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Post by AnneVeng on Nov 22, 2004 2:38:26 GMT -8
My darling ig is approximatly 11 month old and ive had him about 2,5 month now and I have notised that the top of his head have changed colour to almost BLACk..... What is the reason for this....Am I doing sometinh wrong...
I researched the internet for several month before i got him and I remember that i read something about it, I just cannot find it agin...
Could you help me?
*Anne*
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Post by Merlin on Nov 22, 2004 2:53:08 GMT -8
Thats a new one o me! I know that they will turn darker if they get cold. Is it possible that he has burned the top of his head on something?
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Post by AnneVeng on Nov 22, 2004 4:40:05 GMT -8
No i dont think so... He has nothing to bump it on! Its not just a "spot" its.........kinda like.... the entire top part of his head... He was dark when i got him but i just notised that it seemed as it had darkend even more!!!... Dont know... He´s just NOT green and not just grey...more like really really DARK grey.... Dont know.... I will try to put in a picture in my webshots gallery so maybe you can se what im talking about. Please keep in mind that se is shedding like HE** these days:0) community.webshots.com/user/anneveng*Anne*
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Post by WillemsMom on Nov 22, 2004 16:08:09 GMT -8
Well, Willie has the same darkness on top of his head as you show in your 3rd pic. Some time I'll post a pic. He has been so low down and is on his way back to health, that I'm not worried about what you mention. We're seeing the vet next week, (too much flooding this week) and I'll ask him. I'll let you know what he says.
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Post by prism_wolf on Nov 22, 2004 18:55:40 GMT -8
First of all...what are your temperatures? Temps that are to low can often cause a dramatic color change. Stress can also cause a dramatic color change. At times it's just the head that is so dramatically changed though, your baby is still very green everywhere else.
Will have to do some research, but it won't be real soon. Holidays will be keeping me busy. I will do what I can.
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Post by AnneVeng on Nov 22, 2004 22:52:14 GMT -8
My daytime teperatures range between 26 c and 31 c with a baskingspot at 36 c. My nighttime temerature is between 23 c and 26 c and then i have a 30w UVB fluorescent tube during the daytime. He can change his bodycolour when he is basking to absorb the heat, but that´s different...
I would love to hear what your vet thinks... Here in Denmark I wouldnt say that the vets know an awful lot about Iguanas.. The specialized reptile vets knows how to treat them if they get sick but I would never go to my vet for answers to questions like these... I know a lot of wery qualified iguana owners here in Denmark, but for some reason i prefer asking you for guidence....and thank you for all of your help..
*Anne*
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Post by Diane on Nov 23, 2004 9:39:56 GMT -8
when i first brought Narcy home he was the beautiful bright green that juveniles are. Then he began to get a black stripe down each side on the top of his head. My vet told me that stress will do this to them. I then moved his cage to my bedroom at the back of the house where he could just get used to his new home without all the hustle and bustle and that did the trick. He lost the black coloration after a week or so. He is now out with the family of course and has been for years now, but he was new then and not used to his new owners. Is there anything that has changed in his surroundings to make him feel stressed?
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Post by AnneVeng on Nov 23, 2004 12:51:24 GMT -8
Not in the last two month.... But I transportet him to Denmark all the way from Germany in september but thats a long time ago now, so I can not imagine what the changes should be!!!
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Post by prism_wolf on Nov 23, 2004 16:12:24 GMT -8
www.anapsid.org/iguana/skincolor.htmlHave you looked at this? This is what I was talking about and why I had mentioned stress. Your temps are good so you can rule that out. Do you have a new pet? Has the cat been staring? There's so many things that could be the reason...and it's often a tough one to figure out.
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Post by AnneVeng on Nov 24, 2004 0:51:02 GMT -8
Thank you..That one i must have missed.... Anyways... I read it... I get it, but still it does not apply to our situation..
NOTHING has changed... No new pets, cage, diet (variaty offcause), people, temperature... NOTHING.. The ONLY new thing is the fact that im handeling him for about 20-30 min. every day... But the darkening of the upper part of his head startet BEFORE i startet handeling....
Its not spreading.... and its only the rougher scales an top of his head.... He definatly does not seem stressed... Oooh crap, I just dont know what to do!
*Anne*
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Post by prism_wolf on Nov 24, 2004 17:44:10 GMT -8
This ones a mystery to me...and that's very frustrating! I honestly don't know what to tell you, Anne. Has your baby been to the vet? Maybe it could be medical? Possibly intestinal parasites, or an internal injury? I'm just throwing out ideas...
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Post by Cyndi on Nov 25, 2004 14:19:37 GMT -8
The top of Kyo's head will also turn black from time to time. I have always assumed that it was stress, due to the fact that at any given time we are likely to have 6 kids running around here, along with the cats and dog His head stayed pretty dark for the first couple of months that we had him, alternating between dark gray and black, but now it happens only occasionally, and usually disappears within a day. And it mostly coincides with something happening in the house (kids arguing loudly with doors slamming or if the dog gets too rowdy with the cats) or music playing to loudly will even do it. Actually, it works out pretty well. We have less loud music or arguments (teenagers - ugh!) because they know what will happen if they stress out mom's iggy, lol.
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Post by JennaAndIguanaGwen on Nov 25, 2004 20:37:18 GMT -8
Those all sound like good reasons.............. hmmm my dog used to come in my room from time to time and my ig never had her head turn black or gray. I guess it depends on the ig.
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Post by AnneVeng on Nov 26, 2004 6:35:32 GMT -8
I hope you are right.... My son is seven and he IS noisy at time + the 2,10 cm x 145 cm x 95 cm cage is in our living room BUT Mocca (thats his/her name, by the way:0) is always calm and seems to be good-spirited about our daily life and noise... But just because she´s calm does not meen its not stressing about it... These days her head is not as black as it was a couple of days ago... This BEATS ME:0)
*Anne*
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Post by prism_wolf on Nov 26, 2004 8:16:51 GMT -8
The cage you have him in is going to be much to small in about 6 months or so. Your enclosure will need to be nearly 2 meters tall and wide and nearly a meter deep. What you have him in is just small enough for a baby...but it will do for now... ;D Remember...igs like height.
This could be part of the stress. Igs need to be high to feel safe. The change in his home and the fact that he can't rise above all the changes may be working on him. He will get used to it, but be sure to add height to his next enclosure.
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