Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey all... new guy here.

I recently (45 days ago) bought a green iguana from PetCo for my kids. They love it, although we haven't quite gotten him tamed down as of yet. Anyhow, to give you an idea of his age, he's got a body length of about 7".

A couple weeks ago I noticed the flap of skin under his neck, the areas around his legs and feet, in the middle of his back, and around his "poop chute" all seem to have heavy build-ups of hard, dead, non-shedded skin. I mist his cage heavily every other day and keep it at 80+ degrees. He's eating great (a squash, kale, and carrot mix), and I have full spectrum reptile lighting installed in his 54" x 36" x 36" cage.

I have been getting him out to let him swim in the bathtub a few times a week to try to soften the dead skin, but it still wasn't coming off. Last time after I soaked him in the tub, I took a tweezers and began to peel thick chunks of skin off of him (up to 1/8" thick). Sometimes under the dead skin it's beautiful green skin, and sometimes it's grayish and kind of sick looking.

Am I doing the right thing here? should I leave the dead skin alone and wait for it to fall off? Are there any other steps I should take? Any help/guidance will be much appreciated.

*By the way, I'm a novice iguana owner, but not a novice reptile owner. I've had a boa, a python, and a savannah monitor over the last 18 years, all with great success (except for my wife being scared to death of the snakes, thus making me get rid of them. I just got rid of the monitor because I was tired of raising mice to feed him).

Again, thanks for any help...

Matt

Welcome to iguana ownership.

I first would find a vet that has experience with iguanas.
Take a stool sample and make sure it is parasite free.

Buy Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan. This is a great
book and you can learn alot about diet, habitats etc. I
have not personally owned the reptiles you have in the past
but from the research I have done on them I think iguanas
are more difficult to keep over the long haul. You mentioned
you bought it for your kids. I hope that you plan on being
the main caregiver because these guys are not for children.
They grow quick and can be very nasty at times.

Please research everything you can on these guys and come
here often. This forum is a great source of the most up
to date information. I would start by getting the correct
diet,heating and lighting information.

Linda

Chunks of dead skin? That doesn't sound right, and since you're not a novice reptile keeper, you know that it is abnormal for a reptile to have chunks of dead skin... so a trip to a vet is in order.

Does it have mites?

You need to improve the diet, add variety, and veggies rich in Vit. E. A little bit of olive oil drizzled on the food can help. Some won't mind it, others will. I say olive oil because it is healthy, and good for the skin.

Keep with the misting and the soaking in luke-warm water.

How is the cage furnished? Dead skin does not just fall off by itself easily. As you know, reptiles use rocks, logs, etc. to help themselves get rid of it. So make sure you have some sterilized, rough, and secured (to prevent them from crushing the little thing) "furniture".

Also, buy a soft toothbrush, and once a day, during the soakings, give it a gentle scrub. It will help loosen the dead skin over time.

Go easy on it, don't want to cause too much stress and risk other health issues.

Let us know if its condition improves.
Good luck!

-IJ