Brain bulge deflated a little?

[cjzoller]

Hi all,

Recently I have noticed my 8 year old ig's brain bulge sort of deflate a little bit.

Recently he had some redness in his mouth and he was having trouble swallowing. He would pick his head up and have a hard time taking in any food, although his appetite was still high. So we took him to the vet and the vet prescribed 25mg zenaquin which he has been taking daily for 3 weeks. He also gave us some neo-predef.

His follow up visit is Friday. But he is swallowing ok again. But his potty training routine is out the window lately, he has been crapping in his cage every day and not in the bath. We can't seem to get his schedule back on track. Otherwise hes acting normal and looks as healthy as usual. One other weird thing is he can't stop trying to eat the carpet. He NEVER did this until about a month ago.

His tank is around 75-80 in most areas, about 90 in his basking spot. Gets about 10 hours of night light and 7 or so hours of UVB from a 36inch hood. The rest of the time he is roaming free in our house(with supervision of course).

His diet is a mix of greens, a little fruit. Reptomin soft gel. We spray it all with water. He takes about 2 baths a day. He loves them. So I know hes hydrated.

Heres a pic. Anyone have any ideas? I'm going to get a blood screen done on him Friday. He hasn't had one in about 2 years.

Thanks!

[prism_wolf]

I'm only on break so not much time to answer...but I wanted you to know your post has been noticed...:-D Welcome to the forum and I - or someone else - will try to get back to you later.

[IguanaKing]

Hi Cjzoller, welcome to IZ! ;D

His brain bumps are deflating and he's trying to eat the carpet? Those two things sound like he's not getting enough to eat. Remember to feed him whever he is out of food. There's no set quantity for any iguana on any given day, sometimes they'll eat more, sometimes they'll eat less. So, when he eats all of his food, feed him again...iguanas don't overeat, so you won't have to worry about over-feeding him. The brain bumps are little fat deposits and when his body isn't getting enough nutrients, it will pull fat from the fat deposits in his brain bumps and at the base of his tail. How does the base of his tail feel? It should be plump and firm, it shouldn't appear limp or have loose-looking skin.

Since your vet gave him an oral antibiotic, remember that those antibiotics are pretty indiscriminant about what they kill in his system. The also have a tendancy to kill off the good bacteria that he needs for proper digestion of his food.

Check out this thread for a list of reptile-approved probiotics which you can sprinkle on his food to replace the good bacteria.

tesa.proboards24.com/index.cgi?board=diet&action=display&thread=3505&page=1

Also, your temps in his enclosure look OK, but the high temp you have of 90 degrees is a little too low. It should, ideally, be right around 95 degrees. Insufficent heat will also do strange things to his appetite.

[cjzoller]

Thanks for the response!

He definitely is not eating what he use to, but he still is eating a decent amount. The only difference is, he was an absolute PIG. He now just seems to be "normal"(not for him). Maybe he is training for a marathon or something I just don't know about.

He ALWAYS has food in his bowl. We never keep him dry. My wife likes to hand feed him when she gets home from work also. So hes not short any food, just not eating like he use too. I think his mouth/throat just still seems to hurt him a little bit, or his antibiotics just are messing with his appetite.

I just ordered a new UVB to spike up the heat, his is about 13 months old.

I hope is brain bulges pump back up. He looks manly with his iguana bra on his head:) hmmmm maybe I should break out the bicycle pump??

Thanks again for the response!

[prism_wolf]

Thanks IK~

CJ - He's gorgeous! I can't see most pictures from work because of the filters so I didn't even know you had him on there until I opened the post here at home. I just want to squishy his jowls... ;D.

So what kind of UVB source are you using? Most sources should be changed every 6-9 months with the exception of the Mega Ray EB and that doesn't supply much heat.

What did the vet feel was the cause of his redness in the mouth and the problem swallowing? Did he do a blood panel? Possibly an x-ray?