Post by natalie79 on Oct 11, 2008 7:32:22 GMT -8
Hello everyone!
I have a feeling this post is going to be VERY long…so ‘m going to keep it as simple and quick as possible – as a result, please excuse me if I appear to be a little rude and hurried! I’ve wanted an iguana for the past 20 years, and finally I now have one, but not under pleasant circumstances: rescued from a previous owner, it seems that Izzy (temporary name until I find a suitable one) has been mistreated, neglected and is in horrible condition. By the looks of him I’m guessing that without urgent, proper steps, he has a little over a few weeks to live. Izzy would be my first reptile, so I have little experience, no access to reptile supplies, and no knowledgeable friends/vets that can help me out, so the internet and YOU guys are the only ones I can turn to for help, so if some of you have the time and the knowledge to lend me a hand at trying to save this poor guy’s life, both Izzy and I would greatly appreciate it! Now, onward to the facts:
Current health facts:
1) Three broken fingers (does not appear to be recent): completely limp, bending at odd angles, no open injuries though one finger is slightly swollen at the joint and black (see photo below), as if it had been an open wound but now is dried up. His tail also seems to have been broken.
2) Skin infection: Apart from being extremely dry, he has ‘clumps’ all over his body where the skin is a dark mustard yellow and very, very hard, some can be peeled off if scraped with my finger (see photo below).
3) At 18cm (body length. In total he is about 58cm) he is quite skinny, and despite this he hardly eats – a bite a day - not drinking and hardly moving. He can remain fixed to one spot 24hours, not exploring, not even trying to run from me (I don’t think has the energy to do so).
4) Stools: He has been with me almost a week now, and has pooped only once! Of course this might be due to the fact he hardly eats. The stool was mostly runny liquid, gooey and WHITE.
The steps I’ve taken so far:
1) His enclosure: Vertical terrarium slightly over 100 gallons, I’ve concealed all transparent sides save for the top so that at least he will be isolated from the on-goings around the house, as I want to minimize any amount of stress. He has a ‘sunning’ section with a bulb providing UVA and UVB, I keep the terrarium humid with damp cloths and a home-made ‘humidifier’ consisting of a container of water with a big heater in it to evaporate the water, I also spray him with water twice a day. He is weak as is, so I do my best not to handle him during this period and just let him be. There is a 100g flexarium by Exo-Terra in the garden, when the weather is warm I place him there so he gets some natural sunlight… of course all the while making sure he does not dry up.
2) Hand-feed him his water through a syringe, which he accepts without struggle and drinks, the water is conditioned with liquid supplements Calcium, Electrolyte and vitamin D3 by Exo-Terra. I also make sure fresh dark greens of all kinds stated online are available to him. He hardly touches it.
3) Following advice of a vet, antibiotic cream ‘Fucicort’ is applied to the infections twice a day.
Before I continue on with my questions, I need to explain that I am currently living in a country where vets are trained to treat mammals and birds, but have hardly any knowledge or experience when it comes to exotic critters such as reptiles; even the weather isn’t helpful, as it is dry and cold. It is not a common thing to have pet snakes or lizards here, and such ‘pets’ were once imported. Thankfully, the government has now passed a law of animal protection, banning exotic animals, birds and fish from getting into the country where they would suffer. I won’t be surprised if my iguana had been smuggled in by some kid who bought him while on vacation (a typical story) without any intentions of caring for him properly. As a result of the law, this also means that about 90% of reptile supplies are not available locally. I was very lucky to find the UVA/B bulb and liquid supplements, but that is all. Luckily my vet had some personal experience with iguanas, and kept the iguana for about a week before passing him to me, but I feel his help is still not enough.
Keeping all this in mind, I believe it’s clear now that replies such as ‘take him to the vet’ or ‘have his stool examined at the vet’…etc, would take me nowhere. As for specific reptile medication? Unfortunately with laws of shipment, I won’t be able to order medication online. Even anti-mite spray is prohibited as now it is considered a drug, even in Canada (such as reptile relief http://www.naturalchemistry.com)! In short, I will need to improvise quite a bit!
Now, my questions:
1) WHAT is his skin infection? It is not easy to cure as we’ve been trying for over two weeks now, first a vet then myself. If you have any clue of what it is, please share, and what did u use to cure it. Is there some oral antibiotics that I can use for him (even if meant for humans, with the proper dosage maybe?)… The infection is my main concern at the moment, as I’m afraid it might develop into something more serious!
2) Concerning the broken fingers: Despite the fact that they appear to be old wounds, what steps should I take to avoid further damage? He doesn’t appear to feel pain in them as when I touch/move them he does not react. But would I have to amputate them? Or do I just leave them as they are?
3) Seeing that he doesn’t eat much, I’m worried he will just get weaker and weaker. I’m guessing the only thing I should do here is leave him be… but if mashing up greens and force-feeding him with a syringe is a solution, then I’m ready to take that step! But I wanted to check with you experts first, I wouldn’t want to end up making things worse by blindly improvising.
So I think I’ve reached the end of my long, long post. I seriously hope you would be able to help me, I’ve had this little guy for about a week, and am already attached to him and really want to see him grow fat, healthy and above all things; happy. I think animals are a gift, and it breaks my heart to see them suffer as result of carelessness.
