Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hey everyone! I finally got some good pics of my ig Randi from my neighbor, whose camera is WAY better than mine I'm concerned about Randi's health and wanted to know if anyone had suggestions for further care? You can see in the pics that his spikes are half the length they should be. 2 sheds ago, even after all the skin came off, the tops of the spikes just shriveled and fell off, and though I researched the problem in hopes of finding a solution in time, there was nothing on it, not even in Hatfield's humungo book. Needless to say, it REALLY pissed me off because I take pride in my care of Randi. Fresh collard, etc. salads daily with correct Ca/P ratio, big cages (indoor 200 gallon reptarium/free roam, outside 4'x4'x6' enclosure), correct lighting and/or natural sunlight. Right now he's 2.5 years old, 12" SVL, sunbathing outside and turning orange, but I'm still worried and paranoid. Any comments/suggestions? -Kez

Are you sure Randi is a male? Looks just like my two females Liz and Zig...and as for the spikes, humidity problems sometimes have a lot to do with it...good luck...Lyn

Couple thoughts:

1) It could have something to do with humidity. A mesh cage can't hold humidity too well. As you add heat the air gets dryer, plus you have to use higher wattage to heat up a screen cage. Higher wattage lamps = more heat produced = faster drying.

2) It could be a burn. That's my guess, based on the fact that the damaged spikes are only on his neck/back area, and look normal over the hips and tail. That's exactly where they would be burned if he was basking. What are the cage temps, basking spot temps, basking temps at the top of his back? How big is the basking spot, and how far away are the lights from him? I babysat an iguana that had been burned in a very similar manner. The cage was cold, the basking area too small and heat too localised. The spikes were noticeably short even though several years passed since it had happened.

The occurance with his spikes occured while indoors inside of his repatrium. The basking spot is a ledge large enough for him to stretch out on and his 100Watt lamp is 1'2" foot away. I also thought about humidity problems but I spray him a lot with water whenever he is outside or it is hot. The spikes on his tail seem to shed much later than the spikes on his neck/back, so I don't believe it was a burn or all of his spikes would be like that. Do you think maybe dehydration? Randi will not drink standing water so I saturate his food with extra water. I tried to get him to drink with a syringe-thingy, but now I'm afraid that'll damage his dewlap because he resists so hard. Also, I'm pretty sure he is a male, because not only is he turning orange on his face/legs/feet, but he has jowls and a VERY large dewlap. If he's not a guy, he is one very masculine girl ;P -Kez

While the orange color and size of dewlap mean nothing in ig sexing, I will believe that this is a male.

The jowels are hard to see in these pictures, but I can make out another male characteristic of the large head "bumps" quite clearly.
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Craig Loose
The Blue Tongue Pages

I am still thinking it'a a burn, or maybe combination of heat and drying... Why do you think all of his spikes would be like that if they got burned? A burn would be localised over the part of the ig that is getting the highest temps from the lamp - I am looking at your photo, and I see that the spikes from the neck to about 2/3 down the back are short and have blunt whitish tips that look like healed burns. Further down the back and tail the spikes look longer, with intact tips. That's almost identical to the spikes on the ig with old burns that I babysat.

I'm posting a pic - not very good quality, but you can see the kind of damage I'm talking about. These are confirmed burns. I was told these had happened 4 years earlier...

Double check the basking temps, see the temp difference in various areas of the basking ledge and about 8" away from the bulb where his spikes would be. I am guessing, since you mentioned ONE 100W bulb, that the hot temps are concentrated over a certain area, and the entire ledge is not at the same even temperature.

I could be wrong of course... If the spikes over the hips and tail turn out exactly the same as the back ones with the next shed (I'm assuming that's what you mean by "they tend to shed later", then it's unlikely to be burns.

I think if the air was too dry, all the spikes would be affected. They tend to dry and split at the tips, and have stuck sheds on them from lack of humidity. A long daily soak in the tub is the best thing I know of to help with drying.

As far as sex, I'm not going to guess since I see features of both. What do the femoral pores look like? Any bulges under the tail or seminal plugs?

Yeah, you gotta be right. I guess they are burns, though I still find the fact hard to accept. Bah! It was just so weird becuase the spikes shed fine and naturally, but they were soft underneath, as if only partly formed. Hmmm, he just got a new cage, I'll be sure to spread the heat out, thanks all! -Kez