have a ten year old iguana and he had stopped eating and had not been as active as usual also he is bloated and gasy but he is still alert so I took him to the vet who checked him out for what seemed to be 5 min and I got a bill for $200 they gave me anti biotics and needles and did blood work when the vet got the results he realy couldn't tell me to much I feel like I am watching him starve to death he will still drink watter Thanks for taking the time to read this john
you are giving him the antibiotics, right? you should make sure he gets all of it. also, what are you feeding him? he should be getting about 75% greens (kale, turnip greens, collard greens, dandelion greens) and about 25% fruits and veggies (snow peas, melon, mango, papaya, kiwi, apple, squashes). do not feed spinach, romaine lettuce, or citrus fruits more than once a year. does he have a uv light over his cage? that is a neccessity. the gasiness, refusal to eat, and bloated appearance all sound exactly like our rescue iguana, quincy, when he had metabolic bone disease. they must have uv light AND the proper diet. i wish you the best of luck and please keep us updated on his condition! hope we can help you out!
thanks hummingbird I can't get any answers from any one. his diet was good up until he stopped eating he does have a UV light the vet said his calcium to phosperous ratio was ok it is frustrating he has clear symtoms but I can't get a good diagnosis. it kind of looks like he is biteing off the end of his tongue and I am still giving him the anti biotics. I am feeding him liquid drinks with protein?naked juice 5 fruit soy juice tkink that will help?
i would STOP giving him the protein - that's the last thing any ig needs. if he has kidney problems or mbd, that would only make it worse and if he does NOT have kidney problems/mbd he will have them very soon from even low amounts of protein. some people even feed their igs crickets and cat food and stuff - absolutely deadly. i really think he has metabolic bone disorder, although you say he had a good diet AND uv light. when i was caring for quincy, he showed the *exact* same symptoms and he had mbd. the gassiness, the bloating, the not-wanting-to-move, the sore tongue, the unwillingness to eat . . all JUST like quincy. is your ig having trouble moving/walking/climbing? does he tremble at all or seem weak? have bent legs or back? rubbery jaw? the fact that it looks like he is chewing the end of his tongue off is more than likely due to the fact that his jaws are becomming weak due to the mbd. quincy's did that. the jaw becomes weak and bends inward (it can be difficult to even notice) and thus the tongue is forced to stick out of the mouth a bit. this causes the end of the tongue to be red, a little swollen, dried out, and very sore. at this point, i would just try to get him to eat anything you can. you may even have to force feed him. with our rescue, quincy, i made collard green/turnip green/veggies baby food "milkshakes". i just ripped up about 2 cups each of turnip greens, collard greens, and kale and mixed in about 8 oz of yam or green beans or apple or mango babyfood. i also put in a couple teaspoons of powdered reptile vitamins and blended it all together really well in the blender. let it sit for awhile, though, cuz the blender will blend lots of air in there. keep it in the fridge, too. if you have a smoothie maker, use that instead - it doesn't mix in *nearly* as much air as a blender. i'd give him as much as he will NOT vomit back up as often as you can. feed him a little bit every few hours. he has to eat and this is a *very* nutritious and easy-to-force-feed food item. just use an eye dropper. BUT only force-feed him if you cannot get him to eat this "milkshake" on his own. also, if he is still gassy and bloated, try massaging his tummy. quincy got terribly bloated and i'd rub his tummy and he'd belch and pass gas (poop, too, sometimes - so do it above a towel) and 'deflate' and be fine for awhile, but then i'd have to massage/burp him again a few hours later. *definately* try massaging/burping him. quincy was small at the time, so since your guy is bigger you'll have to do it a bit differently, BUT i would use 2 fingers on quincy and rub fairly strongly down his tummy (from neck to vent). you may have to use four fingers with your guy. if your uv bulb is more than a year old *get a new one* and make sure it is no more than a foot away from the ig. you also should take him outside in the direct sunlight as much as you possibly can. this not only applies now when he's very sick, but when he's healthy as well . . . even if you DO have a uv bulb. when quincy was so sick, i sat out with him on a leash in the yard for 3 or 4 hours a day while i did my college work, read the newpaper, weeded the garden, worked on my tan, etc. they will gape (leave their mouths open) an sort of pant when theyare over-heated like a dog. if he does this, just put him in the shade for a few minutes - then right back into the sun he goes! i nursed quincy back to health and he had the *exact* symptoms your ig has. i can't say for certain that yours has mbd, but boy it sound like it. quincy is happy and healthy now after a few months of tender loving care and i will be more than glad to help you get your guy back to normal, too. please stay in touch! :wink:
hey john - i was just checking on you. how are you coming along with the suggestions i made yesterday when we chatted? how's your iguana doing? keep me updated and keep asking questions - we can live chat again any time you want!
iguana report hi HB well i'v got him eating the stuff he was not that bloated this morning i don't know if thats good or bad? he is still alert I was thinking about taking him to a different vet for a second opinion unfourtunaly this could not have happened at a worse time i am out of a job and had to borrow money to bring him to the vet the first time. I have been taking him outside every day that seems to help well we will see how he dose ps that stuff tase prety good I am going to make some for myself with out the calcium
hey i changed my avatar to the drunk mouse - sorry! i'll bring the dancing banana back some time - i promise! it IS good if your iguana is not bloated as much anymore. keep massaging him until you're sure he won't get bloated anymore. if you do not go to another vet now, when the iguana gets better, i'd certainly look into a better veterinarian for him then. like i said, i am 99% sure this is metabolic bone disorder and to 'cure' that you must give them all the natural sunlight you can (AND a good uv bulb), make sure they eat a good diet (refer to the list i gave you in one of my previous posts), get reptile vitamins occasionally (most of the time right now, though), and try to excersize his limbs and massage his tummy. give him a few weeks of this and he should improve. even after he shows signs on improving - CONTINUE ALL THESE THINGS! as he gets better you will want to try to get him to eat on his own again, though. you will also want to slowly get him back to a once-a-week reptile vitamin dose. but even after he's all better, you must always keep up the uv bulb (replace them every 10 to 12 months even if they are still lighting up), give him as much natural sunlight as you can, make sure he gets plenty of climbing space, and feed him the right diet. keep me update . . . please!! p.s. is he eating the 'greens and vitamins milkshake' all by himself or are you force feeding it to him? if he's eating it by himself, i'd start trying to hand feed him some tiny shredded peices of collard greens, turnip greens, and kale along with some tiny peices of mango, papaya, apple, and berries.
