17 YO Iggy, eating troubles and gasping after eating.

[envision]

I found this forum so I figured I'd post an issue im having. Iggy is 17 years old and she's had a long beautiful life despite living in NYC. About 3 years ago she started to develop breathing issues after eating. Took to a few vets including an avian and reptile specialist and after x-rays and exams none could find out why. They figured it must be a neurological issue with the muscles that allow food to run down into the digestive tract. She still eats daily but poops right away after eating. Poop looks OK.

Today I noticed she's less active than usual and the fat deposit on the back of the head is gone, meaning the body is not getting the nutrients it needs. What's the best way I can make sure im doing all I can to feed her well in the final stretch of her life?

[JennaAndIguanaGwen]

Hi envision! I'm sorry to hear that Iggy is having some breathing issues. I'm not 100% sure if this will help in your situation but you can try cutting/shredding her food into smaller pieces and make sure its extra moist to help with swallowing. Sometimes when I used to mist my iguana, Gwendolyn, I would spray some in her mouth as well to keep her extra hydrated.That might be something to try before she eats her food. If she isn't absorbing enough nutrients you may want to get a new UVB bulb and make sure she is getting highly nutritious food. We have a food chart were but unfortunately the original formatting disappeared a while ago so it doesn't look as good as it used to. It still has all the information though.

I hope those tips help!

-Jenna

Food Chart:
tesa.proboards.com/thread/3578/food-chart