Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello everyone,

I need your advise regarding my iguana Emerald. He is 10 yrs old, I've raised him from a baby and he's been pretty healthy all his life. Never fed him any animal proteins, only fresh salads until a year ago when I swithed to Zoo Med's soft pellets (decision that I very much regret).

Last week I noticed that he is not his usual self: he seemed lethargic, stopped eating, his urates looked thick and yellow and his eyes swollen and bloodshot. It seemed to me like dehydration/kidney failure. I took him to the vet last saturday who took x-ray, blood and checked fecal sample for parasites. Stool showed some parasite eggs but not an unusually large amount that would require treatment. X-ray was normal (no MBD). But his blood is all out of wack: WBC-13 (reference range 3-8); lymphocites 6 (ref range 20-50); basophils 5 (ref 0-1); AST 472 (ref 10-80), BUN 2 (ref 6-15); Calcium 15.6 (ref 8-13), phosphorous 15.4 (5-8); CPK 24,700 (50-400). So based on all this vet confirmed kidney failure, secondary liver disfunction, and systemic inflamatory process.

The vet put him on injectible fluids, antibiotics and phosphate binders. I am giving him SQ injections 60cc x 2 a day (1/3 lactated ringer, 1/3 dextrose and 1/3 SOdium chloride w/ vitamins); soak him for 20 min twice a day; Baytril tablets to fight inflamation; the vet also prescribed Renagel 120mg x 2 a day to bind phosphates, pharmacy ordered it but it still didn't come in. So this is pretty much the situation.

It's been almost a week since we started treatment but see no improvement so far. He is not eating on his own so I spoon feed him some slurry. He seems to have some difficulty swallowing/swollen throat (past two days). The Renagel is supposed to come in on Monday. I tried over-the-counter "Alternagel" (aluminum hydroxide) but it makes him throw up, so I stopped giving it to him.

Sorry for such a long post but maybe some of you had experience with kidney failure in iguanas that can help. I would very much appreciate your opinion as well as any suggestions regarding effectiveness of this treatment or any advice.

Thanks a lot,
Best regards

Lana

The first one was Dino my adopted ig and now that beautiful 10 years old iguana.I hope nobody in this Forum will give such pellets to his igs!!

.

This appeares to be an experienced opinion! I would be interested in yours. After all that's what we are here for!

When he arrived home he was only 1 f and a half, although he was already one year old, his color was a dull brown, his skin was rough and dehydrated. As a comparison Kenya MY iglet at that time was double his size although she was only 8 months.
His owner told me she fed him only iguana pellets.
I TOOK THIS PHOTO 3 WEEKS AFTER HE ARRIVED IN MY HOUSE.He had already fattened up a lot.When he arrived home he was skinny, only bones with a carved belly.But by the photo you can still see how weird is his colour and how small he is compared to Kenya.What was strange was the fact that it took him a long time to have a good color again and to have a bright skin so in my opinion it was not only a starvation problem, the iguana pellets were kind of intoxicating him.This is serious and IMHO that is happening to the 10 years old iguana too.
What happened to Dino?Well his owner changed her mind and came to collect him back.I gave her printed pages of good information in French (she is French)about iguana care.I do hope she will follow it.

>>The first one was Dino my adopted ig and now that beautiful 10 years old iguana.I hope nobody in this Forum will give such pellets to his igs!!

It depends on the pellets, and it depends on how the pellets are offered.

The vast majority of commercial food marketed to iguana owners are bad because they fail to meet the nutritional requirements of iguanas, and use plant sources that pose more health problems. Most are primarily soy (goitrogens, fat), wheat (prevents proper uptake of minerals and trace elements, as well as high in phosphorous), and/or corn (sugar, sugar, and lots of phosphorous). Many tout their flower and plant ingredients - but flowers are a miniscule part of the wild iguana diet, and the "plant" in the food is usually from the Brassica, many of which are, like soy, highly goitrogenic. (Goitrogens bind iodine which ultimately impairs thyroid function, leading to hypothyroidism.)

The problem with pelleted foods, even those that are alfalfa based and contain no animal protein, is that the instructions say to feed them dry. Further, the instructions on many of them tell the owner to not offer any other foods, or only a small amount of fresh food. Following these instructions will contribute to early kidney failure as the iguana, already suffering from some level of dehydration just be being kept in captivity in an environment far less humid than in the wild, becomes more dehdyrated as the body diverts fluids from elsewhere in to body to the digestive tract to try to break the pellets down enough to be digested. This reduces the fluids available to the liver and kidney...and it's the kidneys that show the damage first.

