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Post by blueeheeler on Mar 25, 2005 22:11:13 GMT -8
I just wanted to say hello to all. My name is Jamie I am married with 3 children, 2 dogs, 10 snakes and 1 green iguana. I have kept snakes for 4 years now and I just adopted/rescued my first iguana on the 10th of March. She came to me as a he and later found that he is a she so I changed her name to Charlotte. She has not been take care of at all. Her diet if you call it that was romaine and catfood. I have taken her to the vet and her phosphate levels are high compared to her calcium levels. Longs story short she has kidney disease. She is on the MK diet and calcium now and since I have had her she has started eating and is more active if I take her out of her cage. I take her outside daily weather permitting, everyday. So she can exercise and get the vitamins from natural sunlight. She has a large cage with all of the required ammenities. She is getting better slowly but I feel that we have caught this kindney thing early enough to turn it around. Any way just a little about us. Thanks for reading and looking forward to belonging to this site, for future information and pictures from others here. Jamie
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Post by IguanaKing on Mar 25, 2005 22:36:08 GMT -8
Hi Jamie!!! ;D
Welcome to IZ. I'm glad that Charlotte was fortunate enough to find you. You have a couple of ball pythons?!!! I LOVE those animals, I was introduced to them about a year ago. Hopefully that hot rock I see in the photo has had its cord cut off. What are you feeding Charlotte now?
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Post by Lyn on Mar 26, 2005 6:26:59 GMT -8
Welcome to IZ !!!! Glad you could join us and Charlotte is one lucky lizard... I have also recently gotten into snakes and I own 3 ball pythons and one california kingsnake as well as my 5 soon to be 6 iguanas...(one is waiting in the wings for adoption) Let us know if you have any questions. Lyn
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Post by louiesmom on Mar 26, 2005 9:15:06 GMT -8
Hey Welcome to Iguana Zone! I am glad that you have her now and that things are begining to improve!
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Post by blueeheeler on Mar 26, 2005 9:28:39 GMT -8
IguanaKing
Yep it's just a rock now. No hot rocks in this household are allowed, with the cords anyway. I am feeding the Melissa Kaplan Diet - with a little difference. I am feeding more greens and veggies than fruit and any beans. Her phosphate levels are high so I am trying not to add too it. Mostly collards, mustard, dandelions as her greens sometimes turnips. Veggies are acorn squash and parsnips and cabbage. she does get a treat of mango 1 or 2 times a week. All of her foods are sprinkled with multivitamins and extra calcium to get rid of the phosphate in her system.
any suggestions would be very welcomed and advice also. Thanks Jamie
Thanks to everyone for the warm welcome, Glad to be here.
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Post by IguanaKing on Mar 26, 2005 10:23:50 GMT -8
Yup...the hot rocks make great, attractive cage furniture if they're not plugged in. I figured you'd know that already, since you're obviously an experienced herper...just wanted to make sure. The diet looks good, and you are absolutely SPOT ON with keeping beans out of the diet for a while. They're good for protein, but they can upset the Phosphorus balance in a sick ig. Just try to keep her temps about 5 degrees above normal, it'll help her bounce back quicker. Hopefully the damage to her kidneys can be reversed. Edit...I'm also curious about Charlotte's coloration in the photo. Are you sure that "she" is a "she"?
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Post by Merlin on Mar 26, 2005 10:41:57 GMT -8
Welcome to Iguana Zone. I too share my home with several snakes. Ball pythons , a boa and corns and kings. Throw in a couple of bearded dragons a parakeet and a cockatiel and that pretty much does it. And Zok the iguana of course. I'd loose the cabbage or at least feed it only once in a while. Sean I thought the same thing. Awfully orange for a female! But the head looks very feminine
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Post by blueeheeler on Mar 26, 2005 11:59:54 GMT -8
Vet says she is a she. Her coloring is due to her illness and her lack a of decent diet with her previous owner. He fed her a lot of animal protien along with Romaine and nothing else. I have had a lot of people comment on her color. she is very rusty looking, I hope with time and a healthy diet she will turn around and green up. The cabbage is only a once in while thing. Mainly she gets the collards, mustard and dandelions. She may get the others about 2 times a weeks if she will eat it. She has been a very picky eater. I actually have to hand feed her 2 times a day, with her main meal being around 11 am and then again at 4 or so I feed her a little more greens. My only hope is that she will start eating on her own, but hey if she doesn't thats fine with me I get to spend that much more time with her and getting her settled in and she seems to do very well with being hand fed. Good for the both of us....Here's a close up of Charlotte. thanks for your replies. Keep em coming...
