#107318

 Dead Toe

Hi Has anyone had any experience with dead toes? I have had a couple Iguanas and a lot of reptiles over the years but this one is new to me. I rescued a larger hatchling green iguana (aprox 7-9 months) yesterday whose owner was just going to "let it go" in the desert. After a nice long bath I was able to give him a looking over and noticed one of his front toes looks like it had a shed ring get stuck at one time and the last 1/3 of the toe is hard black and apperently dead. I called a couple vets here but there are not really any reptile specialists and they had no sugestions other than completely knocking the little guy out and amputating the toe. I am concerned though that he is still too weak for general anestesia having been dehydrated and starving when I got him and wondered if such an invasive proceedure is the normal or if these types of shed ring problems with toes just eventually fall off on their own without complications (sort of like when you castrate a goat or sheep using elastic bands and the "dead" part just dries up and falls off in a couple weeks with no harm to the animal) It does not seem to be causing him any discomfort and I am afraid that the vet may do more harm than good in this case. Has anyone had a similar experience that can point me in the right dirrection? Thanks

 #107339

 Dead Toe

the only thing the vet can do really is just take it off...my cousin aka little iggy’ had two dead toes..the cause no discomfort but watch for diseases...~|M|~

 #107371

 Dead Toe

It sounds like dry gangrene...might need to be amputated. You can wait and see, but if it spreads, he’ll lost his foot or even more.

 #107442

 Dead Toe

Of course, you’ll kick yourself if you don’t take him to a vet and then there are problems, but my ig had a "black ring" walling off her broken toe from the rest of her foot, and my vet put me through hades trying to decide whether to amputate or not. I think she was planning on it....I actually had The Captain dropped off there to prepare for surgery...and then got too busy. I really do suspect that. Because I dropped her off at 10 AM, and she called at 4:30, saying she "thinks he’s OK, and it doesn’t look like it’s bothering him". Long story short, his toe’s still OK, but I got another vet. Any info on how long he’s been this way?

 #108232

 Dead Toe

That’s the thing...it is always hard to know. Sometimes the bad part will just fall off....and sometimes it will spread. It’s a judgment call.