I was in tears

[Jen]

This poor guy was given to me on July 4th I didnt know what I was getting into until the guy brought him to my house, I couldnt turn my back on the situation I am in tears!!!!!!!!!
he has a bad case of MBD and has burns from being on a heat rock. Please If someone has experience with MBD in Iguanas I need help.



His mouth is so soft I didnt realize he was biting me, until I looked and he was trying to tear me apart. he has about 3-4 sheds of skin stuck around his spikes, and on other parts of his body. however he is very alert and fiesty, I pray he will recover, it just tears my heart out every time I look at him.

[Merlin]

Your first order of business is a trip to the herp vet. The MBD needs to be treated aggressively to turn it around if possible. The burns should also be looked at. What are you planning on using for the source of UVB lighting? This is a necessary item in the battle to reverse the MBD!
And good for you for taking ithis guy in.

[Jen]

right now I am trying to find a herp specialist that is taking new patients, not much luck. We have him In a 10 gallon tank with a full spectrum bulb , I am going to buy a new one today to make sure its good, we are giving vita drops, and will be getting a calcium suppliment to go with it. we have 2 other Iguanas so we are well aware of the care requirements just need additional info an recomendations for this poor baby. his aproximate age is 1- 1 1/2 years old 6 1/2 svl 18 1/2 stl

[Brandon]

Best of luck with the poor iggy. Glad to hear he has some pep. Good on ya for taking the poor guy under your wing. I've heard some good recovery stories about these fighters.

[prism_wolf]

I know finding a herp vet isn't always easy. With two other igs hopefully a vet would already have been established. If not...then it's a good time to get one... .

Aggressive treatment will get him better. My own was so bad at that same age he went into seizures. He's 9 now. He will need some calcium carbonate injections from the vet. A good diet and UVB - preferably in combination with the sun for right now - will be his saving grace. A good diet in very small pieces will get him much needed nutrients. If you end up using a syringe...you'll have to be very gentle so his jaw doesn't get broken on the syringe. Using a rubber tipped tube on the end would be better.

If the burns are fresh...and they look pretty fresh...using Silvadene will help. I had to get the vet to special order mine...but it lasts forever! This will help keep infection at bay and speed the healing process. Apply it 3x daily for a couple of weeks. The burns will heal...they look painful...but not too bad. The pics are a little blurry though.

On the shed...you may need some mineral oil or unscented baby oil to get all the spike shed off...but this stuff works good for that.

Here's a few links for a vet hopefully near you:
www.herpvetconnection.com
www.arav.org <---click on "Members"
www.anapsid.org/vets

[Jen]

we gave up on our vet after he misdiagnosed our Savannah monitor, he said nothing was wrong with him but yet he had mouth rot bad enough that we had to have him put down anyway we live in York Pa so if anyone can recomend a vet?

[prism_wolf]

Maybe with the list of vets in the links you might find one. I can ask a few people and hopefully come up with something. The trick is to have a list of questions to ask the vet. Not the receptionist...but the vet them self. You can ask the receptionist how many iguana clients they have...but the main questions are for the vet. Here's a couple of links to help you out:
www.greenigsociety.org/vetquestions.htm
iguanaden.org/health/askvet.htm

BTW...welcome to the forum...:-D

[Jen]

all the vets onthe lists are over an hour and a half away so if I cant find any closer well I guess we will be making the drive. should I give him some pedialyte? I have been soaking him in about a 1/4 inch of water since he cant hold his head up constantly he drinks a little he is eating not enough but some, yester day when He pooped it was colored and textured just like mustard. thanks for the links I am sure to use the vet test.

[prism_wolf]

Keep in mind those lists are not all inclusive. There are a lot of vets that haven't been submitted...so arm yourself with those questions and call closer to home. I already did that...and I'm one of those that have to travel 1 1/2 hours one way...

Pedialyte is an excellent rehydrator. Use it a couple of times a day.

[Jen]

if we cant find one close to home well it will be worth the drive, I cant wait to see this guy get healthy we keep a Savannah monitor , 2 Leos and a dog, but by far our Igs are my favorite.

[prism_wolf]

You have a nice little collection...:-)

Something you need to do for the new guy is get him out of the 10 gal. He needs no less than a 50...or the size equivalent. He's so small for his age that this will do for his rehabilitation. In a 10 gal. there is literally no way to get the temp gradients where needed.

Out of curiosity...here are some questions to see if what you've read is what you need. There's a lot of iffy info out there and we want to make sure everything's good with these guys.

• What do you feed them (be specific, please)?
  
• What specific brand of UVB do you use?
  
• What are the temps in the three different areas of their cages?
  
• How big is their cages?
  
• What kind of dietary supplementation do you use?
  

These will help identify any areas that may need tweaking...or not... ;D.

[Jen]

well we found a vet the appointment isnt untill august 2nd but that was the best we could do and its over an hour away. as for the care of our babies, Cleo was moved into her new cage yesterday it is about 4 1/2 foot tall 2 foot deep and about 3 foot wide, she has 2 lamps with zoo-med blue day bulbs plenty of branches to climb. temps are at, 95 top 70 bottom Iggy's cage is 95 basking 70 bottom 36" h 36" wide 24" deep their diet this week is collared, and dandilion greens, escarole and butternut sqash, and parsnips we give them zoo- med reptivites 2 times a week. we use collared and dandilion as a regular in their diet. we decided to name our little guy Loki hes kinda ill tempered right now and it just fits him. the burns on his leg dont look like more than cinged scales but we will find out after the vet visit

[prism_wolf]

Sounds like a pretty good regimen for care...:-D The only thing I think I would do is to add a couple of more items to the salad...like chopped green beans and one of the bell peppers...the colored ones being my first choice. Not only do they ad ig-appeal...but they add a good source of hydration, too. Zair seems to prefer the red over the other orange and yellow ones. The other's I've had all seemed to like them best, too...:-)

As for the blue day bulbs...those are kind of pricey considering the regular house bulbs do the same thing for a much better price! Once the blue burns out...go with the regular incandescents...:-)

[Merlin]

I notice that you failed to mention a UVB generating bulb. This is a must have!

[prism_wolf]

Yup...thanks Merlin. I had completely missed that.