Reptile & Amphibian Forums

HI!

I have a desert iguana which I got in Jan this year. He has stopped eating and is very sleepy all the time. I keep him in a 4 and a half ft viv. I use sand as a substrate and he has basking rocks and hides at either end of the tank. The temp is 107oc in the hot end and 28oc in the cool end. I achieve this by using a ceramic heater, I aslo have uv lights. I use a calcium and vit d3 powder on his food.He is normally very active. He doesn't feel like he has gut impaction as his belly is soft. He is still drinking. Does anyone have any suggestions? I was thinking of force feeding or trying him on baby food.

Your hot end is 107 C? I think that is way to hot... Basking temps should be around 38-40C (or little over 100F). Cool end should be about 28C.

I think the real problem may be lack of light intensity. Being desert animals these lizards are used to very bright conditions. As you only have a UVB tube for light and these tend to be low intensity visually, I suggest adding a bright household bulb to the tank (or just replace the ceramic heat emmitter with a normal light bulb). As these lizards do fine with temperature drops in the evening down to about 16C (a bit warmer is better) which is well below typical room temperature for us humans, no additional night heat should be needed.

If he doesn't start perking up after a couple days with brighter lights and proper basking lights I would take him to a vet for examination, with a fresh poop example as well, to get a fecal done.

Incidently, what have you been feeding him besides insects?

hi. Thanks for the post. The temp at the hot end of the tank should be that hot for a desert iguana. I checked in several reptile books and at the pet shop i got him from. He does not eat insects at all. I feed him on fresh veg and fruit like brocoli and sprouts, kale, apple, strawberry and other greens. I had a quick chat to a vet today and she said she is limited to what she can do with a reptile. I have brought some baby food today (92% fruit) and will attempt force feeding tonight. I have fitted a household bulb to the tank like you have suggested. Hopefully he will start to pick up. Once he gets his appitite back im sure he will be fine. Its worrying tho as he is only a small lizard (16inches) and he could go down hill very quickly.

sand is very deadly, it has a high chance of impaction. I would have used newspaper, but it usually takes a while before impaction will start to show. Impaction will result in paralysis of the hind legs, no defecation and usually lethargy. Right now i would switch to newspaper to reduce risk and giving him temps of 110o F. Yes, most iggies do not need protein and their kidneys are not able to handle all that protein. Wild iguanas are opportunistic feeders so thats why they may go for it, but its not very healthy.Wait couple more days and see what happens. Definitely checkup with vet is recommended.
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1.1 Green Iguanas
1.0 Bearded Dragon
0.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0.2 Pictus Geckos
1.0 Flying Geckos
1.0 Emperor Scorpion (R.i.P)
1.0 Brazilian Rainbow Boa
0.1 Costa Rica Zebra Tarantula
1.0 Cornsnake
0.1 Ball Python
0.0.1 Some sort of treefrog that came with vegetables

hi
the temps i wrote in my first post are wrong. (was too early in the morning when i wrote it!) The hot end is 92F and the cool end is 80F. Does that sound better?

I also keep lepoard geckos and i have a couple of corn snakes.