Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husbands best friend had an iguana given to him by one of his co-workers. Anyways, he has called me for help. I know nothing about iguanas! I think he called me because I keep frogs.....? Here's the scoop, it's a male, approx. 2 years old. was kept in unsanitary condtions. 20 gallon long aquarium (I'm smart enough to know that this is unacceptable!) When he got him, he called me. I went to grocery store and bought romaine lettuce, escarole, broccoli, and tomatos. I sprinkled some calcium/vitamin dust on his "salad" and he was sooooo hungry. He has made an appointment to see a vet. My main question is, he has this large bump, crusty thing on his nose. I dont believe this is normal. It's not covering his nostrils, as far as I can see. Other than that, he looks good. His color is quite green, and the spikes along his back look good (theres only about 2 missing) Can you give iguana baths? Is he going to freak? I thought that if he could get him to soak in the tub, that thing on his nose might wash off. (if it was from nasal discharge) I know not to pick at it. He's a real sweet iggy, hasn't tried to bite, just scratch. Sorry so long, if anyone can help, that would be greatly appreciated.

also, right now he has him in his spare bathroom in the tub with sliding glass shower doors. He has a large tree branch in there with him to climb, and I gave him a basking lamp, which he clamped to the top of doors. There is a window in there also, so he gets some sunlight during day. I am helping him build an enclosure. Measurements for it will be 8 feet long 6 feet high and 6 feet deep. Want to make sure he has lots of room. Do you guys think that will be adequate? He will also have his own "bedroom" Thanks

First of all, Give yourself a HUGE pat on the back for getting this poor little guy away from that moron. Now, to answer your questions....

Diet: Lose the Broccoli, Lettuce and Tomatoes. Stick with the escrole, Collards, Mustard, Dandelion, endive, and Turnip for greens. Broccoli takes Calcium away from the Igs and He REALLY needs it. Lettuce is like buger King, No Nutrition. Tomatoes are too acidic, no good. For Veggies, Bell Peppers, Squashes and Zucchini. And Only a Little fruit for Treats. Ratio Should be 60% Greens, 30-35% Veggies, 5-10% fruit.

Housing: an Enclourse 6' High, 6' Long, and 3' deep is a Minimum for an adult Ig. The outdoor Enclourse You're Planning will be HEAVEN for that little guy. But You also have to plan the Indoor one for now. Also, Igs are aboral, They LOVE to climb. The more things to climb on, the better.

Lighting: The Ig NEEDS UVB. While inside it is VERY important to get a UVB Blub. Some People Use Mercury Vapor Bulbs but I Prefer the Fluresant UVB Blubs. The Brand I use is Reptisun 5.0. I change them every 6 months. Outside The Ig will get the natural Sunlight. Nothing can Beat that. I heard once that 15 minutes in the Real Sun is better then 8 hours under one of those light.

Temperatures and Humidity: The Ambient Temp should be around 80 and there should be a basking spot of 100. Humidity Should be between 50-70%. Baths are EXCELLENT ways for an Ig getting the right Moisture It needs.Though He probably will "freak out" the first time.... and several times after. He will get use to it and It's an EXCELLENT thing for Him. Also Mist Him Several times daily so He gets plenty of Moisture.

As far as the thing on His Nose, A Picture would be needed to eve GUESS what it is.... Some Igs have Horns on their Noses but that doesn't sound like what you're describing...... Any other Questions, Feel free to ask. And PLEASE let us know what your Vet says about the little one.
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2 Iguanas, 3 Beardies, 1 Saharan/Nigerian Uromastyx, 1 Leo, 1 African Fat Tail, 1 Columbian Rainbow Boa, 1 Fla Garter Snake, 1 Banded California King Snake, 1 Corn Snake, 3 Fire Belly Toads, 1 Eastern Painted Turtle, 1 African Sideneck, 2 Horses, 4 cats, 1 dog, and I'm still not done.....

Thank you so much! I am also doing lots of research on the internet, and he goes to the vet Tuesday. The enclosure we are building is indoors! lol It will pretty much take up one corner of his bedroom. My friend, his name is Kevin, is going to put linoleum down in that bedroom, and add some very large branches, a standing basking lamp, for when he is roaming, and I am in charge of painting the walls some sort of jungle-ish theme. Which brings me to my next question, is any kind of indoor paint ok? As long as it has time to "gas" off and dry? Thanks again, and it looks as though I need to make another trip to the grocery store!

I used a water based Paint for My Big Igs Habitat. Here's a Pic of the Finished Product.....

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2 Iguanas, 3 Beardies, 1 Saharan/Nigerian Uromastyx, 1 Leo, 1 African Fat Tail, 1 Columbian Rainbow Boa, 1 Fla Garter Snake, 1 Banded California King Snake, 1 Corn Snake, 3 Fire Belly Toads, 1 Eastern Painted Turtle, 1 African Sideneck, 2 Horses, 4 cats, 1 dog, and I'm still not done.....

About the big crusty thing on his nose, I saw a iggy at my vets once with a large crusty dark thing on his nose. He fell off his cage and bonked his nose and scraped it a little. It "healed" into a big crusty mess. Maybe that's it? Or nose rub?

