Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I posted awhile back about my ig, Irwin, having a grape-like object near the back of his tongue. Well, I got him to the vet and it was a tumor or abcess (the vet was not sure which) It was removed and he is now on antibiotics and I am swabbing betadine solution on his mouth everyday. He had been EXTREMELY aggressive so he was also slamming into his cage and cutting his mouth up. All of his wounds are starting to scab up, but he still lunges at me and causes them to break back open. Everyday, I have been cleaning the wounds with Betadine and putting Neosporin on them (probably about 3X's a day). It's interesting though with him being so aggressive now. We think his aggressive behavior is due to not feeling well and breeding season. It's so frustrating because I just want him to go back to his normal mellow self!! I have covered his cage with a blanket so he is not able to see anything to make him upset. Is anyone else's ig really aggressive now, or has been in the past? What did you do when the ig was very aggressive? Have any of you heard of tumors on an ig's tongue? My vet said it was extremely rare. On a good note, she said he was a very good looking ig otherwise! (I have a video of his attacking me thru the cage...I just have to figure out how to post it!)
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
3 Red-Eared Sliders (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted (Milo)
2 male rats (Bud & Guiness)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

I don't have a lot of advice concerning the aggression. Have you tried decreasing the duration of his daylight hours?

We also have a male iguana that developed a tumor in the mouth. It grew very large, to the point where it prevented his mouth from closing completely and he was biting it with his teeth. This tumor had a very small stem originating near the teeth in the bottom jaw. When it was analyzed by a lab they found food particles in the tumor so it was believed to be some sort of immune reaction to food stuck in the soft tissue of the gum. I'm happy to say that it was removed successfully and Zig is doing well.

Yep, I have tried decreasing the amount of daylight he gets. Right now the lights come on at about 8 and are off at 6:15 pm. So he gets approx. 10 hours of daylight.

That's interesting about Zig's tumor. Irwin's tumor also had a very small point of attachment. His tumor was crusted with food, saliva, etc. as you can imagine from being near the back base of his tongue, so it appeared greenish until the vet got in there and cleaned it off before removing it. She said it was much smaller and pinkish in appearance after all the "gunk" was removed from it. I didn't have it sent to the lab to be analyzed because my vet's office keeps the tumor. So we decided to wait to see if the tumor returned before sending it to the lab which costs another $50. If it returns, I will have it sent in to be analyzed. I hope it doesn't retun!

And, I sure wish I knew what to do about his aggression. There probably is nothing to do other than wait it out and try to leave him alone as much as possible. I just want him back to his normal, calm personality.
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~Heather~
3 German Shepherd Dogs (Tasha, Austin, & Kaiya)
1 Iguana (Irwin)
4 Firebelly Toads (Kirby, Gus, Pico, & Tiki)
3 Red-Eared Sliders (Otis, Jasper, & Jade)
1 Southern Painted (Milo)
2 male rats (Bud & Guiness)
Check out my website with most of my pets!

my iggy draco just recently had an abcess removed from his jaw. he also has gottin a little bit of an attitude with me. i think it is because they are in pain. when we have surgery they give us pain meds. when the igs do they just have to deal with the pain. also i think it is because it was a trmatizing experience for them. whenever we go to tuch them they think "oh no they are going to clean out my cut (which probably hurts) and give me thoses nasty meds!) i could be wrong but im pretty sure this is the case with my draco because he has never been mean before. well actually draco is a girl we just did not know that when we nameed her. lol good luck hope he goes back to his old self soon. draco is getting better already. -brandy
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brandy

Iguanas do not need to suffer from pain as a result of injury or surgery. There are pain meds that can be used that really work well.

could you tell me the name of thesse meds so if something like this happens again i can talk to my vet about it. because he diddnt want to give him pain meds. thanks! -brandy
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brandy

We have used prescribed Metacam (meloxicam) very successfully in Green Iguanas and Cyclura Iguanas, after injuries and post-surgically. I also dose an older Green Iguana here that has some pretty severe arthritis in the 10 inches of tail that he has remaining. He seems more comfortable and active when he's had the meloxicam.

There is no reason for our pets to suffer unnecessary pain when meds are available to relieve that pain. Fortunately I have a vet that understands this and is more than willing to prescribe it when needed.

i wish i would have known that before. i asumed my vet was right that igs should not be on pain meds. draco is all healed up and in no more pain but i will definently mention this to my vet if something like that ever happens again. thank you. poor draco
-brandy
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brandy