Reptile & Amphibian Forums

A lady and her sister got this iguana a couple of years ago and her son who was 18 at the time wanted it as a pet. She gave it to him and this year she thought iguana died. She was going to throw it away and realized it was still alive but couldn't lift its head. Her son had loss interest and quit caring for it. She had to forcefeed it. It regained some of its color.

Now another lady told her I like lizards and she realized I would be more dedicated to caring for it so voila its mine.

It's so thin. I can feel all its bones. Some fins look in disrepair like they might fall off. It's lost some claws. She said when she washed it its tail made a crackly noise and frightened her, so she said not to touch the tail.

I have it in the bathroom right now and its heated up. I gave it a warm bath and it drank water. No swimming around though. I made a puree of collard greens and carrots for its meal today. It looks like she was feeding it regular lettuce and maybe some rabbit pellets.

Its out of the budget to bring it to a vet, which herp vets are 4 hours away.

Any suggestions...

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-Nicole

2.1.0 collared lizards
2.0.0 side-blotched lizards
1.0.0 desert tarantula
small tropical fishes

I forgot to tell you I put Rep-Cal and Herptivite in his vege puree

I read the Care sheet/FAQ here on Kingsnake.

Then I decided to give him a bite of banana and applesauce.

He is very weakly and not excited about eating. He spit 2nd half of banana bite out.

I don't know if he'll make it right now, but I want him to be happy
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-Nicole

2.1.0 collared lizards
2.0.0 side-blotched lizards
1.0.0 desert tarantula
small tropical fishes

Poor little thing. I absolutely cannot imagine doing that to any living thing. That's aweful.

Good luck with him. I hope that you can bring him back to health. If not, at least he will be happy and comfortable his last days.
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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!

Get it outside so it can have some UVB! It will do wonders for him. Without UVB he wont get anybetter. Since it has began to warm up you can sit outside with him. I dont think he is going to run away or anything.

Also get it to a vet!!! The vet can give it some doses of calcium which may stimulate it to eat. But It will certainly aide it in its struggle to regain its health..

I am enclosing a sheet from the Green Ig Society that tells you what is good for them and what should be fed on occasion. You may also want to check out the Green Ig Message board. Post for DARRY. She will be able to help you rehab this ig. Be sure to give her all the details you can. The message board is GREAT!!!

Best Of Luck,
Heather
GREEN IG FOOD CHART

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1.0.1 Green Iguana Andy and Vernie
0.2.0 Cats April and Sugar
1.0.0 German Shepard Dog Router
0.0.50 Fish
And lots of rescues waiting to find homes...

Hydration is even more important for that iguana right now than food. If you can possibly get it to a local vet for some subq fluids that will help alot. Any vet can administer subq fluids and maybe show you how to do it at home. Also ask if they have some Critical Care diet available. I would continue to try feeding it a slurry of pureed foods (with Critical Care, if you can get it) but be very careful that the animal does not aspirate food into the lungs.

We've been fortunate enough to bring a few back that seemed hopeless. We've also lost a few. This particular female took about 10 months to finally look healthy and carrying good weight. In her 15th month with us she laid 32 eggs.

Well, just wanted to say i hope he comes out well. I recently lose an iguana I was trying to help out from an owner that didn't properly take care of it. He passed away. I hope you can help that little guy out. Just a few days ago I took in another ig, a female. I think she might be gravid but is skinny and malnurished. I can tell she hasn't had much food lately. I had to put her in the tub for 3 hours today just to get her to poopey cause i think she was constipated. Just do whatever ya can for the guy, that's what I did. I just hope he enjoyed a little bit of his short life. Good-luck.

Justin
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1.0 Savannah Monitor - Artimus
1.0 Emerald Swift - Jesus
1.1 Green Iguana - King Arthur, Lady Guenivere
1.0 Basilisk - Adam
2.2 Cats - Psycho(radiation), Moses, Satan, Bandy.
3.3 Dogs - Romeo, Juliet, Falon, Baby Girl, Scooter, Really Old Man!
0.3 feeder mice They aren't reproducing, just running up my food cost!

There may be someone on the forum here that is close and
could take this ig in. If you were close to me I certainly would. I have experienced this with my rescue.
Buy some Ensure from the store, add equal amounts of water and
gently syringe feed her.Add crushed Tums (fruit flavored) and get her into the sun. Don't let her get overheated if she
cannot move around.

What a sad looking ig

Linda

I wish you the best of luck with your rescue ig. Rescuing reptiles is a difficult task, although the rewards are countless.

If it were me i would...

Take her to a qualified herp vet and set up a game plan with them. At least get some fluids into her. If there is no herp vet a regular vet can administer subQ fluids, and show you how to do it at home, it really isn't difficult. I would also bring a fresh fecal sample with me, if you can get one, to have an analysis run. A vet that doesn't deal with exotics can call a vet that does for consultation or can call the exotics programs at many universities, Tufts is one that my clinic works with regularly. The critial care that someone mentioned above is great stuff as well.

Continue giving fluids and slurries. Make sure to be careful of her mouth and use a needleless syringe with a tube attached to the end so you do not damage her jaw. Include lots of calcium and D3.

Lots of UVB light! If its warm enough where you are to take her outside that will be the best method. If not get a really good UVB light from a pet store and use that.

Don't give up on her, hopefully she will pull through...
~mim
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican kingsnake
1.0.2 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Rose Hair Tarantula
1.0 BTS
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats