Reptile & Amphibian Forums

in addition to my 2.5 year old ig,zephyr, that i have had since she was a baby, i adopted another iguana from some friends of mine. his name is liz(yes, HIS name is liz.)and i have had him for a little over a month now. when i got him he was in pretty good shape but had major damage on his head from fleas eating at him in there house and he has very bad rostral abrasion(it is pretty healed up but there is significant damage to his upper jaw, you can see his two front teeth when his mouth is closed.) but that isnt the problem at hand. i got his head entirely healed up too. ok, anyway, they had a large custom built cage for him but i wasnt able to pick it up right away, between my work schedule and theres. when i took him from their house i had a wire chinchilla cage(yes i know its too small) to temporarilly keep him in. well, i finally got his cage yesterday and as i was fixing it up he got the end of his toe(the very long one on his back right side) caught in the space were the door closes in his temp cage. he freaked out when he thought he was stuck and ripped the entire nail and about an 1/8 inch of the toe completely off. there is some slight exposed tissue and it bled for a very long time. i immediately threw him in the bath to clean it out then i tried to use cornstarch to stop the bleeding (it didnt) so i dried to bandage it with guaze and medical tape but it wouldnt stay on. it has stopped bleeding now and it doesnt seem to bother him but what would you guys reccomend?that whole toe is technically useless now. should i just keep it clean until it heals? sorry about the long post but i really need your suggestions. btw, the only vet that will look at iguanas is over an hour away from me and i am in the middle of trying to get a car so i have no way there. otherwise, i would have taking him last night. not to mention they probably wouldnt be able to do too much anyway. thanks for all your help.
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"it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
1.0.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 green iguana
0.0.1 columbian tegu(for sale)
0.1.0 knight anole(looking for male)
0.1.0 green anole
0.1.0 asian longtail grass lizard
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 gulf hammock rat snake
0.1.0 eastern kingsnake
0.1.0 siberian husky

When an Ig loses a toe-nail it can be such a traumatic event for the owner! Believe me, I've experienced the same thing along with, I'm sure, several other Ig owners.
Unfortunately there is not much a Vet would do for him anyway, kinda like when we break a toe or a finger and they just wrap or splint it for a few days to a week. The main thing is to keep the toe clean and use and antibacterial ointment on it until it heals. Keep an eye out for infection. If it makes you feel any better, my 8 year old is missing two nails. *sad face* JN

i kno what you mean about, for the owner. it didnt seem like it bothered him at all and i was freaking out cuz it looked soo painful. i figured a vet wouldnt be able to do anything but i was sure. right now i am washing it off with water, then peroxide then i put neosporin on it. it is already looking a lot better than yesterday. the toe doesnt really serve a purpose now does it?
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"it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
1.0.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 green iguana
0.0.1 columbian tegu(for sale)
0.1.0 knight anole(looking for male)
0.1.0 green anole
0.1.0 asian longtail grass lizard
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 gulf hammock rat snake
0.1.0 eastern kingsnake
0.1.0 siberian husky

Sure it does. At least he still has five digits. *grin*
Seriously, it's not uncommon for our rescue to bring in igs that have several broken digits and missing nails. It is heartbreaking but at least it's not life threatening. JN

thanks for all the help.
-----
"it is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and remove all doubt"
1.0.0 bearded dragon
1.1.0 green iguana
0.0.1 columbian tegu(for sale)
0.1.0 knight anole(looking for male)
0.1.0 green anole
0.1.0 asian longtail grass lizard
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 gulf hammock rat snake
0.1.0 eastern kingsnake
0.1.0 siberian husky