#17101

 Need Help BAD!

I have had my lizzard for 6 years now. She has always been happy and healthy up until about 3 weeks ago. It started when I was cleaning behind her cage and she was sitting in my bed room window. I noticed that her tail was twitching. I thought that perhaps I had bumped it with the cage or something. This was the only time I had seen anything like this with her. Well then she stopped eating. Now, this did happen before and I would force feed her. What I ended up finding was an egg on my bedroom pillow....cute huh? I thought so. She ended up laying 24 eggs that day. So anyways, I just figured that maybe she was working on my Christmas present again (that’s about when she layed them last time and that must of been about a two or three years ago). Well, I got her into the bath last week and she drank and drank and drank. When I feed her, I always toss something in her salad that is high in liquid. I should mention that she has never really been a thirsty lizzard. Never drank out of her jug or the tub. I thought that she was getting all she needed from her salad. Before she was finished with her bath she went to the bathroom. She hadn’t gone for a while so I was really relieved. BUT, it was really yellowy orange with not a lot of poop. I thought that maybe she was reabsorbing her eggs or something. When I got her back to her cage she started to throw up (not alot) and it was kinda foamy. I figured that she drank to much (she hasn’t done that since). Since that time I have been force feeding here food as well as using a syringe and giving her pedialight (?) and also a mixture of a crushed multi vitamin mixted with warm water. The newest things I discovered were, two days ago, I saw that the tip of her tail was really nobby. I figured that it was old shed. When I went to peel off the old shed, the tip popped off. I’m talking a really tiny piece...no worry. Well now today I noticed that about 4 inches is really boney/lumpy and appearing dead. I have also noticed that the fleshy part of her tail is kinda lumpy as well and I thought that this was because she wasn’t eating....look the same when she was working on eggs. After her bath tonight, I saw that her left hand is swollen as well as her knees. She also appears to have a lump below her right shoulder. Any advice any of you could give would be so appreciated! I feel so awful. My husband and I just adopted two boys this year and I feel like I have abandoned my first baby......I just can’t tell you how bad I feel for her. I love her sooooo much, I would do anything to make her better. Well I await your replies. Wendy

 #17102

 Need Help BAD!

That doesn’t sound too good. I think I would get her to a vet as soon as possible. It almost sounds a bit like MBD or something. Best bet is take her to a vet that deals with reptiles and get her checked out before it becomes too late. What has her diet consisted of? And does she have a uvb light? PE

 #17103

 Need Help BAD!

Im sorry about your baby being sick!!!! I think you should take her to the vet right away!!!!! Hope she gets better!!!!!!

 #17107

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Various greens and veggies. Man, I am not going to be able to get her to the vet until like next week. She seems to be a lot more alert. Geez, I just don’t know what to do......

 #17108

 Need Help BAD!

I do think tho that it is the light thing. She hasn’t had one for a few weeks. Tomorrow I am gonna go get one. Do you have any suggestions as to what I can do in for the time being?

 #17109

 Need Help BAD!

Yeah, I am gonna get her in as soon as possible. Thanks for your quick reply.

 #17112

 Need Help BAD!

Wendy, The problems with iguanas is that when they get sick they can go suddenly. The uvb light missing for a couple of weeks is not going to cause this. This is probably something that has been building up. Thats why I was asking what its diet consisted of. Plus if your iguana was getting enough calcium. You didn’t specify the actual leaves used in the diet. I strongly recommend using collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens, chicory, and some butternut squash. No romaine or green leaf lettuce. Do you use a calcium powder? For a uvb bulb I would recommend a mercury vapor bulb such as zoo med’s power sun or T-rex UV Active bulbs. They are a bit more pricey then the florescent but I think they work much better. I would definately get it too a vet asap. keep us updated on her condition. PE

 #17115

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Hey, you know what? I give her a varity of greens, but I have to say that the majority is romaine. Mainly because that’s what our store mostly carries. I really think that is the problem. I agree with the bulb also. So if she had MBD, what are the chances of her getting better? Like I was saying before, I am not having any problems getting food and liquids into her with a syringe. What do you think? I was looking on another website and they said that the vet would inject calcium. What if I crushed a calcium tablet in water? What are your thoughts on kidney disease? Could this be a problem?

 #17118

 Need Help BAD!

If it is a calcium problem the vet would need to inject the calcium. I don’t know how good of an idea it would be to give her calcium orally. It could also be kidney problems...thats why you need to take her to a vet, because nobody can really tell you what is wrong with your iguana without being properly trained and being able to see it. I’m just throwing ideas at you. You really should see about getting an emergency appointment tomorrow. Even if you have to drop her off there and pick her up later. If she does have any problems the sooner it gets resolved the better chance she will have. PE

 #17124

 Need Help BAD!

