Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i just received an extremely docile iguana, who is about as agressive as newborn puppy. i am pleased with my pet, but i had a couple questions.

1) he fell off of my bed (1.5 foot drop) and his tail, which is growing back, the skin got a split in it on the tip....should i put a band-aid on it? alchohol or peroxide? signs of infection to watch for? right now it weeps, but me myself have had cuts that weep....plasma im guessing.....for a couple days., then they scab over and heal.

2) he seems to "twich".....his arm and leg muscles are constantly twitching, sometimes his toes twich slightly. its nothing to make him look like hes having a sezuire, its just noticeable because u can see his muscles twiching under the skin.

3) i know what to feed him, but i dont know how often they eat or how much. down in the islands they eat everything all day. when i first got him home, he acted sorta-interested in the apple slices, and chewed on a few of the peices, but never really chomped down and gobbled them up. my bearded dragons play tug-of-war with apple skins and theyre only

what in the heck happened to the other half of my thread?
does this forum have a limited amount of characters?

okay....now for the other half....

from owning other lizards, i know things to look for, he has bright healthly looking skin, bright, alert eyes, and seems pretty strong, he climbs up me all the time. hes right now climbing up the side of his cage, and hangs there.

4) any way to guess age on an iguana?

he hasnt touched his water or apple slices yet, im thinking he has to get accustomed to his new home before he regains his appetite. maybe i'll get home some romaine or something, or jsut plain old dandelion leaves for a quick inexpensive snack. yes i know, make sure no pesticides.

also, sorry for not searching, but im very busy and i dont have the time to search for each and every answer.

To add to my other post, pick up a copy of Iguanas for Dummies by Melissa Kaplan...best ig info out there...The twitching doesnt sound good...again good luck and let us know how it works out...Lyn

Ack! Romaine *BAD*! The apple slices aren't great either. Way too much sugar.

He needs dark, leafy, NON-LETTUCE greens. Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens... for details read here: iguanaden.com/diet/dendiet.htm

And I agree with Zelda, the twitching sounds like MBD. You very well may have a sick iguana and not a tame one as you thought. Get him to the vet right away.

what is MBD and did he happen to catch it from a dirty female iguana he slept with? i told him not to whore around. i'll call the vet asap.

The twitching does sound like MBD (metabolic bone disease aka rubber jaw) MBD is deadly and a painful death at that. Look at http://www.iguanaden.com/health/mbd.htm it has the reasons of MBD and what it is.

MBD can get real bad..... if you dont want to see, dont look below.
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Healthy and fat Igg(Tiny)

Rehabing Mali Uro(Buddy)

i see. yes, the twitching seems to be a symptom. looks like i've caught it early. i've got plenty of full spectrum lights, so no worries on that. i'll buy one of them full spectrum flourescents and use that, and i'll add a calcuim conditioner to his water and his greens.

thanks for the help guys, looks like it would have ironed itself out anyway, now that he has a better owner, but nonetheless you were extremely helpful. much gratitude.

Not just full spectrum... many bulbs say "full spectrum" but do not have enough UVB. Make sure the packaging specifically says "UVB" and the amount it produces ... you need at least 5%. I made the mistake of buying a bulb that was "full spectrum" and it didn't provide enough UVB.

A diet of romaine lettuce and apples doesn't provide any calcium, and UVB lighting will do you little good if you don't provide calcium. Dandelion greens are good, but make them a staple... not just a treat. Collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens... all of these are excellent staples and great forms of calcium. Then you can go ahead and add a wide variety of other greens and veggies, and a few fruits for water, flavor, and color.

I've just been through the whole MBD thing with my ig, so I can really relate. The best thing you can do for him at this point - besides taking him to the vet for an accurate diagnosis - is research research research! Caring for igs is a little different than other herps. They have different needs, and if you don't stay up-to-date on the latest and greatest, you fall behind. I learned that the hard way.

Take him outside for natural sunlight, as well. It's the best medicine for igs with MBD! Your vet might also recommend using a calcium supplement, but you should let him/her make that call.

If I can help, let me know.

Alika

For the diet, you should use the website someone suggested. www.iguanaden.com its full of tons of info. also check www.greenigsociety.org same thing as in its great.

i hope this helped

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Healthy and fat Igg(Tiny)

Rehabing Mali Uro(Buddy)

make sue that you get the MBD cleared up ASAP and change the diet right now.. with igs and other reptiles they can be sick and they dont show that they are until it is to late. but it sounds like you caught the MBD early enough.. bring his to the vet anyways. for teh animasl sake anyways.

and change the diet things like that will make your iguana happier..

My iguana had MBD before i got him and he was on the worung diet and just plain ol abused before he came to me. and from all of this mistreatment it is coming back and is taking its toll on him. he can no longer do some of the things that iguanas can do. he cant climb for [bleep], he cant tell that when he is climbing on shelves that the selve ends and he falls, when he can climb he always favors the right side.

Small things like MBD can have major affects on the animal.. im not saying MBD is a small thing.. it may not happen imediatly but it will come back..

Mike D

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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.2 Hedgehogs

My Email

YOU DONT OWN YOUR IGUANA, YOUR IGUANA OWNS YOU

HAPPINESS IS LIKE PEEING ON YOURSELF, EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT ONLY YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH

Oh, my god. That's just heartbreaking. Lowrider, who is this little guy in the picture? Was he a rescue? Did he make it?

I think this should be another "required reading thread" for new & potential iguana owners.

