Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey my iguana has 2 equal size lumps at the base of his tale behind his vent. they are semi large, but not to large, and seem muscular in nature. he shows no signs of mbd (excpt 2 broken fingers that he had when we got him possibly?) and eats the approprite diet with some (but not to much) calcium and vitamen supplemnts. are the lumps a indacation of being sick or some disease, or are they normal???

it sounds like you are just looking at his hemipenes but i may be wrong. its kinda hard to tell without seeing it, do you have a picture?
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1.0.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 green iguana
0.0.1 black and gold tegu
1.0.0 knight anole
0.1.0 green anole
1.1.0 golden gecko
1.0.0 ball python
0.0.5 oriental firebellied toad
0.0.1 green treefrog
0.0.1 barking treefrog
0.0.1 cuban masked treefrog
0.0.1 gray treefrog
0.1.0 rat snake
0.1.0 eastern kingsnake

Um....tee hee. Sounds like you have a male to me. *grin* JN

He's a boy! Which may be the same thing, depending on your viewpoint.

I'm pretty willing to bet that what you are describing are developing male sex organs.

My iguana is an adult male. Here's a picture of his...uh... man bumps. Is this what your iguana looks like? Actually, in iguanas, these bumps are not testicles- they are "hemipenes"- that's right, TWO penises!

The spiky protrusions you see on his thighs are waxy hormone secretions, and the holes they are coming out of are called "femoral pores".

Iguanas develop these when they are reaching sexual maturity. They will grind these protrusions down over the course of the mating season by draging their back legs around to leave their the hormone-wax behind and mark their territory.

Please try to post a picture... that, or going to the vet, are the only ways to tell you if the bumps are normal or not.

Congratulations, it's a BOY!

yea im pritty shure hes a dude (by the femoral pore sizes or wahtever) but the lumps im refering to are on the other side of the vent at the very top of the underside of his tail, not on the belly portion. are those what u were talking about or were u talking about the bumps above the vent in ur picture. i wish i could take one to show but i dont got a digital cam...adivce would be really appreciated cus i dont wanna have to pay to go see a vet (me and my girlfinred are college students=pennyless lol)

Listen, no offense but I get really miffed when I hear people say "I don't want to pay to take my ig to the vet". You would take your kids to the doctor if you thought there was something wrong with them so why not your animal? Iguana's are expensive pets so it's best to be prepared for the occasional splurge at the vet's office. You should be having him checked every six months to a year anyway. They can get worms just like dogs and cats.
Sorry if you don't like my reply. I just have a real problem with people who don't take responsiblity for their animals. I'm not saying you are one of them, but there are a lot of irresponsible pet owners out there that just make my blood boil.
As far as the bumps go, it doesn't sound like anything serious. Are they actual bumps or is it the way the skin folds at the vent area? Do you have a friend that would be willing to help you post a picture? JN
PS..Kudos to you for being in college!!!