my friend has a baby femal iguana it can't be more than 2months old. they have it in a 75g tank and it looks great the way it's set up. the thing is tho is that he got all of it as a gift. the former owner said that it broke one of its legs but it has healed beautifuly and you cant tell. but i went to go see it and i saw it was very thin and almost all of its fingers were crooked one was even bent totaly around. also its tail is extremely stiff. i told him to fix in some calicum with lettuce carrots and other vegetables. the iguana even seems to eat a little pinapple but it doesn't seem to be eating a lot at all. what should he do to make her get better? should he give it crickets or something?
did the owner bring the lizard to the vet? How was it broken? what is he being fed? what was he being fed? The animal SERIOUSLY needs to go to the vet. It also needs some Trex Iguana dust---and some serious dietary changes. What type of bulbs are they using? what are the temps/humidity? All these questions need to be answered. An iguana needs a balanced diet--complete with leafy greens, veggies and some fruit. I can get into more specifics later but for now I am curious to know the rest of the setup. (and no...do not feed animal protien)
i went with the kid and he picked up a UVB 100watt UVB (day glo)bulb with a heat rock and he got the Trex Iguana Dust as well. he doesn't know any information from the previous owner. the reason the previous owner gave it away was because he could not take care of it. right now the diet is romane lettuce/pinapples/carrots cut up fine and mixed together with baby food(spinach and carrot). it is a 75g tank he is in and all around the tank is a thick rope and she climbs on it. there is also a hide made from half of a gutted out log (that you can buy at petco) he is also giving it gatorade in a small bowl and water in a larger one. and it is eating a little of the food we mixed i will keep you guys posted on the outcome
The first and easiest change would be to return the bulb and buy a MVB immediately. This will greatly contribute to any lacking dietary or lighting problems in the past. Being the animal is so young lighting is crucial. A MVB will cost too much in a local petshop. Buy one from reptile direct online. This is the one thing you can do to change this animals's health for the better. Anything dietary can be fixed later. The dust will help alot with any diet deficiences. Mist some leaves lightly with water in a plastic zipock bag---sprinkle the dust onto the leaves and shake it---shake and bake style. They also sell the dust at Reptile Direct very chap...this where I get all my supplies. http://www.reptiledirect.com These two changes will be HUGE. Lighting first and foremost. A MVB will provide heat, proper UVB penetration and day cycle. At night a CHE or moonbulb is fine/ Give the animal a soaking bin with water enough to drink and soak changing water daily. Gatoraid is second to a good reptile electrolye solution that is adminsitered orally each day. This way you KNOW the animal is getting what it needs-----try this stuff: http://www.herpsupplies.com/cgi-bin/perlsh...ID=040606203621 Please let me know how the animal fairs
althought it has only been 4 days the iguana seems to be gaining more strength and eats on her own...also the tail isn't so stiff anymore and she looks like she is on her way to getting better.
he can't afford a vet. and his parents won't pay for it either. that's the only reason i asked what to do. the first thing i suggested to him was a vet, but the iguana seems to be doing fine now
This is going to probably sound insensitive, harsh, and horrible, but what the hell is he doing with an iguana if he can't afford one vet exam? Iguanas are very expensive and needy animals to care for, and any amount of research would have told him that. I am glad that the iguana is doing better now, but I still find it very irresponcible of your friend to have accuired an animal that they can not properly care for. I'm sorry to put it this way, but I really feel that if he can't afford to give his animal a vet exam, he shouldn't have him.
no i totally hear you there i told him the same thing. i was thinking about taking the iguana off of his hands but i have one of my own to take care of not to mention 3 other reptiles and 3 birds
yeah, the heat rock should be removed ASAP! Also, no crickets, no dog/cat food, and the UVB lamp would be fine, especially since he can't afford much for it right now. I'd keep it on him for aout 12 hours a day at this point. But be careful that the tank doesn't get too warm. One way we offer calcium supplement is to mix it in with some baby food (fruit of some kind; pears, peaches, bananas, even sweet potato) and put it on top of the greens. They should get a mix of greens; mustard, collard, turnip, dandelion. Lettuce has no nutritional value. And if I were going to use an electrolyte solution, I'd use Pedialyte, less sugar than gatorade.
