Help me save Izzy's life; Share your knowledge!

[natalie79]

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

[prism_wolf]

I'm very sorry your post wasn't answered. You took a lot of time and care to provide EVERYTHING you could to get as thorough an aswer (answers) as humanly possible. I don't have time at the moment...and hopefully you received some answers from SOMEWHERE! I will get back to you when I have time away from work. The answers will be lengthy and deserve as completely as I can offer as you have done to provide.

Thank you for stopping here Nat. It can be frustrating when no vet care is near enough to get help, but many vets will treat them anyway...just under the wire is all. I'll be back later and do my best. Nothing seems life-threatening as of now, but certainly needing some sort of attention.

As short answers...don't worry about broken toes. They'll be fine.

The spike infliction looks mildly like a burn, but the rest do look to be a possible bacterial infection. Keep pumping him with electrolytes.

More later.

[Jen]

Alot of the crust does look like burns, however there are bacterial infections that have the same appearance as a burn would. Is there anyway your Ig may have been burned before coming in to your care? If we can rule that out as a possibility then its probably a bacterial or fungal infection. Bacterial infections can be caused by mites, so keep an eye out for tiny little bugs. There are antibiotics that can be used for bacterial infections one is called baytril.

I got this next bit of info from Iguana Den.
Slurry
2 cups of collards
1 cup of dandelion
1 cup of Arugula
1 cup of mustard greens
2-3 cups of pedialyte
1 cup of smelly fruit (mangoes, cantaloupe, strawberries,
fresh figs, etc.)

Blend 3-4 minutes on high.

Strain through old (clean) pantyhose for a very sick ig so you get liquid only. For other, strain through a colander if the syringe will not pick it up easily straight from the blender.

Serve at room temperature.

Depending on size of iguana will depend on amount served.
Feed/Hydrate 3-5 times daily for best results.

Refrigerate leftovers, but think of it as baby formula, got to get it warm/room temperature before serving. Use hot water for this, as microwaves create hotspots and break down the nutritional value.

(Substitute other good greens if dandelion, arugula, and mustard are not available. I also have used watercress, turnip, chicory, escarole/endive although collards are the best and the next 3 listed are next best).

Start with 1 cup of pedialyte at a time until you get a nice consistency that is watery for hydration or paste for nutrition.
I use large syringes to suck up the paste (feeder syringes or baby medicine syringes and hook tips for water. Talk to your vet as he might show you how to stomach tube a listless ig. IF fighting, this isn't an option).
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DIRECTIONS FOR ADMINISTERING

1. When attempting to give a slurry to a sick iguana, it is important to get the digestive system working properly, or the iguana may go into shock. This is accomplished by hydration. To hydrate an iguana, you can either IV a water/glucose mixture, subcutaneous fluid (under the skin), or use a medicine syringe to get fluid into the stomach. As the first two can only be performed by professionals, the 3rd option is what is left to most herp owners. This step is an important one, as adding semi-solids to an empty and depleted stomach/digestive system can cause an animal (or human for that matter) to go into shock. I am sure you have heard stories of starving people who eat too much/too rich and end up expelling the food. If you want your iguana to get better, you have to prime the pump, so to speak.

2. To begin, give 1/2 pedialyte and 1/2 water. Warm this to about 90 degrees F. Using a commonly found medicine syringe or eyedropper, you will draw up an amount proportional to the iguana's size.
Large/adult iguanas will require 2-3 oz. while babies, only 1/2 tablespoon. Unless you have experience, the next step will require 2 (sometimes 3) people!


3. One person grasps the iguana firmly around the neck and shoulders, with the forearm tucked under the chest and belly, and the tail tucked with elbow by the body. Make sure the iguana's head and body is tilted upwards at about a 45-degree angle. The second person should pull down gently, but firmly, on the iguana's dewlap. This may take two hands. One to hold the head and one to pull on the dewlap. Open the mouth fully. You should be able to see the esophagus. This is the hole at the back of the throat. The airway is, surprisingly to many people, under the tongue. This is why you cannot just fill the mouth of an iguana with liquid. A weakened animal will choke. An iguana in normal circumstances will fill its mouth with water, then tilt the head back to let gravity assist in swallowing.

4. Take your syringe and move in from the side. You do not want to accidentally go under the tongue. Place the syringe (or medicine dropper or tube) at the back of the throat. You should be able to see the esophagus. Gently place the syringe in the entrance of this tube. You need to be sure that you do not irritate the lining of the throat, as this can lead to swelling, making it even harder for the iguana to eat or drink.

5. Squeeze, push, or release the pedialyte mixture down the esophagus. When the syringe is empty, remove it. Allow you iguana to close its mouth. Keep the head pointed at least at 45 degrees (more is better) so that the liquid cannot back up into the mouth. Many iguanas will refuse to swallow/close the esophageal tube for up to ten minutes. After this amount of time, repeat to get the required amount of liquid down. When finished, keep the head up for another 15-30 minutes (or longer for very sick iguanas). Keep an eye on your iguana because he could aspirate (Choke and die) easily at this time.

You need to do this 2 times the first day. A third hydration is also necessary, but at this time, you can add a little fruit juice (10-20% of the solution) so the iguana can have an additional energy source.

The next day, you will use the slurry juice. This is the slurry that has been strained through a fine sieve (hosiery) 3 times a day.
The 3rd day, use a bit thicker juice (colander strained) 3 times a day.

On the fourth day, you can use the thick slurry 2-3 times and slurry juice/pedialyte 1-2 times. This can be continued until your iguana
is feeding on its own. When the iguana starts to eat, cut back to 1-2 times a day, but you need to make sure your iguana is eating enough.
Have you been soaking him in any type of solution? If not I recomend mixing betadine with warm water. Add just enough betadine to make the water the color of tea.

[prism_wolf]

Excellent info Jennifer. I use Iguana Den for a lot of information. I have stuff submitted on there, as well.

When bathing...make sure the water is only at shoulder level and stay with him. As weak as he is he may have trouble keeping his head above water. Placing a rock or a rolled up wash cloth or some such to rest his head on will help.