Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey guys i have a female iggy, i've had her for about 8 months now and she is very attached to me even right now shes sitting on my shoulder watching me type. any way Roxy (the iguana) was abused by her previus owner the burns are healing but the cut dewlap is still cut its healed over but there is still a big chunk missing. it seems that all she does is eat however with all the eating you would expect her to gain weight but she hasn't she gets feed everyday romaine lettuce carrots strawberrys all the healthy foods (i did my research)she gets them variead not all in the same day every day i try to mix it up, she has a 5.0 and a 10.0 uva/b buld along with the heat. on her food i had calcium/phosphurus 2:1 everyother day. is there anything i can to to make her gain weight. it wouldn't be a problem if she weren't under weight of the top of my head i can't remeber how much she is but she has so many skin flaps and she looks so thin. I am not new to reptiles i've been doing it for 13 years but i have to admit this is my first time experianceing this. any help would great i have an appointment with the vet set up for next week but if any one has any ideas that would be great. thanks

Severely malnourished and underweight iguanas typically take a long time to regain weight and look healthy. They need to be fed plenty of a healthy diet to recover and gain. The foods that you listed are not good food choices even for a healthy iguana. You should be feeding a varied mix of dark leafy greens...collard, mustard, turnip, dandelion, chickory, arugula, etc. Romaine has little nutritional value. Along with the greens you should feed vegetables such as green beans, winter squashes, parsnip, sweet potato, and pretty much any other veg that you may have in the house. Fruits should be reserved for garnish or treats, less than 5% of the diet. You could add one of the better commercial diets like RepCal or Marion Labs.

Skin folds are often a sign of dehydration. Are you making sure that your iguana is getting plenty of fluids, soaks, and mistings?

I hope the vet can help. Good luck

allong with the diet changes and hydration mentioned, take a fecal sample with you to the vet. im not a big fan of over use of deworming (they have parasites in the wild) but captivity is a stress, and so parasites can be a bad thing in captive animals and that can be somthing to contribute to weight loss.
good luck, as said before, they take a long time to recover from poor conditions, im dealing with one now who is agrivating me cuz shes slow to put on wt too, so i understand!
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hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!