Usually when an ig is *extremely docile* and you didn't have to do anything to tame it, it's sick. You didn't mention how big he is? Length from snout to vent and from snout to tail? That might also tell you how old he is. Also, where did you get him from?

The twitching isn't normal. As others mentioned, it could be MBD. You definitely need to see a reptile vet ASAP. Since MBD is suspect and your ig fell, I'd also recommend an X-ray. Igs who have MBD are very susceptible to bone breaks, and it's not always something obvious. When Xander broke his femur, he was obviously hurt. But his x-ray revealed an earlier break to the radius that he never showed any signs of.

When I called my vet about a bit of Xander's tail falling off, she only wanted to see him right away if there was seeping. Definitely have your vet look at the seeping wound, too.

Sounds like you've got a pretty sick ig. I'd definitely complain to whomever you got him from. I'm guessing he wasn't a rescue, since a good rescue won't adopt out an animal that is in questionable health. If you got him from a petstore, he's probably very young - only a few months old - unless he's really big.

Hope that helped. Let us know how it goes. If you need help finding a good vet, let us know your location and there's bound to be someone from around there who knows of a good vet... or else someone can help you find one. I doubt you're in my part of the country - I'm in WY, USA - but I have an excellent vet in UT I'd refer you to if you are from the SLC, UT area.

Alika

im wondering if a sudden change in diet and living condition for a mere 3 days could start the ball rolling on MBD? hes not *extremely docile* in the fact that he lays around like a turd, he simply doesnt bite, doesnt seem scared of me, he'll try to "look impressive" if i walk towards him from across the room, but as soon as i pet him he relaxes and leans towards me for more stroking. he doesnt seem lazy or anything, i put him in his cage and hes constantly climbing every which way and just sitting there, clinging to something for a half hour os so.

the guy i got him from was a chance-happening. i was getting crickets for my bearded dragon, and (as usual) the pet store PetCo had about 3 brainless teenagers working there and the place was busy. so i got sick of waiting for crickets and walked over to where they keep the exotics, snakes, herps, frogs, tarantulas and scorpions. this guy (prolly 21-23) was holding an Iguana he said he was looking for a home for. i asked how much, and he explained that he imports and exports rare exotics, and the iguana belonged to a friend of his who could no longer keep it. being suspicious, i carefully examined Buddy all over as best i could, looking for any obvious warning signs of anything.....no swollen areas, no pufiness anywheres, he was alert, active, had sharp eyes and defiantely had energy. his skin was a good bright color and his muscles seemed toned and strong.

the guy explained that he had like 30 terranuims in his house and couldnt keep the Iguana, but had told his friend that he would find a home for him. after all, i had gotten my "geiko" gecko(looks just like him) in a bit of the same manner, my best friends cousin was going off into the army and needed to find a good home, so i took him in. so, i was suspicious, the guy seemed like an okay dude, spoke VERY competently about herps, so i figured maybe this was my lucky day.

i still beleive it was good luck. after all, what if someone had gotten him who just figured the twiching was a normal thing? he would have ended up looking like an accordion!

and i would say he is about 14" snout to vent. his tail had been injured or severed, as a 4-5" section has started to grow back. the guy said he was full grown.

oh and by the way i have a vet appointment tuesday at 4:30.

Cool

Yeah, if he's that big, he's a bit older than I thought he might be. So absolutely... if you got him from someone else who's been handling him he's probably just tame. Sorry 'bout that.

Let us know how the vet visit goes...

Alika

"he'll try to "look impressive" if i walk towards him from across the room, but as soon as i pet him he relaxes and leans towards me for more stroking"

Yay! That's a good sign. Sounds just like my Grass. If he's at least taking notice of you & trying to be a tough guy, it's a good thing.

Good for you for rescuing him; lots of us here have found that rescues can turn out to be the very nicest of iguanas. Much luck with him & with the vet appointment.

aka MBD. no worries, he isnt showing any signs of it besides the twitching. they did some blood samples and his calcuim was super-low.so they gave him vitamin and calcuim injections, then gave me a calcuim liquid to be administered orally, daily, for 30 days. then every other day for another 30 days. cost me a buttload, but no price can be put on Buddy

even after 2 days of his calcuim, i can see he's more perky. he even opened his mouth at me when i reached for him, but then realized who i was and turned into his usual puppy-dog docileness.

thanks guys, i might have accidentally let this slip by withour ur guidance......very much appreciated

Sounds like he could have MBD...how is he housed? does he have proper UVB lighting? He needs a bulb like Reptisun 5.0 by zoomed or a Mercury Vapor bulb like Powersun UVB.... Proper diet is not apples...dark leafy greens like collards, mustard, dandelion, chicory...and mixed veggies like green beans, squash, etc..minimal fruit...he may not be docile, but terribly ill...has he seen a vet? To me it sounds like he needs one ASAP...good luck Lyn

i agree it sounds like he has mbd and it doesnt sound like it is real bad yet. i would bring him to the vet and get him loked at and get a fecal done and teh vet will be able to tell you if he has mbd..

good luck with him..

post pics asap
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1.0.0 adopted iguana
0.0.2 Hedgehogs

My Email

YOU DONT OWN YOUR IGUANA, YOUR IGUANA OWNS YOU

HAPPINESS IS LIKE PEEING ON YOURSELF, EVERYONE CAN SEE IT BUT ONLY YOU CAN FEEL THE WARMTH