Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello,

My 10 (almost 11) yr. old female green iguana was just diagnosed with Osteomyelitis last week after a blood panel and xray in early March. Osteomyelitis is also known as calficification of the spine and is a very painful bone disease which apparently is very, very difficult to eradicate.

My iguana received injections of Baytril and Meloxicam and I have been following up this week with oral doses of same and then again this next week. The initial symptoms that presented were muscle tremors of the back legs.

Does anyone have (or even know) of a iguana with this disease? I'd really appreciate any thoughts, comments, or concerns.

Thanks

Have you had the iguana most of its life? What is her diet? Has she had access to proper UVB lighting? these may also have a hand in her disease as well...let us know...Lyn

Osteomyelitis (bacterial osteomyelitis) not only causes calcification of bone, which can make them brittle, but severe inflammation similar to arthritis. They used to think it was the reptile version of Paget's disease in humans, with it's own set of differences. Now it's thought to be caused by a gram-negative bacterial infection. So, be assured that you didn't cause it by bad husbandry. As far as treatment or prognosis I don't have personal experience. What does your doc say?
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Greenwicche
"Whatever you want to do, just do it. Don't worry about making a fool of yourself. Making a fool of yourself is absolutely essential." Gloria Steinem

Thanks for your reply. It's great to hear from someone that has a bit of knowledge about this disease.

My vet says that the prognosis for this disease is not good but that she still has hope. That diagnosis is based on the fact that my iguana's xray was forwarded to a vet in Florida (I'm in Canada) who has seen at least 6 iguanas there with the same thing. Although a biopsy and culture wasn't done, my vet also said that it's more than likely a gram negative bacterial infection

The strange thing is that my iguana has always been healthy with absolutely NONE of the usual probs that most vets see. Except for a diagnosis in 2000 of Hepatic Lipidosis after a biopsy, that problem subsequently resolved itself through meds.

The treatment my iguana has received so far were 2 SC injections of Baytril and Meloxicam (aka Metacam) on April 10th and I have been following up with 1.5 ml of oral Baytril and 0.2 ml of Meloxicam daily. For the last couple of days I have been giving her an additional pain medication called Butorphanol as I noticed that she wasn't looking as comfortable as I thought she should be after the 0.2 mls. of Meloxicam.

Thanks again for your reply