Hi, Im Missy

[missyK]

I never really had an interest in Lizards, i didnt think they were lovable but my boyfriend brought a baby home about six months ago. I named him George because he climbs across the top screen thing in his cage like a monkey- (curious george) It didnt take long though for me to fall in love with him. He's so sweet and loves to sleep on me when we watch tv. he loves to cuddle, who would have thought?

I came here though because he is sick. I really want to give him everything he needs and i get a lot of different advise on what he eats, and where he lives. he went to the vet he said he has a calcium problem but the vitamines and calcium arn't helping his bones. i live in the middle of no where and the only vet we have that will see iguana's is a long wait.

I love my George very much and if anyone has any suggestions please, i would love to hear them.

[prism_wolf]

Hi Missy. We will try to help, but the real help will be with you and the vet. Here is a very good sight dedicated to the issue of iguanas and MBD:
www.geocities.com/~pawsplus/carmen.html

[Nanshe]

Welcome to IZ, it's nice to meet you and George!

Are you using a light that specifically states it puts out UVB? If so, what brand and strength is it? How long since you last replaced it?

~Nan

[Tesa]

Hi Missy,
The keys to having a healthy iguana is providing proper lighting, diet and temperature. A proper diet for an iguana contains twice as much Calcium as Phosphorus. As I'm sure you've read by now, he needs a GOOD source of UVB lighting. His bones cannot properly absorb the calcium without it.
People are often misled by manufacturers labels on lightbulbs that show an iguana basking. If the light is shaped like a regular household bulb it is NOT one that emits UVB. Please check back with us if you need further assistance in this area. I remember being very confused when I started.
Collards are THE number one food item. Please follow the link below for more information on diet.
webpages.charter.net/tesa64735/Revised2.htm

We're here to help all we can, so please feel free to ask any questions you have. We will do our best to answer them. Welcome to IZ.

[missyK]

Thanks for welcoming us. George has a coil lamp that does fit in a regulare light bulb socket but is florecent. since he is so small it does cover half of his inclosure. We went to the vet today. He suspects nurve damage since his bones are strong but his reflexes are weak. we got some stuff to feed him that should help him heal the good news is the vet said he is in good shape otherwise ;D. Since he is so young he should heal nicely. everyone here gave me good advice though we made a few minor changes to his diet. and brought his lights to the vets office. The vet says his light is good for his size but will soon need a larger one. Thank you all for being so concered about my little man, George. I hope I can help you in the future but im new at ig's.
Thanx again.

[prism_wolf]

What are you feeding him? The best stuff is the foods you will find in the diet portion of this forum.

As for the coil lamps...they are good in a very tiny area. Many igs still get MBD with them though because more of the ig needs to be covered with the actual UVB emissions. The emissions really fizzle out on those after a very short distance. He needs, at the very least, a Reptisun 5.0 or Iguana Light 5.0 to get him and keep him healthy.

[Eric]

good luck to you missy, hope george gets better soon