Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Does it take a while for them to work on Reptiles . It only been 5 days of the 14 day supply and i was hoping that he would show some sign of improvement . In his indoor cage he just hides , does not move to eat or get on to his basking area . I have to put him there and as soon as he gets warm he starts shaking his hed or when he TRIES to eat . He's on 0.18 mls of Baytril ( antibiotic ) and 2.0 mls of Metacam ( anti-inflamtory/pain ) he had no sign of infection that she(vet) could see .

this is what happens when he tries to eat or lower his or it get worse whe gets warm .She said he could have Vertigo !!

http://www.youtube.com/user/rgkempton#p/u/14/Hm42ltL_pfM

here is what the vet e-miled me today .

''As long as he is eating at least a couple bites a day, we are ok. The
primary indicator of medical condition in reptiles that are otherwise ABLE
to eat is willingness to eat. If he flat-out refuses food for more than
72 hours, we need to intervene at that point. If you feel that he is uncomfortable enough that his feeding response may shut down, we can add some narcotic pain meds into the mix, and I can work up a dose for any vet up there who would be willing to dispense them to you. Bear in mind that these drugs are somewhat sedating, and that could cause him not to eat, but you can play with dose, and sometimes just taking the edge off the discomfort makes everything better.''

Hello Robert,

What I’m about to say below is to be taken as additional information. I am not a vet but have had years of experience with iguanids. I’ve been reading your posts and looking at your videos. I understand your frustration and compulsion to do more and more to make sure that he pulls through whatever is wrong but I cannot stress the fact that we sometimes do more harm with “care” than if we just left the animal alone and let nature take its course. I have dealt with thousands of lizards and iguanas to date and have seen my share of sick animals. Cycluras are built tough! They live in harsh environments and endure those elements. In my opinion, if they are unable to find an infection, your iguana may have a neurological problem which the current meds you are applying are not will not cure. I have seen iguanas that start as if they have something in one ear and kind of lean their heads towards it. If they are stressed into a fright and flight situation, they start spinning sort of like an alligator’s death role which looks like convulsions. I have seen iguanas survive this and live with this problem, such as people with Tourette syndrome.

I see that your iguana is agile (able to pick himself up and move efficiently) and has a thick tail which means it’s got a lot of reserves to keep him going. If he retreats to his hiding place then let him be. He needs rest when he feels he needs it.

I do not agree with your vet’s recommendation about intervening after 72 hours of refusing to feed. I would bump that number up to 120 hours(five Days.)and would not intervene with additional drugs. Iguanas can go for weeks without eating. The only thing that is a must is hydration.

In my years of experience, I have always found that direct, unfiltered sunlight is a critical part of an iguana’s essential needs when recovering from an ailment in the wild. I don’t know where you live, but I’m pretty sure that there is plenty of sun in your neck of the woods. My recommendation is to (if you don’t have a wire cage) buy a Rubbermaid tub, put some builders mesh on top of it and place him outside in a sunny spot. You’ll need to monitor him so he doesn’t overheat but I doubt that will happen. Make sure he is able to lay right in the sunlight. You may need to tilt the tub towards the sun since the walls may cast a shadow. Do this as much as you can.

If he is not demonstrating desires to feed on what you regularly feed him, offer him stuff that he will not refuse to eat such as crickets, pinkie mice, bright colored flowers(red Hybiscuss) fruits/veggies such as grapes or grated carrots.

I hope this helps,

Manny

I made him a small outdoor enclosure a few days ago with shade . he's seems to love it but a little nervous from the new things he's seeing and hearing . I check his body temps with a infrared temp gun . One time he was streched out and sunning himself and he was almost black 118 deg and loving it .

I was in his room watching him eat when this whole episode started . all was well whe he lowered his head for a another bite and he then started shaking his head violently then scratching at his right ear area . 95% of the time when this happens he scratches at his right ear . She found blood in his right ear cannal when she flushed it , so something going on in there . When i had vertigo i did not have a ear infection but had a runny nose and just recovered from the flue and it came on the same way . But i was fly fishing , standing in the middle of a river fishing for stealhead , a bold eagle flew over and i looked up . Then all hell broke loose . How i got out of the river without drowning is beyound me . My rhino had had a ( clear )runny nose for week and had no other signs of problems . his runny nose stoped when i raised his temps and lowered his humidity justa tad . then this happended . so ??

are you sure he is scratching at his ear and not his nose? I would think it would be the same motion?

yes hes'cratching at ear area .

picked up some grapes , banana , red bell peper . he ate some betwen shaking his head . not much but something . He could not resist these . Had a stool culture done , smear and float all was well .

It's like a SOAP. I'm betting he pulls through, Baytril works well on a lot of infections. I'm now guessing it is his ear and it probably will take a while to clear out. Be patient. KB

He has a open sore somewhere in his right ear for sure , as blood came out when the vet flushed it . It was draining all the way down his chin . I agree with you and taking him off meds with a sore in his ear would be stupid IMO . I also took hinm to another vet yesterday for a 2nd opinion . He agreed with the first vet , the ear needed scoping , drained and flushed . BUT he said the first vet should have done a float culture not smear, floats show more.