Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hi
i have an iguana that is just about a month short of being 18 months old, and from what ive researched and read, the average size snout to vent length for an iguana at this age is roughly 10-12 inches,, well louie (my iguana) is about half of that.. 6 inches.. when he was a hatchling i had him caged with another male iguana .. once i noticed the other one becoming dominant towards him.. not allowing him to eat at certain times,, claiming certain basking spots in the cage, and even chasing him around.. i sepperated them.. that was a good 9 months ago .. since then louie has lost his tail... dropped it.. iknow, i felt beyond horrible.. and also i have moved and in those lets say 7 months i should have been seeing a significance in his growth, i havnt seen much,if any,, i know for a fact he should have been growing at a noticable rate over the last 9 months. his cage is very nicely set up .. with good lighting .. heat, humidity , and is fed plenty of green leafys plenty of veggies like green beans squash peas etc, which he does eat he just doesnt seem to have a big appetite.. do you think his growth was stunted.. what can i do to get him bulked up to the size he should be.. he is very active and doesnt have irregular feces,, so im not worried about parasites.. please help .. i want him to grow as big as possible.. i love my louie and would appreciate as much info and suggestions as possible.. i will try to post a pic of him so you can gt a better idea of his size... he cant weight more them 12 ounces and from snout to vent he is only six inches at just shy of 18 months,, please help

I would make sure that your temps are ideal: 85 in the warm spot, 75-80 in the cool spot with a basking spot of 90-95. What kind of UV does he have? I don't think compacts work very well as I hear of people having a lot of problems with them. Make sure you have a 8.0 or 10.0 tube or a Mercury Vapor. Ideally, natural sunlight works best if you can get him outside for a bit each day. I'm assuming that his current cage is large enough for him.

Now food: Not all greens are created equal. Half the daily diet should be leafy greens that are a good source of calcium such as turnip greens, mustard greens, dandelions, etc. The other half should be veggies like green beans, squash, sweet potato, etc. Then add fruits as a topping, mango, melon, strawberries, apple, etc. Everyone feeds a bit different...some feed more greens than veggies. Iguana Den has a great list of greens and veggies. Don't forget the supplements: calcium and a vitamin. I also like Nutribac or Benebac to add beneficial bacteria and aid digestion. That might help put some weight on, too. Soaked alfalfa pellets can be used as a protein source, but I wouldn't overdo it for the kidneys' sake.

With lizards, proper husbandry has to be in place before weight gain is noticed. They just won't eat right and do well if their conditions aren't ideal. I'm not saying you don't have it right, just double-check temps with a digital thermometer (even a glass one if you watch it), and double-check the diet. Feeding the best quality food puts weight on the best...no romaine, etc. If he still doesn't put weight on, consider getting a stool check for parasites.