The fact that she was gravid recently could cause MBD or dehydration issues, or a combination of both. Kidney disease can be triggered by dehyration or even from high hormone levels so that’s a possibility too. Getting her to a vet to have bloodwork done can let you know exactly what is going on and the injections she would need to correct any imbalances. Definitely try giving her a lot of calcium-rich greens, extra bathing time and calcium supplements while you are waiting to get into the vet but try not to go overboard with calcium until you know for sure it’s what she needs. If it is kidney problems or dehydration a sudden increase in dietary calcium can just end up calcifying the kidneys. So just use a tiny pinch of calcium powder and not a heavy dusting. Good luck and please let us know how she’s making out.

 #17151

 Need Help BAD!

I would get her to a vet ASAP! This is an emergency. Her lack of a UV light and romaine diet mixed with laying eggs is a bad combo. And, she may have also had an egg rupture inside her. She needs immediate vet care. Good luck and keep us posted.

 #17155

 Need Help BAD!

Thanks, for all of your suggestions. I can’t tell you how relieved I am to find a resource. I am going into town to check out vets. We have a new pet store that just opened this week and I think that they may have some ideas or know where I can take her. Last night I got zero sleep, tossing and turning thinking about her and how all the signs were there. I will let you know how everything turns out. Thanks again.

 #17156

 Need Help BAD!

pet stores know nothing and will try and sell u useless things the vet is the best chance for this poor iggy to get help.

 #17176

 Need Help BAD!

I think she was referring to going to the pet store to see if they can recommend a vet. PE

 #17237

 Need Help BAD!

Yeah, I was just looking for information on vets. I made up a slurry for her and she went to town. I also set up UV lights so that they are totally surrounding her. I have noticed today that she is A LOT more active. She has been cocking her head at me and looking around at things. The last couple of days she just layed there, now she is moving around more and finding more comfortable possitions to lay in. In about another hour, I am going to give her a bath and see if I can get her to go to the bathroom. I am going to get her to the vet ASAP, so hopefully this thing can get turned around. If it is MBD, I understand that the bones can not be fixed as in making them straighter, but will the swelling go down? Just wondering.

 #17274

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Some deformaties may still exist after MBD, but they are remarkable at healing when they are given the proper care(albiet slowly). It really depends how severe the MBD is and how long she has had it.

 #17302

 Need Help BAD!

Hi Wendy, I hope she gets better! Please try to take her to the vet SOON!!! How big is her cage? Does she have enough heat? The vet could give you drops to help her bones! Our vet is great! We take "Pickle" to the vet once a year for check ups, she is now due to get fixed. If yours is not to sick, that might be an idea for you to get done to yours. Then you won’t have to worry about the eggs and her being sick from that. THere are some great books out there to help with some information on iguanas. Good Luck!!!!! Keep us posted.

 #17370

 Need Help BAD!

I hope so to. I am gonna take her to the vet asap. Well we got her cage on the internet. It’s about 3 feet wide, 3 feet deep and about 4 feet tall. BUT, she is only in it in the summer when I take her outside. She pretty much hates it. I gave up trying to make her after the noserubbing thing. She can tolerate it if she is outside. For now she lays on top and that works fine. The UV light is attatched now to the side and a heat lite is attached to my beroom window pointing down. Her bed is made up of "her" pillow, a heating pad, and a towel with another one of her pillows for her precious little noggin. Then we do the bath thing every day and I also wipe her down with a warm wash cloth. I don’t think that heat is an issue. She seems to have no problem moving to or from the heat. I sure wish we had a vet closer. The one we have now is about an hour away. The sad thing is that my husband works for the USDA. He is like surrounded by vets......think any of them would have a clue? NOPE. If any of them had any clue they would get certified in herps and open a shop up, because there are a lot of herp lovers in this area. They could make some serious jing! I have thought about getting her fixed for a long time. It seems like such a dangerous thing to do. I suppose that the technology has gotten better huh? Yeah, I had a bunch of books on Iguanas, borrowed them to somebody and never saw them or the books again. Thanks again for the fast reply! I hope Pickle is doing GREAT!

 #17458

 Need Help BAD!

I hope she gets better. Good Luck!!

 #17513

 Need Help BAD!

Getting an ig fixed is a hard choice to make. Usually you just see if she has trouble laying eggs first. Some igs lay eggs perfectly fine (after all they are supposed to in nature) so they don’t need to be fixed. Oftentimes it is best to get them fixed after they have eggs because it is easier to make sure the vet gets all the follicles. If he misses one, she could still have eggs the next time. Sometimes iguanas will become eggbound or have an egg rupture...and this could mean death. These are the iguanas that need to get fixed. The trouble is it is hard to know whether that would happen to your female or not.