After Spay

[IguanaKing]

Hi everybody ;D

It suddenly occurred to me that the Animal Planet show "Emergency Vets" sometimes takes place at Alameda East Veterinary Hospital in Denver, CO.

www.alamedaeast.com/

I haven't been there yet, but, apparently, its only a few blocks from where I live. ;D I am looking into maybe finding a new vet for my babies because of a certain vet tech that they both hate and are scared to death of. I'm afraid that next time I go to my current vet, somebody's gonna get hurt, and it won't be my iguanas (Heh...although it may teach her a lesson, I just don't want to hear any screaming or see any bleeding. ). It seems, from watching the show, that Dr. Kevin Fitzgerald is very experienced with iguanas. I saw something last night, however, that shook my confidence a little bit. That episode showed a reunion between he and Spike, a female iguana who he performed an emergency spay on due to egg binding a few years earlier (showed the surgery too, and, appearance-wise, she was clearly a female iguana, even before her removed eggs proved her gender). The problem is that the iguana in the later, reunion video looked very male to me...brain bumps, jowls, the bulge...the whole nine-yards. This raised a lot of questions. Could this have been a different iguana, brought in by Spike's owner and passed off as Spike? Was the doctor actually fooled by this...or was it just more fake TV drama for people who don't know any better? Maybe that wasn't actually Spike, the TV producer may have just decided to use it because "nobody will know". He he...no...I'm not taking it that seriously because the other possibility is that the spay may have changed Spike's traits a little. Does anyone know if a spay of a 2-year-old, very feminine-looking iguana, can make her take on more male traits years later? I know spaying can change their behavior sometimes, but I'm not aware of physical characteristics changing.

[Tesa]

heyyyyyyyyyyyy too cool! I love that show!!
Here's a link to a picture of Vega$ who belongs to Desiree Wong. Vega$ was spayed and developed male characteristics. (at least I think they developed AFTER the spay)

picture.com/display.asp?ID=1167004

Altho, I don't doubt any of the scenarios you presented would happen. lol
I'm quite the cynic ;D

[IguanaKing]

You're quite the cynic?!!! Are you suggesting I'm cynical?!!! Nah...not me!!! ;D

[Tesa]

uhmmmm.....well....if the shoe fits! ;D

[prism_wolf]

I have known of several igs to take on male characteristics after a spay. They no longer have the estrogen producing hormones to keep them looking female and the testosterone, that's inherently in every female of various degrees in every species, takes over. This is one reason human woman need to take estrogen therapy after they have all their parts removed...not just for mood swings... ;D

[WillemsMom]

Hmmmm, I not sure about that Prism. i was on Estrogen Replacement Therapy for years. With no other risk factors, I developed Breast Cancer. It's thought that estrogen replacement was the culprit. I've been off estrogen for almost 4 years now, and haven't developed any male characteristics. I wanted to post this because Estrogen Replacement Therapy can cause cancer. I feel and look as feminine as ever.

But back to igs...I'm not sure why spaying would create male characteristics, but maybe it does. We have a beautiful little spayed female Golden Retriever and she is as feminine as ever.
Now neutered males is another story all together, But let's leave that one alone. I don't know any males, igs or otherwise that need neutering.

[prism_wolf]

Wow, Nan. I didn't know all that about the Estrogen Replacement Therapy. I will keep that in mind. This is not true for all women though...just as it is not true with all igs. Many spayed igs retain their feminine characteristics. Some do not.

Dogs look like dogs no matter whether they're male or female, spayed or neutered...except, of course, for the obvious. Sometimes male igs are neutered as a last ditch effort to help control serious aggression, especially breeding season aggression. Some have been successful, while in others there was little or no change.