Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I recieved a young iguana from my school, (I believe it's about a year old) that was very unhealthy. The biology teacher had bought a pair of them, and sadly the male died, but now I have the female (as best as I can guess) and I have been trying my best to bring it back to health.

A little background...
My teacher bought them without any knowledge of iguanas, she had no UV lights, and they were in a small aquarium with gravel (from the river it looks like) and some logs she just picked up. She had printed the first page of info she could find about iguanas and was using that. The male died around Christmas. The biology teacher who had purchased the iguanas was fired, and the substitute was left with an unhealthy iguana and some useless info. She gave the iguana to my uncle who was here from Alabama, where he ran a reptile rescue (bearded dragons, mountain horned dragons, uromastix-sp?, and tegus-sp?) My uncle got the ig under a UV and heat bulb immediately, and gave it Jump-Start since it wasn't eating. He also believed it has a mild form of MBD because the right side of his jaw is very swolen. He had it for about 2 weeks, but then had to give it back because he was moving back to Alabama. The ig was doing much better but unfortunatly the UV bulb burnt out and the info that my uncle sent on accident was for bearded dragons. The sub was trying to feed it insects and very SMALL amounts of salad. The ig's health dropped dramatically. Well, she gave the ig to me for the summer, and my mom and I went out and bought lots of stuff for salads, all found on the iguana den website, and MK's website. We are using a UV bulb and heat bulb, I keep the basking temp around 90-95 degrees, and we bought some jump-start that I give it occasionally.

Well, I took the ig to the closest vet that deals with igs and he told us that his weight was a little low, but not dangerously low, and that the jaw looked ok. I was also concerned about the tip of the ig's tail, it looks very dry, and almost shriveled. I asked the vet, and he said that it was fine, that should shed off, the next time the ig sheds... the only problem is that today the very tip broke, and is still hanging there by just a thread, what should I do? I'm worried that it may be like a dry gangerine thing. I have to get him an appt with a vet, but my vets out for friday, and won't be in till monday, but now I'm worried about just how much he knows about igs. (while talking about the enclosure, like what to use as a substrate, he told me to get bigger gravel, and mentioned a heat rock

What do you think I should do now about the tail, until I can get an appt with a vet? Should I break the tip off completely, or should I leave it alone and see what happens?

Dead tissue can cause infections.

If it's barely hanging on, you should be able to snip it without causing any pain.

However, a good vet my him/her-self snip a little bit more, to be sure any dead or infected tissue is removed.

Do keep in mind that iguanas are built to lose/drop their tails, so it's not like you will be torturing the thing.

Heat-rocks are a big no-no. For the moment remove the dead piece, and DISINFECT the area, and apply neosporin or penicillin, whatever. If more dead-tail tissue forms at the new tip (not to be confused with re-generating tail), then the vet will have to take over and remove a bit more.

Good luck. If bleeding occurs, there is a powder that stops the bleeding, often used by pet groomers who accidentally snip the 'quick' of the pet's claw/nail.

- IJ

Thank You! I will cut the end, and put neosporin on it. I really appreciate your help.

The ig also has problem with mites... do you know of anything to get rid of them.

The vet said to put a bit of no-pest strip in a pill bottle or something and leave that in the enclosure... but I don't think that will work, and I'm worried about putting that in the enclosure, it says it's toxic to pets... does that include all pets, or just mammals?

Thanks for all the help

!~Bri~!

P.S. if someone could tell me how, I can post some pics

The no pest strip will definitely work for the enclosure but the iguana shouldn't be in the enclosure. Ten years ago some were recommending that the iguana could be left in if the enclosure was well insulated but that is not safe.

http://www.anapsid.org/mites.html
http://www.greenigsociety.org/parasites.htm
http://www.iguanaden.org/health/mites.htm
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Marie
Poyner Corner

I may be wrong, but didn't someone once said that basic (not -extra-virgin) olive oil helps get rid of them? (You basically rub it all over the animal) There should be some commercial product available.

Also, reason for the mites is because some things were taken from "the wild" without being cleaned and sterilized. Branches, rocks, dirt, etc, all can contain parasites. Rocks and branches can be cleaned using a steamer, or boiled, or sprayed with Lysol and then rinsed.

If the iguana has mites, it means mites and their eggs can be everywhere in the enclosure. So if you treat the animal, you must treat the enclosure, and everything in it.

-IJ

p.s. watch out for harmful fumes. Keep the room well-ventilated while you treat the enclosure. The animal will be a bit stressed for all the changes and treatment, so don't worry too much if it starts acting freaky or lethargic.

for the mites there's some stuff that u pretty much just spray on the ig. u can find at almost any good pet store. and for substrate i use indoor-outdoor carpet, it's real easy to clean and u don't have to worry bout ur ig eating it. i hope this helps and good luck with your ig.

Thank you all so much for your help, I really appreciate it.

Thanks again

!~Bri~!