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Post by prism_wolf on Feb 18, 2005 16:22:17 GMT -8
ADMIN NOTE: PLEASE VIEW AT YOUR DISCRETION. THESE ARE VERY NASTY PICTURES.These are very graphic pictures...but they are worth more than 10,000 words can ever say! www.corhs.org/maleigheadwound.html
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Post by Merlin on Feb 18, 2005 16:35:45 GMT -8
Good grief V! That is one NASTY wound.
And if they can do that to an ig's tough hide,...what chance does soft old people flesh stand!
I think you have made your point!
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Post by prism_wolf on Feb 18, 2005 17:13:54 GMT -8
I hope so, Merlin. I sure get tired of hearing of those who think it's ok...and the little spats the baby igs have will pass and then they turn into huge territorial fights as they mature. Many of us already know...even igs that have co-habitated for years...have been known to turn on each other.
Granted...I am one of those guilty party housing two together...just like IK's male nearly killed his female...mine did, too. It was breeding season aggression, but the results were still bad...and she was one of the lucky ones with just some bite marks on her back.
This link's going all over!
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Post by IguanaKing on Feb 18, 2005 18:25:20 GMT -8
Thanks for the pics Veronica. I know from personal experience that Big couldn't be in better hands for his rehabilitation. Poor Big, I know him.  Unfortunately, CoRHS has over 90 iguanas in their care and attacks like this happen sometimes. But, considering how many there are, its great that it doesn't happen any more often than it does. CoRHS uses visual blocks in the ig habitats to help prevent this type of fight from getting out-of-hand, but sometimes the weaker ig doesn't get away fast enough. When I manned the ig rooms during the open house in the summer, I intervened in a few fights (jumping in front of a 16-pounder in full attack mode...that's enough to get your blood pumpin'  ), but the visual blocks usually do a good job. Hercules and Mercury, my previous girl, got into an occasional spat, but Mercury had pretty much established herself as the dominant one in the relationship, so nobody ever got hurt beyond an occasional scratch. It IS rare though...iguanas should NEVER be housed together under normal circumstances (i.e. most of us folks who go to work in the morning and leave our igs alone during the day). Audrey, on the other hand, is much more "demure" than Mercury, so she never forcefully rejected Hercules' advances. He actually didn't "attack" her, he was just trying to mate with her. She wasn't in the mood, but she was afraid to give him a nip, so she pulled away from him while he was trying to secure her. That was just iggy "love", and still, she almost died from it...she would have if I hadn't been there to give her emergency medical treatment.  Talk about embarrassing situations where everyone gives you horrified looks ...try going to the supermarket wearing blood-soaked clothes to get the first aid supplies you should have had but didn't.  I guess that's another point that should be made...even if you only have one iguana, ALWAYS have a good first aid kit put together for YOURSELF. BTW...having Super Glue on hand has been a real plus for me, I've managed to fix a couple of my own wounds from color-response test bites. The only drawback...the bleeding has to be stopped before it'll work.  Another good addition to the kit is zip-ties normally used for bundling wires (along with a good pair of flush-cut wire cutters to cut them off), they make a great tourniquet for finger bites, but use them with extreme care and NEVER use them on your iguana to stop bleeding. BTW...Audrey is doing fine. She FINALLY almost has full use of her left arm and the injury happened several months ago. I let them play together again...but ONLY UNDER CLOSE SUPERVISION. Audrey is getting a little more aggressive though, she actually hissed at Hercules. He was as surprised as I was, the look on his face was hilarious. ;D Here's a pic I took last night of Audrey with my new digital camera. Note the hoody in the background...I'm now also a civilian contractor at the US Air Force Academy...WOOHOO!!! ;D Well...I guess you had to be there.   |
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Post by prism_wolf on Feb 18, 2005 18:49:47 GMT -8
I forgot you had some time with CoRHS. I'd love to be near a place that had such a hand in reptile rescue.
I've also been looking at better digi-cams. Found one...a Cannon 8.0...*drool*. Only $1500. I wish! Congrats on the new job!
Ooo...and being a visual block for igs?? You have to be just a wee bit insane!
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Post by IguanaKing on Feb 18, 2005 19:03:21 GMT -8
Ooo...and being a visual block for igs?? You have to be just a wee bit insane! Nah...you just have to be bigger than the iguana and be able to hide your COMPLETE terror REALLY WELL. They respect both of those things. ;D I was involved, for a little while, with the construction of new habitats in a tractor shed on their property too. Things came up, and I wasn't able to actively participate anymore...maybe after my brother comes back home I can help again.  |
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Post by SurvivorSteph on Feb 18, 2005 19:22:41 GMT -8
That is a NASTY wound!! I'm surprised there was no brain injury since the skull was sliced open. Poor Big!
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Unfortunately, CoRHS has over 90 iguanas in their care and attacks like this happen sometimes. But, considering how many there are, its great that it doesn't happen any more often than it does. CoRHS uses visual blocks in the ig habitats to help prevent this type of fight from getting out-of-hand, but sometimes the weaker ig doesn't get away fast enough. When I manned the ig rooms during the open house in the summer, I intervened in a few fights (jumping in front of a 16-pounder in full attack mode...that's enough to get your blood pumpin' 
), but the visual blocks usually do a good job.
I guess that's another point that should be made...even if you only have one iguana, ALWAYS have a good first aid kit put together for YOURSELF. BTW...having Super Glue on hand has been a real plus for me, I've managed to fix a couple of my own wounds from color-response test bites. The only drawback...the bleeding has to be stopped before it'll work. 
Another good addition to the kit is zip-ties normally used for bundling wires (along with a good pair of flush-cut wire cutters to cut them off), they make a great tourniquet for finger bites, but use them with extreme care and NEVER use them on your iguana to stop bleeding.