>>My husbands best friend had an iguana given to him by one of his co-workers. Anyways, he has called me for help. I know nothing about iguanas! I think he called me because I keep frogs.....? Here's the scoop, it's a male, approx. 2 years old. was kept in unsanitary condtions. 20 gallon long aquarium (I'm smart enough to know that this is unacceptable!) When he got him, he called me. I went to grocery store and bought romaine lettuce, escarole, broccoli, and tomatos. I sprinkled some calcium/vitamin dust on his "salad" and he was sooooo hungry. He has made an appointment to see a vet. My main question is, he has this large bump, crusty thing on his nose. I dont believe this is normal. It's not covering his nostrils, as far as I can see. Other than that, he looks good. His color is quite green, and the spikes along his back look good (theres only about 2 missing) Can you give iguana baths? Is he going to freak? I thought that if he could get him to soak in the tub, that thing on his nose might wash off. (if it was from nasal discharge) I know not to pick at it. He's a real sweet iggy, hasn't tried to bite, just scratch. Sorry so long, if anyone can help, that would be greatly appreciated.
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Hmmmm....goats eh?

hey yea u can saok him in the bathroom but keep an eye on him cuz they can climb up walls...lol...but my iggy likes baths yea i can bathe them like a baby they will eat that attention up.but bring him in to the vet ASAP cuz it could be canserious (gimme a break im only 14) lol....but yes if hes sweet u can do anything to him/her and the thing bout the spikes that doesnt mean anything if he has no spikes its jus like armour i guess but mines missing like 1 but shes almost 3 ft and she has a lil leash that u can but from a pet store that i walk her on outside maybe u can try that have fun but u have to put it tight or else mine almost got away so make shure u put it tight not too tight tho well i g2g to bed

hmmmmmmmmm u walk it outside like in a resedential area? .... but on to the thing about the iguanas nose its most likely a burn or from it rubbing against its inclouser. Proley nothin to really worry to much about.

>>My husbands best friend had an iguana given to him by one of his co-workers. Anyways, he has called me for help. I know nothing about iguanas! I think he called me because I keep frogs.....?

And everyone knows how similar frogs and igs are..!

Head on over to my site and print out my Iguana Care, Feeding & Socialization article. It has info on proper diet, heating and lighting requirements (and the equipment to use), and information on how to calculate the enclosure size needed. You'll find other articles linked to the ICFS article, as well as other material you might want to become familiar with at my Iguanas site.

>>He has made an appointment to see a vet.

Good. Just make sure he understands he needs to see a vet experienced with reptiles.

>>My main question is, he has this large bump, crusty thing on his nose. I dont believe this is normal.

The vet will address this. It is either a scab or abscess formed by the iguana repeatedly bashing its snout against the enclosure...all too common in lizards kept in enclosures that are too small.

>>Can you give iguana baths?

Absolutely! In fact, they should get baths daily. They can be potty trained to go in the tub, and soaking is good for their hydration (and to help improve the success in shedding their spikes...which may be why he is missing a couple). You'll find info on this in my ICFS article as well as my Bathing and Swimming: Not Just A Bathroom Activity article.

>>Is he going to freak?

If he's never been in a bath before, probably. It may be hell getting him to the point of sitting quietly (if not grumpily), but it's worth the stress for both iguana and owner for them to become used to the baths.

>>I thought that if he could get him to soak in the tub, that thing on his nose might wash off.

If it is a scab, bathing may loosen it, but it still needs to be assessed by a vet and treated appropriately.

>>He's a real sweet iggy, hasn't tried to bite, just scratch.

That may change once the iguana has been on a proper diet for a while and been housed in the correct environment. A lot of people have what they think are tame igs only to find that, once the iguana regains strength and 'tude, they aren't a bit tame.

Good for you for getting involved... Do please let us know how it goes!

Sorry so long, if anyone can help, that would be greatly appreciated.

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Melissk
anapsid.org
Iguanas for Dummies

>>My husbands best friend had an iguana given to him by one of his co-workers. Anyways, he has called me for help. I know nothing about iguanas! I think he called me because I keep frogs.....?

And everyone knows how similar frogs and igs are..!

Head on over to my site and print out my Iguana Care, Feeding & Socialization article. It has info on proper diet, heating and lighting requirements (and the equipment to use), and information on how to calculate the enclosure size needed. You'll find other articles linked to the ICFS article, as well as other material you might want to become familiar with at my Iguanas site.

>>He has made an appointment to see a vet.

Good. Just make sure he understands he needs to see a vet experienced with reptiles.

>>My main question is, he has this large bump, crusty thing on his nose. I dont believe this is normal.

The vet will address this. It is either a scab or abscess formed by the iguana repeatedly bashing its snout against the enclosure...all too common in lizards kept in enclosures that are too small.

>>Can you give iguana baths?

Absolutely! In fact, they should get baths daily. They can be potty trained to go in the tub, and soaking is good for their hydration (and to help improve the success in shedding their spikes...which may be why he is missing a couple). You'll find info on this in my ICFS article as well as my Bathing and Swimming: Not Just A Bathroom Activity article.

>>Is he going to freak?

If he's never been in a bath before, probably. It may be hell getting him to the point of sitting quietly (if not grumpily), but it's worth the stress for both iguana and owner for them to become used to the baths.

>>I thought that if he could get him to soak in the tub, that thing on his nose might wash off.

If it is a scab, bathing may loosen it, but it still needs to be assessed by a vet and treated appropriately.

>>He's a real sweet iggy, hasn't tried to bite, just scratch.

That may change once the iguana has been on a proper diet for a while and been housed in the correct environment. A lot of people have what they think are tame igs only to find that, once the iguana regains strength and 'tude, they aren't a bit tame.

Good for you for getting involved... Do please let us know how it goes!
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Melissk
anapsid.org
Iguanas for Dummies