Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Last summer my baby girl went out in the backyard and ate a bunch of rocks. Okay, I feel bad enough, but I watch her close and most have passed through her system and no clue how she even swallowed them. Some were huge. Anyway, she has about three left in her stomach and now she is gravid.
Today we went to the vet and she said that she recommends going in to remove them from her stomach as basically my iguana has kept these in too long and they are causing stomach ulcers and may be the real reason she is not eating instead of the eggs (which have been there almost nine weeks now and still look the same in the xray, no calcification). She said that it's not an emergency situation at this point as my iguana has gained almost a pound since the last visit and is in good health overall. We did a full CBC and will have the results tomorrow. If the bloodwork looks good, then she says to go ahead with the surgery. While she is under, she would remove the rocks first, then if my iguana is stable after that, she would then spay her.
I am nervous about this, but really feel comfortable with the doctor and her skills. My iguana is almost nine years old and I feel that is old for an iguana. How do you guys feel about them going under anesthesia and any personal stories would be great.

Here is a picture of a few of the rocks that passed.

I had surgery on my Ig when I first got him because I thought that he had swallowed a flexible thermometer. I had x-rays done but nothing was conclusive, so I went ahead with the surgery, nothing was found and my Ig had a 8.0" cut in his abdanomon(sp)staples held him together and it was very painful for him. Not to mention being gassed for a reptile is life and death, they are not the same metabolism as mammals and being under gas some don't come back! My point is that if surgery is the only option than you must proceed, but only as a last result! If you can wait and see please try! I hope the best for you, I'm greatful that my male cannot become egg bound.

I agree. Iguanas do not have a diaphram, like mammals. When they are put under for an operation, they stop breathing, and a vet technician has to ventilate them. It takes 6 weeks before they can be bathed also, to prevent infection getting in the suture.
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Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~

Our female ig has a similar problem. She licks dirt sometimes, and occasionally (usually when we are not looking) picks up some small rocks. Our girl was gravid, and not eating, but not showings signs of eggs. We took her in for a fecal float and X-rays, and the Xrays revealed eggs, but no shells, and a few rocks in her intestines. The vet did not seem bothered by the rocks. The fecal float, however, was positive for parasites. The vet believes it was the parasites that caused the loss of appetite. We dosed her with Panacur, and then 2 weeks later, and then followed up with a weekly suppliment of Nutribac, to replenish her hindgut bacteria. It worked. Her appetite is back to normal. I guess our feelings on this is, drugs are better than surgery, and if she's not broke, don't fix her. If you do consider the surgery, ask the vet for some painkillers after the surgery. Just because they are cold blooded, doesn't mean they can't feel pain.
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Lamar, Debbie, Nathaniel and Iggi :>~

Thank you guys for your help. Plans have changed for now and in a good way. The bloodwork came back and the white blood count is slightly elevated (not as high as two months ago) so the body is not attacking the rocks like we expected, so we are going to do another round of Baytril and retest the blood. As for the calcium level it was elevated, but not to the point where it should be for a a gravid iguana. So we are going to up the calcium in her diet and hopefully with all of that help her feel better and help her lay the eggs. Even a couple of days after upping her calcium, she started digging again. She had been going in her box every day, but not digging like she was. But now she digs like mad. Who knows if it's coincidence.
So for now, no surgery. Thank Heavens. Was not looking forward to that. And the not bathing thing for six weeks would probably kill her emotinally as she loves her daily bath.