Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My iguana has always picked a place to defecate and stuck to it. Thankfully, it's always on the tile so it's easy to clean up but that's really besides the point. He's been going all over our apartment and it looks like it hasn't been completely digested. He's a free roam iguana and he's been defecating up in our closet where he sleeps and of course that has never happened before. He also pretty much stopped eating.

A little bit about the setup: He has full run of our one bedroom apartment but he usually stays up in the upper part of the closet. There's a shelf where his basking spot and heating pad is. I also have an electric heater in the room. I don't know the exact temps because I need to get a new thermometer. I feed him collard greens and a mixture of fruits and veggies with a calcium supplement.

I took him to one of the vets listed on Melissa Kaplan's site because I figured they would be credible. The vet didn't find anything wrong with him but vaccinated him for parasites anyway and gave us medicine to increase his appetite. Since then, he's been eating more but his stool still isn't looking all that great.

I'm basically just wondering if anyone has gone through something like this and if you guys have any advice.

We don't have any free- roam iguanas (mostly b/c we have so many through the rescue) But they are in very large cages- some about the size of a standard-small closet. The igs we get that have been free-roam (most of them are) tend to have poor appetites for a while. They're poop looks odd- like its not 100% digested and they're a bit on the skinny side. all our igs get treated for parasites upon arrival. They are usually stressed out and fairly aggressive.

as far as seeing it before- yes- seen just about everything (though, about once a week, something amazes me- STILL!!!). Good job on going to the vet. Did the vet sound knowledgable? did he know about iguanas? or was he a bit... i guess confused or didn't give direct answers. There are a few vets around here that do dogs/cats and a few reptiles and I have gone to them before- but only once. When the customer (me) knows more about the medicine and doseing for various ailments than the vet- there's a problem. I've got a vet now that does reptiles/birds and a few dogs/cats. Hes wonderful!!! If you have any doubts about the vets 'reptile experience' I would try another vet. They can be hard to find- but if there are several in your area- call and ask if they see a lot of reptiles or just a few- they're all different. If your iggy doesn't shape up a bit here in a few weeks- I'd try the vet again- either the same one, if you like him/her. or maybe a different one- see if you get a different result.
I personally have 'gone through' 8 or 9 vets before I landed on the one I like and use (and occasionally another vet in the same clinic that 'does' reptiles- she's not as good though. )

just some thoughts.... if you can give any more details about the temps humidity, etc... it might help.
Beth
oh- if all you've been giving as far as leafy greens is collard- you might try some other things for variety if he's not eating well, he might be bored... (i would be) we give mostly collard and mustard but we also give red and green leaf and romaine. I always give a bit of collard or mustard but i've found that stuff like red/green leaf also helps keep them hydrated- i also mist the salad with water before I serve it- not all our igs like to soak- wet salad gives them a bit more water-
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The rescue site: www.freewebs.com/okreptilerescue

During the day, his basking spot is around 90 degrees. At night, the temp is around 75 - 80. I've had him for three years at these temperatures and he's digested everything fine. I don't get it.

I've tried feeding him other greens in the past but he just won't eat them. He would eat some mustard greens now and then back in the day but now he won't go near them. I pull out the collard and he's all over it.

The vet seemed to know what she was talking about. I have this supplement spray that I spray on the greens. I bought it from a pet store and I know that those usually aren't all that great but I just figure it's got some vitamins in it and that's another way for me to get those vitamins in him. Anyway, the spray has vitamin d3 in it and she told me that it was good for them because it helped them soak in the UV rays from the bulbs but to not overdo it. I was spraying it on everyday and she told me to do it once a week. She also admitted that she didn't know much about the spray or how much d3 was actually in it.

Reptiles need warmth to digest and turn food into energy, muscle, etc.
I noticed you mentioned something about the need to buy a new thermometer... I wonder if perhaps the temps have changed and are not warm enough to allow full digestion and break-up of food in the gut. Just a hunch.

-IJ

N/P

If you suspect that your iguana is still "not right" after all the suggestions here, you might check with your vet to see if he/she will take a blood sample for testing. And, if so, can he/she interpret the results correctly? I realize that this may be difficult for you to determine, but a blood test can definatively determine much about the health of your iguana. My ig has had a blood test at every trip to the vet. My vet is an exotic animal specialist, however.

If you can get this done, you'll gain much insight into your ig, his diet, uv exposure, and general health.

Bhruic's stool is looking like normal and he's eating like crazy. Thanks for your help guys.