Reptile & Amphibian Forums

i got my rhino at an expo show the other day and i dont know if hes ill or just a lazy fat boy. I have two regular iguanas and have grown use to caring for them, but this rhino even with research i still know little about their personality. The first day i got him he was hissing at everything so i pushed his head down to the floor gently and sat their for an hour calming him down.

The next day he was completely calm and not hissing anymore and wouldnt run either! he tends to hide during the day under branches and i dont know if rhino iguanas close their eyes, but ive never seen this little fella do it??

something weird happened to him today though i picked him up and he freaked out and i think his lungs went into what little dewlap he has. i opened his mouth to see what was in there and it was a giant air filled sac blocking the entrance to his throat. Im kinda worried that he threw up his lung into a unfortunate place.

one last thing, my baby red iguana that i got decided to take a flying leap off his cage shelf and slammed into a branch, I think his jaw is busted! I made an appoitment friday with my vet, but if anyone can give me some advice i would be very grateful.

Your rhino needs help! Advice? Its you not it. You are scary the hell out of him. He is brand new, new environment. Give your rhino a chance to settle in. you shouldnt do anything but put food in for a week. I dont know where you got the "push his head down technique", thats just nonsense. He is acting just like he should be. you need to relax and give him time.
If he threw up a lung he would be dead. Dont open his mouth either. You have him so freaked out. All you are doing is compromising his health and creating a bad relationship with your cyclura.
your other iguana should not be breaking anything with a jump like that. I would rethink your husbandry

jf

well took little rhino and little red to the vet and rhino apparently had a malformity in his lung and little red had a broken jaw due to calcium deficency. Three days of having them from the anahiem expo show and i get the two iggys with health problems. Ive already started them both on calcium powder and a vet medication for little rhino. They should be back up to speed in a couple weeks but thanks for questioning caring of my iggs

I'M IN TOTAL AGREEMENT WITH THE OTHER POSTER. WHAT YOU ARE DOING IS NOT GOOD HUSBANDRY BUT IS HARMFUL. PLEASE DON'T FORCE YOURSELF ON YOUR LIZARDS. CHECK MY WEBSITE IF YOU THINK I'M JUST ANOTHER FORUM EXPERT....
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Tom Crutchfield
www.tomcrutchfield.com

Wow. This is a crazy post.

I'm glad you got him vet. attention. Rhinos are ALOT different than green iguanas and "holding them down" doesnt calm them down at all.

Frankly, I've had my rhino since a hatchling and I have utilized a warm bath to calm her down. Also, I leave her alone if she wants to be alone.

Rhinos are alot more "vocal" with communication by "hissing" and bobbing with open mouths. Very open mouthed animals. So you have to let them do what they are naturally going to do.

It takes years (mine is 5 and she is still fussy) to get them to be like green iguana blobs. They are smarter than greens.

Check out the cyclura fourm for info

How's the Rhino iguana doing?

Edited on August 7, 2011 at 08:06:46 by PHFaust.