Thanks for reading guys!
~Nat
I have a feeling this post is going to be VERY long…so ‘m going to keep it as simple and quick as possible – as a result, please excuse me if I appear to be a little rude and hurried! I’ve wanted an iguana for the past 20 years, and finally I now have one, but not under pleasant circumstances: rescued from a previous owner, it seems that Izzy (temporary name until I find a suitable one) has been mistreated, neglected and is in horrible condition. By the looks of him I’m guessing that without urgent, proper steps, he has a little over a few weeks to live. Izzy would be my first reptile, so I have little experience, no access to reptile supplies, and no knowledgeable friends/vets that can help me out, so the internet and YOU guys are the only ones I can turn to for help, so if some of you have the time and the knowledge to lend me a hand at trying to save this poor guy’s life, both Izzy and I would greatly appreciate it! Now, onward to the facts:
Current health facts:
1) Three broken fingers (does not appear to be recent): completely limp, bending at odd angles, no open injuries though one finger is slightly swollen at the joint and black (see photo below), as if it had been an open wound but now is dried up. His tail also seems to have been broken.
2) Skin infection: Apart from being extremely dry, he has ‘clumps’ all over his body where the skin is a dark mustard yellow and very, very hard, some can be peeled off if scraped with my finger (see photo below).
3) At 18cm (body length. In total he is about 58cm) he is quite skinny, and despite this he hardly eats – a bite a day - not drinking and hardly moving. He can remain fixed to one spot 24hours, not exploring, not even trying to run from me (I don’t think has the energy to do so).
4) Stools: He has been with me almost a week now, and has pooped only once! Of course this might be due to the fact he hardly eats. The stool was mostly runny liquid, gooey and WHITE.
The steps I’ve taken so far:
1) His enclosure: Vertical terrarium slightly over 100 gallons, I’ve concealed all transparent sides save for the top so that at least he will be isolated from the on-goings around the house, as I want to minimize any amount of stress. He has a ‘sunning’ section with a bulb providing UVA and UVB, I keep the terrarium humid with damp cloths and a home-made ‘humidifier’ consisting of a container of water with a big heater in it to evaporate the water, I also spray him with water twice a day. He is weak as is, so I do my best not to handle him during this period and just let him be. There is a 100g flexarium by Exo-Terra in the garden, when the weather is warm I place him there so he gets some natural sunlight… of course all the while making sure he does not dry up.
2) Hand-feed him his water through a syringe, which he accepts without struggle and drinks, the water is conditioned with liquid supplements Calcium, Electrolyte and vitamin D3 by Exo-Terra. I also make sure fresh dark greens of all kinds stated online are available to him. He hardly touches it.
3) Following advice of a vet, antibiotic cream ‘Fucicort’ is applied to the infections twice a day.
Before I continue on with my questions, I need to explain that I am currently living in a country where vets are trained to treat mammals and birds, but have hardly any knowledge or experience when it comes to exotic critters such as reptiles; even the weather isn’t helpful, as it is dry and cold. It is not a common thing to have pet snakes or lizards here, and such ‘pets’ were once imported. Thankfully, the government has now passed a law of animal protection, banning exotic animals, birds and fish from getting into the country where they would suffer. I won’t be surprised if my iguana had been smuggled in by some kid who bought him while on vacation (a typical story) without any intentions of caring for him properly. As a result of the law, this also means that about 90% of reptile supplies are not available locally. I was very lucky to find the UVA/B bulb and liquid supplements, but that is all. Luckily my vet had some personal experience with iguanas, and kept the iguana for about a week before passing him to me, but I feel his help is still not enough.
Keeping all this in mind, I believe it’s clear now that replies such as ‘take him to the vet’ or ‘have his stool examined at the vet’…etc, would take me nowhere. As for specific reptile medication? Unfortunately with laws of shipment, I won’t be able to order medication online. Even anti-mite spray is prohibited as now it is considered a drug, even in Canada (such as reptile relief http://www.naturalchemistry.com)! In short, I will need to improvise quite a bit!
Now, my questions:
1) WHAT is his skin infection? It is not easy to cure as we’ve been trying for over two weeks now, first a vet then myself. If you have any clue of what it is, please share, and what did u use to cure it. Is there some oral antibiotics that I can use for him (even if meant for humans, with the proper dosage maybe?)… The infection is my main concern at the moment, as I’m afraid it might develop into something more serious!
2) Concerning the broken fingers: Despite the fact that they appear to be old wounds, what steps should I take to avoid further damage? He doesn’t appear to feel pain in them as when I touch/move them he does not react. But would I have to amputate them? Or do I just leave them as they are?
3) Seeing that he doesn’t eat much, I’m worried he will just get weaker and weaker. I’m guessing the only thing I should do here is leave him be… but if mashing up greens and force-feeding him with a syringe is a solution, then I’m ready to take that step! But I wanted to check with you experts first, I wouldn’t want to end up making things worse by blindly improvising.
So I think I’ve reached the end of my long, long post. I seriously hope you would be able to help me, I’ve had this little guy for about a week, and am already attached to him and really want to see him grow fat, healthy and above all things; happy. I think animals are a gift, and it breaks my heart to see them suffer as result of carelessness.
Thanks for reading guys!
~Nat