Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello , today i was at a snake show . and my birthday is in a few day's so i decided to buy a iguana for my birthday .

i bought a 1 foot 10 inch ( male i think ) green Iguana . it's really nice but .

he at some dark green's today with a sprinkle of calcuim it and drank water ( did not finish greens though ) ill buy fruit tomorrow for him like apples kiwi ..

his tail is not so healthy looking its jagged like ? i asume it will fall off.but some of his toes are inward like ? the previus owner told me it was becuase of it was not taken care of it right not enough calcuim? and his legs shake ? is this a sign of calcium disficiency ? also he is pretty small like i can feel his ribs when i pet him .. down his back like he was not fed right

( i own 7 beared dragons. and its not like i have no clue about reptiles i was just wondering .
becuase he is my first Iguana ..and i new he has not had a pretty nice life from the lost of calcium i wanted to give him a good home ... which im trying to do now

i was thinking sence i got him today a doctor check up should be nessecary for his own health ?

any ideas ? or am i just freaking out kinda becuase im new to it

I would get a check up from the vet and have a stool
checked for parasites. Go out and buy "Iguanas for
Dummies" by Melissa Kaplan and "Green Iguana, The Ultimate
Owners Manual" by James Hatfield. These are a must for
ig owners. Do as much research on them as possible.

It is always good to do research and not buy on impulse
because these guys are not easy care and require space
and money.

Good luck!
Linda

A vet check up would be a great idea if you haven't already. This way if its a good vet they can tell you exactly what's wrong and how to help. 2 ideas to help you iggy gain some fat other than a great diet are avocado's cut in litt pieces the smaller the food is the easier it is for the iggy to digest and get more nutrition but don't use this long term its really fatting and has a lot of cholesterol another idea is this juice that comes in a jar and can called nectar it comes in diff fruits its great and both these work wonderfully. But also don't use the nectar juices long term its a fruit and iggys don't eat a lot of fruit.
Good luck you could ask the vet about these things too if you like.
Let us know how it goes.

This site is a GZOLD MINE as far as iguanas are conserned:
http://www.greenigsociety.org/

And if you can, I'd suggest posting a picture of the iguana on this forum:
http://members2.boardhost.com/greenigsociety/index.html

Ask you questions there, you'll get fast, acurate responses from everyone there. Great community of Ig moms and dads

Get it checked by a vet a.s.a.p it could be gangreene in the tail which if left untreated could eat into the igs hemipenes.I know this from experience with my first ig. The vet had to amputate the tail to stop the gangreene.Many pet store igs aren't in the best of health because they are so cheap.

Hopefully, you got him to a vet by now. If not, please do so immediately! My guess is MBD, which is more than just calcium deficiency. I doubt that ig had the proper UV lighting, nutritional supplements, etc. They might have even fed it crickets or something.

Read the care sheets available here, and links that others already provided. Start feeding him a mix of veggies and greens (no lettuce or spinach for starters, but read the info to learn more). Do not feed meat or insects - EVER! Get decent UV lighting on him (ReptiSun 5.0, etc.).

He is never going to recover 100%, but still has a great chance at being a good long-term pet ig if you act now.

The tip (2-3" or so) of my ig's tail is ugly, brown, and bent oddly, but I check to make sure it sheds and thus is still living tissue. Watch the tail closely for this, though your ig might not shed much until he starts getting decent meals and puts on some weight.

thanks for the tips ..

these last 2 weeks hes got more weight on him and ... hes shedded almost fully now ..

i still have to get him to the vet but i want to get him the right tank size and stuff but hes doing great .. he loves to move around im thinking of making my room into a free roaming room possibly ? but hes doing alot better .. i think i might of just started freaking out when i posted this post too.
becuase he looks fine .. and i feed him his greens and veggies and twice a week fruit . some fruit