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Post by IguanaKing on Mar 26, 2005 12:38:50 GMT -8
OK...now that I see a close-up, I'd have to agree with Merlin, AND your vet...female. I DO remember that orange coloration can also be a sign of illness, especially in female iggies. The office staff at my vet LOVED seeing Audrey because she is SOOOO green...heh...and she's a sweety too, you can't help but fall in love with her. The "usual" cabbage is OK as an occasional treat, but in a sick ig, it should be elminated completely for a while. Hand feeding is great...until you find a food Charlotte REALLY likes. Then, it might become dangerous for you...but maybe not...Audrey is VERY gentle, whereas Mercury would take a few fingers if I wasn't watching closely. Just try to keep her food in the same dish, or at least one that looks the same...she should learn to recognize it. Just so you know...my BIG boy, Hercules, STILL doesn't feel safe enough to eat until daddy gets home, usually.
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Post by blueeheeler on Mar 26, 2005 13:29:24 GMT -8
I will cut the cabbage for a while then. I had started hanging her food with clips from the side of her cage, she ate like that once. So we are back to hand feeding. She has chomped down on my fingers a couple of times when I first started feeding her by hand, but she did not do it intentionaly. I was holding the food for her and looked away at the kids to see what they were doing and next thing you know I was bleeding. She got me twice in one day. So now when I feed her I wear those rubber finger protectors that you can get at staples or anywhere, keeps the fingers safe. I would really like to see her eat on her own but hey I will keep trying to get her to do what works for her. Thanks
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Post by IguanaKing on Mar 26, 2005 14:02:45 GMT -8
Yup, getting bitten is all part of the learning process. Just make sure, if you don't protect your fingers, that your medical insurance is paid up. I am already missing a large portion of flesh from my chest from a feeding accident/color response bite. That was Herky's only experience with animal protein, along with cotton from my t-shirt. Just be careful as Charlotte gets bigger...she has teeth like a tiger shark and its ABSOLUTELY FRIGHTENING the damage they can do to our soft flesh. Have a look at Diane's "Narcy attacks again" thread, to see a graphic illustration. I once had my right index finger degloved by a female iggy, it took 18 months for a complete recovery. Oh...and then there is my lower lip reattachment...DOH!!! Sorry, don't mean to scare you, just want to make sure you know the risks of close contact when you are distracted.
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Post by blueeheeler on Mar 26, 2005 14:22:04 GMT -8
WOW that is frightning!!!! I guess I will have to be more careful while feeding or just give her food and wait for her to get hungry enough to eat on her own. I like my face, chest and fingers as they are. My arms are still in the healing process. I learned on that matter also...I use my husbands long socks with the toe cut out as arm and hand gloves while holding her. she scratched me pretty good the first few days then I clipped her nails a little and she still leaves light scratches but not the deep lacerations. I will probably have some nice scars for a good long time. I guess it's part of having an Iguana. Just like snakes they are wild animals only to be tame if they so choose to be. Yes I have been bit by my 6.5' male boa. Didn't know I was bit until I saw all of the blood. I saw the strike coming and tried to move but well yah now we are slow compared to them. Did not hurt like the iguana bite did though, but it did bruise the area. I would rather be snake bit than Iguana bit anyday. Jamie
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Post by IguanaKing on Mar 26, 2005 14:39:43 GMT -8
Yup...snakes don't have the same number OR the same shape of teeth as igs do. Take a look at this link, from Diane's thread about their teeth: homepage.ntlworld.com/steve.woodward/teeth.htmlAlmost identical in mechanics to a tiger shark's teeth, and igs even have multiple rows of teeth (just like a shark) so a nice, sharp tooth springs up in the place of one that is lost. They even have a nictitating membrane in their eyes...I wonder how close they are, genetically, to sharks. Please don't let it scare you...just go forth being informed of the risks. Also, be sure to keep a good first aid kit on hand which includes plastic wire tires (to use as a tourniquet...for YOU only, DO NOT use these to stop bleeding on your ig), a good pair of flush-cut cutters to release the wire ties, and super glue. Super glue is a GREAT way to close a deep wound after the bleeding is stopped.
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Post by blueeheeler on Mar 26, 2005 14:48:29 GMT -8
Thanks for the information regarding the plastic ties and super glue very good ideas. I have used the super glue on some rats that have been in a fight and lacerations were pretty bad. Healed just fine and hair grew back and they are healthy. Well they were I don't have rats anymore. Stopped breeding them some time ago. Now I just order from the internet when I need food for the snakes.
Take care and have a Happy Easter!
Jamie
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Post by IguanaKing on Mar 26, 2005 18:59:45 GMT -8
Doh!!! Happy Easter to you!!! Sorry, I missed that part. I love rats too...they're probably one of the main reasons I don't have carnivorous reptiles...I just love that pack mentality, they're practically like dogs. Don't get me wrong though, your kids have to eat, and pre-killed are best for captive reptiles.
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