If good pellets (meaning alfalfa-based ones) are softened and used only to supplement the fresh food diet, not as the primary source of food, they should be okay to feed. Of course, it's generally less expensive in the long run to use 100% alfalfa from a health food store/vitamin seller, but at least used in this way, one can counter the problems inherent in an pellet-based diet.

Other factors can contribute to early kidney failure besides dehdyration and animal protein. Antibiotics and other drugs are very hard on the liver and kidneys. The liver is the body's detoxification plant, processing fats and chemicals. The kidneys, being "downstream" of the liver, must do the final filtration. If these organs do not have enough fluids to work effectively, toxins and wastes start building up in the system, causing further impairment. Everytime a more acute period of dehydration occurs, or drugs are added to the system, the liver and kidneys have to work harder with decreased capacity to do so. Eventually, the kidneys can't keep up with the load, and we have kidney failure.

When it comes to rescued igs, most of them have to be considered ticking time bombs, kidney failure waiting to happen. When I started doing ig rescue in the early 1990s, it was a given, because people were still feeding their iguanas diets with regular additions of animal protein in some form. Most were never supplemented with water (even some of the later books recommend to only put water down once a week!), and never had their air humidified, and were rarely if ever bathed.

There are still books, caresheets, vet handouts, web and magazine articles out there telling people to feed animal protein. The importance of keeping them well hydrated is generally ignored. So, rescues are still taking in time bombs, ticking away, as the kidneys struggle to function...

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PH Meliss
Pet Hobbyist Volunteer * Iguana Forum
Iguanas for Dummies
Anapsid.org: Herp Care, Societies/Rescues, Vets, Resources

I am sorry to hear this. I know Bon (iZ's mom) has a lot of experience with this but she is no longer posting. Her iguana had some of the same symptoms...she seemed to have extended his life for quite some time but he kept getting recurring problems and unfortunately is no longer with us.

I wish you the best of luck. Keep us posted.

Milk of Magnesia in a pinch may help with binding phophates. Check with your vet for dosing. Im not sure how much slurry you are making or getting down him. I was feeding a 4 lb iguana 2 ccs of MOM until we got the renegel in. Unfortunatly I was fighting a loosing battle because the necropsy actually showed cancer in her kidneys and not an infection or renal disease. Ill see what I can do about getting MK to come on and look over the blood panel and give suggestions as well. Please keep us posted.
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Cindy
PHFaust

Kingsnake.com - Critterhobbyist.com - Pet Loss Community
Email PHFaust

I've seen this before, and unfortunately the result is death. Since reptilian veterinary medicine does not have kidney transpants yet, usually it all ends for the worst. Treatments can help the animal live a little longer, but eventually, nature will take its course.

I am sorry to tell you this, but always remember your pet for the good times it gave you, and for the healthy, beautiful animal it is. Some iguanas die of kidney failure, others of cancer, and other deseases.

However, all may not be lost, and I am sure soeone here may give you some answers to make things a little better. Keep us posted.
Regards,

-IJ

very strong!Dont just put him to sleep thinking he will be happy in heaven!!In my opinion this is an escapist solution.Im sure his case is not hopeless.Your iguana loves you and wants to be on earth with you!!After 10 years he deserves all the chances the love you feel for him can provide!

A few months ago my baby STAR was dying.She didnt move or open her eyes for weeks in a row.I didnt give up, i spend nights and days force feeding her and giving her medicines.Now she became an eating machine and im very proud of myself.I won the battle against death!

>So based on all this vet confirmed kidney failure, secondary liver disfunction, and systemic inflamatory process.

Yes...

>The Renagel is supposed to come in on Monday. I tried over-the-counter "Alternagel" (aluminum hydroxide) but it makes him throw up, so I stopped giving it to him.

As someone else mentioned, there are other phosphorous binders available over-the-counter at the drug and grocery stores. If one made him throw up, one of the others might not.

If the drug ordered by the pharmacy isn't in tommorrow, ask your vet about using one of the OTC products in the mean time - the iguana really needs to get that phosphoros down, something that is probably more important than the infection, as it sounds like this is chronic kidney failure (due to long-term conditions) rather than acute failure (due to a severe infection which, once resolved, will enable the kidneys to return to normal, or near-normal function).

>>It's been almost a week since we started treatment but see no improvement so far. He is not eating on his own so I spoon feed him some slurry. He seems to have some difficulty swallowing/swollen throat (past two days).

What are you making the slurry out of? Check out my Emaciation (Starvation) Protocol, and use the Ensure made for kidney patients, rather than the regular.

>>Sorry for such a long post but maybe some of you had experience with kidney failure in iguanas that can help. I would very much appreciate your opinion as well as any suggestions regarding effectiveness of this treatment or any advice.

The prognosis for chronic KF is, unfortunately, bleak. What you can work on for now is getting the phosphorous binders into him, and talk to the vet about helping to support liver function by using milkthistle, artichoke and maybe taurine. You can find info on all of these at Supplementinfo.org or some of the other information resource sites linked to my Drugs, Herbs & Supplements page. There are no animal dosages for these substances, so you will have to talk to your vet about dosing. Since your vet may not know about these substances, consider printing out the info and giving it to him/her.

You'll find some other info at my website, including info on KF.

Let us know how it goes...
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PH Meliss
Pet Hobbyist Volunteer * Iguana Forum
Iguanas for Dummies
Anapsid.org: Herp Care, Societies/Rescues, Vets, Resources

Lana ~

"Calcium Carbonate" will bind excess phosphorus ~ it's the ingredient in TUMS EX ~ iZ's dose was approx. 750mg per day ~ more effective if taken with a bit of food ~ (he weighed about 13 pounds when this was the dose)

iZ was extremely cooperative in taking oral fluids, i didn't do sub-q fluids (we both hated them) ... i used the infant version of Pedialyte, iZ preferred UN-flavored ... i'd use pedialyte when mixing up slurry for him ... (warm it up 1st)

just as important with any sick animal is the calorie content, especially when they don't have much of an appetite, it's tricky. The "Critical Care" formula that the Oxbow Company makes seems to be a good thing ~ you have to get it thru your vet ...
OTC, what i used was "Naturade Vegetable Protein", in the "health/diet" section of drug stores ... the Crit. Care might be tastier to a sick ig, i mixed pureed collards in the Naturade slurry ...

when iZ was sick, we'd turn up the heat and humidity in his room to try + keep his metabolism up ~ his room would be 86 degrees day and nite ~ at nite, we'd crank up the humidifiers and by the morning, it'd be FOGGY in there. iZ didn't really like the fog during the day, so we'd turn the humidifiers down til bedtime, but it still ran close to 60% during the day. (yeah, it made for some frequent wall cleaning)

Renal Disease is NOT the same as all out Renal/Kidney Failure ... the trick is getting thru the initial crisis and then adjusting diet/life after that ... iZ was almost 2yo when he + i met ~ and he'd had a really ROUGH life ...
i mention that cuz i'd think that it's VERY much in Emerald's favor that he's had you allllllll of his life ~

Very Best Wishes + Head Rubs to Emerald,
Bon. (iZ's mom)

Glad you could make it...you were just the one I hoped would stop on by to lend some great advice.

Guys,

Thank you all very much for your advice and warm thoughts. Unfortunately Emerald passed away at around 1;30am Sunday morning. I miss him terribly...
I guess his disease was too advanced by the time it showed itself. Despite all the treatment he seemed to be getting worse and worse each day. He gained 2 lbs in one week and looked bloated - probably his organs stopped processing the waste and he was retaining fluids.
Before he died he was struggling to breath but coulnd't...

He was my first pet and the only iguana I've had. Emerald was adored by my entire family and we all will miss him.

I completely agree with Flavia - we shouldn't put animals to sleep thinking they will be better of. Every creature should have a chance to fight for its life and it is our responsibility as their keepers to do all we can to give them that chance, however slight, it might be. Although we lost our battle, at least we put up a good fight. I hope Emerald had a happy life. I will never forget how wonderful he was.

Thanks again for your help and warm thoughts.

Best regards,

Lana

I am so sorry to hear of your loss. It really tears at the heart to lose a companion especially one who has been with you that long. If it brings you any comfort just remember,...there is a big green HEALTHY dragon waiting on you at the Rainbow Bridge!
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Merlin

np

Im sorry to hear my ig, Zephyr, is 3 and a half and has been eating dog food most of his life until i got him-his blood panels, too, were not so great... cal-46, phosphorus 22, WBC 13,ooo(reference was 5,ooo-8,ooo) and so, in addition to mbd has kidney disease, vet said he wouldnt doubt failure...

he gets a real diet now and a daily bath, along with an extra syringe of water everyday along with his MBD meds

Sarah