Woah!

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Posted by Traci on July 03, 1999 at 10:47:10:

In Reply to: Sick Baby!! A Lost Cause?????? posted by Leslie O on July 03, 1999 at 10:23:42:

It was NOT a mistake to try to save him, but you are going to have your hands full...

Two things first:

STOP the dog food (NO animal protein, period) and get him to a veterinarian that specializes in reptiles for a full physical exam.

There may be internal problems that all the best intentions in the world will not take care of... let the vet help you diagnose and treat those, and we here can certainly help you with the rest! With that taken care of, your little one stands a much better chance.

A good thing to try for an iggy that won't eat is baby food. Make sure it's high quality baby food. I use the stuff Jayne Seymour advertises for.. no added sugars, etc. Try the apple or banana flavor, mine like it. You can feed them spoons (soft spoon) of baby food with a little bit of vitamins/calcium mixed in. Don't add so much of the vitamina nd calcium that he won't take it, though. Mine refused it that way.

I currently have one iguana that was in rather advanced stages of dehydration and starvation, and he is coming along quite nicely (only had him since June 12th, too!). My vet looked him over and ran blood and fecal tests on him ($108 total). The only thing abnormal was a very slight amount of pinworms in the feces.

One thing that he has enjoyed are 10-15 minute soaks in warm water. Make sure the iggy is clean when you put him in because he will probably drink from it if he is dehydrated. As posted here earlier, don't let him get TOO much in him at one time.

The others will post some good starter diets/foods for you, and I'll let them take that end of it. Mine all get collards, turnip, mustard, and chickory greens, escarole and dandelion greens, yellow, acorn, and butternut squash, and green beans. The squashes you have to microwave for a few seconds to make them soft. Let them cool completely and offer very small pieces to your ig. It's supposed to be sweet to them (as well as good for them) and that will probably help get his appetite back, those first few bites.

Good luck with him.. and as always, email me for more info if you like. I'm not an expert, but I can certainly try to help.

: Long story short....my local pet shop found a baby ig in the store. Not an escapee, they don't sell iguanas. He (she?) is in very bad shape. The belly and part of the underneath of the tail is completly black from being infested with mites!! He's also very weak and skinney. They were going to "put him down" so I offered to try to save the little guy. Was that a mistake?? He's had a couple of baths with diluted Betadine, which seemed to have gotten rid of most of the visable mites. But, I can't seem to get him to eat!! He wouldn't eat any of the collard greens and grated carrots I gave him, so I made a mixtue of finely chopped greens, wet dog food, tofu and bananas. He only takes a tiny bite and thats it!! Should I force feed him?? Any advise will be greatly appreciated!! Please help!! I want him to live but I don't want him to suffer either!!!! What should I do!!!!

Follow Ups:

Excellent advice! Iguanamomma 7/03/99 (4)
- Oops! Here's the website..... Iguanamomma 7/03/99 (3)
  - Good News Leslie O 7/03/99 (2)
    - Re: Good News cirsisue 7/04/99 (0)
    - Re: Good News Iguana 7/03/99 (0)

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: It was NOT a mistake to try to save him, but you are going to have your hands full... : Two things first: : STOP the dog food (NO animal protein, period) and get him to a veterinarian that specializes in reptiles for a full physical exam. : There may be internal problems that all the best intentions in the world will not take care of... let the vet help you diagnose and treat those, and we here can certainly help you with the rest! With that taken care of, your little one stands a much better chance. : A good thing to try for an iggy that won't eat is baby food. Make sure it's high quality baby food. I use the stuff Jayne Seymour advertises for.. no added sugars, etc. Try the apple or banana flavor, mine like it. You can feed them spoons (soft spoon) of baby food with a little bit of vitamins/calcium mixed in. Don't add so much of the vitamina nd calcium that he won't take it, though. Mine refused it that way. : I currently have one iguana that was in rather advanced stages of dehydration and starvation, and he is coming along quite nicely (only had him since June 12th, too!). My vet looked him over and ran blood and fecal tests on him ($108 total). The only thing abnormal was a very slight amount of pinworms in the feces. : One thing that he has enjoyed are 10-15 minute soaks in warm water. Make sure the iggy is clean when you put him in because he will probably drink from it if he is dehydrated. As posted here earlier, don't let him get TOO much in him at one time. : The others will post some good starter diets/foods for you, and I'll let them take that end of it. Mine all get collards, turnip, mustard, and chickory greens, escarole and dandelion greens, yellow, acorn, and butternut squash, and green beans. The squashes you have to microwave for a few seconds to make them soft. Let them cool completely and offer very small pieces to your ig. It's supposed to be sweet to them (as well as good for them) and that will probably help get his appetite back, those first few bites. : Good luck with him.. and as always, email me for more info if you like. I'm not an expert, but I can certainly try to help. : : Long story short....my local pet shop found a baby ig in the store. Not an escapee, they don't sell iguanas. He (she?) is in very bad shape. The belly and part of the underneath of the tail is completly black from being infested with mites!! He's also very weak and skinney. They were going to "put him down" so I offered to try to save the little guy. Was that a mistake?? He's had a couple of baths with diluted Betadine, which seemed to have gotten rid of most of the visable mites. But, I can't seem to get him to eat!! He wouldn't eat any of the collard greens and grated carrots I gave him, so I made a mixtue of finely chopped greens, wet dog food, tofu and bananas. He only takes a tiny bite and thats it!! Should I force feed him?? Any advise will be greatly appreciated!! Please help!! I want him to live but I don't want him to suffer either!!!! What should I do!!!!

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