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 #2143240


Shelbania
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 Skinny Iguana

I just bought/rescued an iguana today. He is eating regularly, as far as i can tell and is alert. He is just so skinny and you can really tell at the base of his tail and hips. I bought him thinking I could just feed him and he would plump up, but now I’m worried something is really wrong with him. Any help or advice?



04/25/10  11:49am

 #2143250


Jamesvomit
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2143240


 Skinny Iguana

My Ig looked like yours when I brought him home from the pet store. It took him about a month to fill out. I used this stuff called Appetite Plus made by Nature Zone. Its basically a concentrated vitamin B-12 liquid. He didnt want it at first but now he loves the stuff. Just only use a few drops. The first few days I squirted alot into his mouth and it was like the was on speed. He was litteraly bouncing off the walls.



04/25/10  12:27pm

 #2143270


IguanaRama
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   Message To: Jamesvomit   In reference to Message Id: 2143250


 Skinny Iguana

try giving him some baths with gatorade or pedialite so he stays hydrated as well because sometimes they look like that when they’re dehydrated so give him a bath every day and see if that helps out any and when he starts to fill out you can give him a bath every other day.
04/25/10  02:44pm

 #2143364


Shelbania
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2143270


 Skinny Iguana

That sounds kinda sketchy with the gatorade... but yes, I do give him baths every day and he loves it. I just want to make sure he doesn’t have a disease or anything. If he does I want to take him to the vet asap! but thank you for the advice. And I will have to try out that vitamin B stuff :)



04/25/10  08:53pm

 #2143406


IguanaRama
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2143364


 Skinny Iguana

a lot of people on here use gatorade... but that’s up to you but I would get him checked out by the vet try to get a fecal done when you so they can check for internal parasites.



04/25/10  10:46pm

 #2143440


Tempestborn
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2143406


 Skinny Iguana

the gatorade wouldn’t hurt him a bit. it’s filled with electrolytes, actually formulated to treat/prevent dehydration. or you can get unflavored pedialyte to use in his bath. also, he might be willing to drink some gatorade or flavored pedialyte with a syringe. my lily loves the grape-flavored.
jesse
04/26/10  01:09am

 #2143459


Pocochu
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2143240


 Skinny Iguana

Hi shelbania,

Welcome to the iggy forum..Not sure if you are a new iggy owner or not, but we have a post for new iguana owners with loads of info & links to great websites that will help you out alot....so go there and check it out......If you have any questions please feel free to just ask we are here to help....

Congrats on your new iggy....he is thin and looks to be dehydrated.....The first thing you want to do is get him hydrated....you’ve been given some good advice about the baths & Gatorade/ pedialyte....What happens there is by soaking him in the bath he is absorbing the fluids through his vent (butt hole) not through the skin...after soaking him for about 20 min rinse him off as sometime they may be a little sticky from the gatorade or pedialyte.....You may also try and give him some through an eyedropper or needless syringe....

Far as a diet.... go to the post new iguana owners we have some links there for iggy salads...the best thing right now is get him on a good diet and proper calcium & vitamins....You could get him on some "Jump-Start" it’s a Caloric Supplement & Appetite Stimulant...very good for rehabbing reptiles...I use it a lot....But you want to be careful and not over do things....too much too fast could shock his system...Just take it slow....

What are his temps & humidity levels and what size is his enclosure? and does he have a uvb light?...Sorry for all the questions....

Annie....>^..^<



04/26/10  04:25am

 #2143460


Pocochu
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2143240


 Skinny Iguana

Hi shelbania,

Welcome to the iggy forum..Not sure if you are a new iggy owner or not, but we have a post for new iguana owners with loads of info & links to great websites that will help you out alot....so go there and check it out......If you have any questions please feel free to just ask we are here to help....

Congrats on your new iggy....he is thin and looks to be dehydrated.....The first thing you want to do is get him hydrated....you’ve been given some good advice about the baths & Gatorade/ pedialyte....What happens there is by soaking him in the bath he is absorbing the fluids through his vent (butt hole) not through the skin...after soaking him for about 20 min rinse him off as sometime they may be a little sticky from the gatorade or pedialyte.....You may also try and give him some through an eyedropper or needless syringe....

Far as a diet.... go to the post new iguana owners we have some links there for iggy salads...the best thing right now is get him on a good diet and proper calcium & vitamins....You could get him on some "Jump-Start" it’s a Caloric Supplement & Appetite Stimulant...very good for rehabbing reptiles...I use it a lot....But you want to be careful and not over do things....too much too fast could shock his system...Just take it slow....

What are his temps & humidity levels and what size is his enclosure? and does he have a uvb light?...Sorry for all the questions....

Annie....>^..^<



04/26/10  04:25am

 #2143461


Pocochu
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2143240


 Skinny Iguana

Hi shelbania,

Welcome to the iggy forum..Not sure if you are a new iggy owner or not, but we have a post for new iguana owners with loads of info & links to great websites that will help you out alot....so go there and check it out......If you have any questions please feel free to just ask we are here to help....

