes. This is only a supplement to be added to his greens and vegetables. They give added calcium, vitamins, water and fiber. No other supplements would be needed other than maybe a probiotic such as NutriBac df (can be found at http://www.reptileuv.com ) or Benebac (originally for birds but approved for reptiles). Probiotics help maintain the gut flora balance. When stressed the bad can overpopulate the good. Probiotics help the good crowd out the bad.

Well good luck
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Marie
Baby, Dragon, VLS-Huff, Miss Kitty