I am posting this message to hopefully save the lives of other iguanas
Repti-Bark can be deadly to your iguana if ingested!!!
Fluffy is my beloved 5 year old, 4ft male iguana
When I last visited my vet a few moths ago she advised me to purchase repti-bark to help with the humidity level in Fluffy's home. I was a little conserned about him eating it, but the vet thought it would be OK, so I used it.
Last Friday my iguana stopped eating and pooping and was extremely aggressive when I touched his belly. I Rushed him to the vet in which they Xray'd him and determined there was a blockage in the intestines. He was in surgery within 24 hrs. Once they opened his intestines they found the culprit, a piece of repti-bark! Skin in the intestine started growing over it causing an infection.
This bacteria is belived to have cause a rare form of nephritis in my reptile which in turn causes the tissue of his kidneys to swell and further block the intestinal track.
I am happy to say that after 7 days of hospitalization and a $1700 vet bill, my Fluffy is home with me. We are still crossing our fingers and hoping for survival
Oh, and just incase the size of the vet bill doesn't scare you let me walk you through my daily routine!
6am - Force feed liquid Phosphorus binders/stomach calming medicine
let me tell you this is no easy task, my fluffy is on big, very angry, tearing, shredding, biting, swating hissing machine
6:30am - Force feed Breakfast - Baby Iguana mush
This stuff smells really bad too. Poor fluffy, guess it serves me right when I get bit!
2pm - Force feed antibiotics, baby iguana mush and a little water
6:30pm - force feed phosphorus binder/stomach calming meds
7pm - force feed baby iguana mush again and some water
8pm - 6am - worry endlessly that my fluffy has stopped breathing and I will wake up to find his lifeless body
And thats the easy part
I find myself constantly checking the inside of his mouth to see how moist it is, checking temperature and humidity (sometimes every 20 mintutes). I am also a nearvous wreck until late afternoon when he finally decides too poop, its OK if he just pood on my sofa, and if it doesn't look normal to me I'm on the phone leaving another message with the vet!
Oh and we run out of meds at the end of the week, which means back to the vet for more antibiotices, phosphorus binders, fluid injections, a general check up and removal of stitches from surgery.
That should be a hefty bill!!
So PLEASE NEVER, EVER purchase this stuff or anything similar to it!!
I'm now a huge fan of paper and removable/washable trays
PS free roaming of you iguana is just as dangerous!
