Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi all.
We adopted an iguana this weekend from a couple that was moving. They have had him since he was a baby (bought out of a pet store). When they first sent me pictures of Forest, I noticed his mouth did not close all the way. I had been researching igs for a couple months & figured it was from MBD.
When I asked about his feeding, they said his favorite & main food had been spinach & romaine. He has also been fed chicken, shrimp, etc as treats. I don't blame the couple, I blame their vet. He/She told them spinach was good for Forest, lots of calcium & such Grrrr.
He has also been fed some other veggies & fruits (he loves oranges) but none really high in calcium.
We just got Forest this weekend & haven't got him to the vet yet so my quick question is...will his mouth ever grow closed like a normal ig when given the calcium suppliment?
I worry because the end of his tongue is VERY dry. When I asked about it, the owner said it had always been like that.
Forest is doing OK with eating, as well as I expected going from his favorites to the stuff he SHOULD be eating (like taking a junk food kid & turning them into a health nut) but he doesn't seem to drink much. I mist his food & he loves to swim so maybe I shouldn't worry about his water intake? I dunno.
He's a great guy. Has never bitten or whipped, uses a litter pan (raised with a cat) & LOVES to be patted & pet. He's a great big baby & we love him to death.
His previous owners had him in a FL room where he got natural sunshine (Miami area) but we're farther north so I got him a full spectrum light to use until his FL room here is done. It'll be used in there also.
He's 7 years old & I'm guessing 4 to 4 1/2 feet long. Maybe longer. Haven't got out the tape measure yet.
Tell me what you think about his mouth? I can't wait to get him to a vet.
I just want him to be healthy & his owners loved him, they just had a bad vet.
Thanks in advance.

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To me it doesnt appear to be MBD...usually the bottom jaw is shorter than the top when MBD is evident...he may have had an injury to his jaw to make it like that...he actually looks pretty good...but definitely change the diet and UVB...He looks like my Rocky...Make sure the UVB bulb is a Reptisun 5.0 or Iguana light 5.0...the "full spectrum bulbs are for color brightening only and have no UVB rays evident...good luck...Lyn

His previous owner said the only injury he ever had was a broken leg when he was a baby ig. Went to the vet over that one. Can barely tell which one is was now.

The light...I bought a Vita-Lite. Good/Bad ???

I appreciate the help.......

A curved mouth like that could be MBD, I've seen the same thing in bearded dragons. He looks like he's in wonderful shape other than that, if he has MBD its a mild case, his legs and body look great! I think given a good diet, access to full spectrum UVB and a good supplement (I'm a die hard rep-cal person here), his jaws will even up. Very nice looking ig!

Flavia's got some fantastic photos showing severe MBD in a bearded dragon, and one of the same little guy several months later, his progress is amazing. He had massive jaw deformation, and now you can hardly tell. Flavia, if you read this, post them?

Wait, they can recover from MBD? I thought the deformitites were permanent

Forest is 7 years old. So I was wondering if his jaw (if it is MBD) would eventually line back up.
His tongue is very dry at the end from not being sealed inside his mouth but it doesn't seem to phase him at all.
I'm new to this.
Was wondering if it would or not.
Thanks in advance!

It depends on the deformity. If it is a major twisting of the spine or limbs, then your ig will always show this damage. If its curving of the jaw or curving of limbs due to the bones softening, chances are good things will straighten out and look almost normal again. If its very mild, they can completely recover in many cases, to the point no one would know they had a problem.

Anyone out there with some before and afters? I know I've seen them, I'm always amazed at how much igs can recover, beardies too. Some of the photos can be so heartbreaking, you wonder how they will ever recover, and 12 months later they are fine, healthy and happy. I was lucky, whe I brought him home Tempest was only thin, nasty and almost frozen, his basic health was pretty good. Still, thawing out an ig is not something I ever want to do again!

Because he's 7 years old, he may always have a somewhat unaligned mouth. Otherwise, he is a beautiful iguana! As long as he doesn't have any trouble eating and the deformity doesn't cause any problems, there shouldn't be anything to worry about.

I rehabbed a male iguana when he was 3 years old; he is now 10 years old and still has a bit of an underbite. MBD tends to cause underbites as well as overbites, I guess it depends what the deficiency is caused by, because there are several kinds of MBD -- not enough calcium, too much phosphorous, no exposure to UVB, etc.

Congratulations on the adoption, he looks absolutely wonderful! (not just looks per se, but as a pet)

Vita-Lite is great as a source of UVB. It's not as strong as Reptisun or Iguana Light, but for an adult ig, it's fine for maintaining a healthy skeleton.

Hope this helps!

Julie

I really appreciate the feedback from all you ig lovers.

Forest is a doll. A big baby of a doll.

Hope to have him around for q LONG time. Healthy & happy.

Thanks again!

I've heard that Vita-Lites put out only a mediocre level of UVB and that better choices are the mercury vapour bulbs, or Reptisuns. Hmmmmmmmmmm...
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"It's not a matter of IF...but WHEN" ~Bill Haast~

"Joy unspeakable...to be holding death in your hands..."