well i just spoke with him, im going to take him to petsmart on wednesday hopefully and get some stuff he absolutely needs for the cage. i already bought him calcium with D3 (can ig's cause a buildup of D3 like leo's can? does he need pure calcium as well?) and reptile vitamins. im pressuring him to buy a fluorescent fixture, a UVB reptiglo bulb, a light fixture, and some sort of basking lamp. what sort of bulb should he use for a basking lamp?
you can buy a "basking light" at petsmart as well and as for vitamins and calcium i give my ig both kinds of supplent one is vitamins with d3 the other is just calcium and im suprised as hell that he has no UVB and NO kind of basking light what is he trying to kill the ig? he;ll be lucky if this ig doesnt develop or hasnt already developed MBD but kudos to you! he consider a new pet maybe a worm?
he wont consider a new pet...atleast not yet. im working on it. he was told by the petstore employee that he didnt need any sort of lighting. this same guy says he "keeps" iguanas, and showed my roomies pictures...so now he believes everything he said, even though he KNOWS that i've been doing herp research for 3 weeks straight or so.
first rule of herp care NEVER listen to the people at the pet store because 9 times out of 10 they have no idea what they are talking about and in this case this idiot has no idea what hes talking about tell your friend if he doesnt get these lights then be prepared for very expensive vet bills when the ig gets metabolic bone disease im sorry but your friend is a moron especially if he knows you've been doing research and still fails to listen to you ps what pet store is this, is there a number? i would love to contact them and talk to this guy hes endangering other animals by giving it this false info
its a petco in port charlotte florida. he actually went home tonight to take it back (30 day refund kind of thing), because he came to his senses. he called back, and the person he spoke with was actually quite angry that he was given such bad advice..he was trying to find out who told him that. was this an act? who knows, but atleast its going back..poor little guy.
Petco specializes in selling small/exotic creatures and fails to properly school thier employees. I am forever schooling our local Petco's 'reptile specialist' on proper lighting, substrate, food types and whatnot. I am fighting a losing battle but I wont give up! Lisa
All you can really do is feel sorry for the poor iggy and his ignorant owner. If he refuses to do anything it's a shame, but he won't be the first, trust me
feeling sorry is the 'least' I could do. Im the local petstore Harpee who wont stop parroting the right way to care for thier exotics. If all we did was feel sorry for this Ig he would still be suffering. Instead we harped and lectured and advised...it isnt the first Ig I have helped save, and it wont be the last. Love your picture window, btw LOL Lisa
seems pretty damn patriotic to me? if you dont want it to be patriotic, dont call it an ass whooping.
i would try to con the guy out of the iggy try buying it from him... something that is horrible... i dont know good luck though
First of all I'm just giving you information...trying to help the iggie... If someone doesn't get this iguana a UVB light and feed it more than just lettuce, it will get MBD...if it hasn't already got it. MBD causes not only deformities, but can result in broken bones and organ damage if it gets bad enough. This site has some pictures of what MBD can cause... http://www.greenigsociety.org/mbd.htm Vitamin D3 produced from exposure to UVB light either from a UVB bulb or the sunlight is needed for the iggie to be able to use the calcium it gets in its diet to build strong bones and for other body functions. The light cannot pass through glass or plastic or the UVB will be no good. Calcium/phosphorous ratios should be 2:l. Vitamin D3 from supplements can build up in the system, but D3 produced by exposure to UVB usually can't. Vitamin A from beta carotene sources doen's build up in the system, but preformed vitamin A can. Calcium absorption is reliant on D3 being present. Calcium is much harder to overdose than D3 or vitamin A. Calcium, phosphorous, vitamin D3 and vitamin A are some of the main players in bone health. They need to be in balance. Keeping the iggie at the appropriate temperature is important too...it aids in digestion which helps absorption too. ludothegread gave you a good list of veggies and fruits and greens that an iguana should have.