Congrats on your new iggy....he is thin and looks to be dehydrated.....The first thing you want to do is get him hydrated....you’ve been given some good advice about the baths & Gatorade/ pedialyte....What happens there is by soaking him in the bath he is absorbing the fluids through his vent (butt hole) not through the skin...after soaking him for about 20 min rinse him off as sometime they may be a little sticky from the gatorade or pedialyte.....You may also try and give him some through an eyedropper or needless syringe....

Far as a diet.... go to the post new iguana owners we have some links there for iggy salads...the best thing right now is get him on a good diet and proper calcium & vitamins....You could get him on some "Jump-Start" it’s a Caloric Supplement & Appetite Stimulant...very good for rehabbing reptiles...I use it a lot....But you want to be careful and not over do things....too much too fast could shock his system...Just take it slow....

What are his temps & humidity levels and what size is his enclosure? and does he have a uvb light?...Sorry for all the questions....

Annie....>^..^<



04/26/10  04:26am

 #2143502


Shelbania
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   Message To: Pocochu   In reference to Message Id: 2143461


 Skinny Iguana

Awesome Thank You!

I got him from a very good pet store called tails and scales in Derby KS and It is not their fault that he is in this shape. They just got him from an owner that got rid of him. But I didn’t think they would sell him to me if he had any major problems. I will definately do the gatorade bath tonight and see if that will help. Can I use any flavor?

My Cage is 30 something gallon, I have him in that for now. I know I will have to get a bigger cage soon. It is my old bearded dragon cage that I had two bearded dragons in, But I moved them to a 55 gallon tank and couldn’t stand to see an empty cage! So, me and my boyfriend decided to get a baby :)

I am not too sure what the temp in the cage is. But I have a UVB lamp and heat lamp on it. I am having a hard time keeping the humidity over 45-50, though. I had a vaporizer in the room and was running it but that caused an ant infestation in the cage, so now I have just resorted to misting it about 5 times a day. could anyone give me some advice on how to get the humidity up and keep the ants away? It was very terrible and I felt so bad for him b/c I found it in the nighttime when the pet stores were not open and I had to go to school the next day. He had to stay in the cage with the ants all night and day :(
04/26/10  11:08am

 #2143503


Shelbania
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2143502


 Skinny Iguana

Oh, and there were no ants in the house except for in his cage
04/26/10  11:09am

 #2143560


Calico
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2143503


 Skinny Iguana

oh no poor little guy! if you can post some pics of his cage I can give you some tips on how to keep the humidity in I live in las vegas which has like 12% humidity its hella dry out here sooo I have to watch the humidity give him baths daily!!!! and mist when I can



04/26/10  03:02pm

 #2143603


Pocochu
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   Message To: Calico   In reference to Message Id: 2143560


 Skinny Iguana

If he is in a glass tank, take some Vaseline and smear it around the base of the tank.....ant’s don’t like vaseline and they won’t crawl on it...So they can’t get in the tank.....

Annie...>^..^<



04/26/10  06:36pm

 #2144200


Shelbania
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   Message To: Pocochu   In reference to Message Id: 2143603


 Skinny Iguana

Good Idea! I will definately try. and I found a larger tank last night, a 55 Gal for 20 dollars!

But I am thinking about putting in newspaper as the substrate instead of the bark chips in order to attempt to keep the ants out as well. I’m excited to get him in there! It is the same tank I have both of my bearded dragons in so he will have plenty of room for a while :)

I’m just scared of trying to keep the humidy up in that cage! I’m having enough trouble keeping it up in what I have now, a 30 gallon, I believe.
04/29/10  09:14am

 #2144276


IguanaRama
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2144200


 Skinny Iguana

Using newspaper is a much better idea than bark chips because they can accidentally ingest them and become impacted and it will help keep the ants out at the same time also, it’s a much easier clean up process.Another good subtrate is repti-carpet it comes in different colors and you can wash it when you think it’s ready for one. Sometime wal-mart has outdoor carpet that’s green and blue and black it usually looks like a very flat carpet with green on it.(make sure it’s not the plastic ones) If humidity is a bit of a problem some people cover half of the cage to keep in some of the humidity just make sure it’s not close enough to the lamp to catch fire and make sure the iggy still has access to the ubv light. Some other ideas is some people use those waterfall things to help humidity, spray the cage three times a day, humidifier, a big water dish there’s just a couple ideas.



04/29/10  04:54pm

 #2144296


Shelbania
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   Message To: IguanaRama   In reference to Message Id: 2144276


 Skinny Iguana

Awesome! and the bark is big pieces compared to his head so I’m not too worried about him eating it. But not too easy to clean =/ I will definately rig his cage somehow to keep the humidity up! I’m so excite to move him into his new cage this weekend!
04/29/10  07:04pm

 #2144313


IguanaRama
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   Message To: Shelbania   In reference to Message Id: 2144296


 Skinny Iguana

lol well good luck with your new set up hopefully it will keep those pesky ants out



04/29/10  08:39pm


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