No disagreements here......n/m

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Posted by xta on May 07, 2001 at 10:21:59:

In Reply to: 2 inch iguanas and other thoughts/long posted by Ig Chick on May 06, 2001 at 22:02:04:

: Hi all! I�ve been away from the board for a few weeks now, it�s just been crazy around here with gravid females, house demolition and rebuild, spring planting, etc .... been kinda a phantom on the net lately. Tonight has been the first time that I�ve had the opportunity to really sit down and read anything let alone write. Had a few thoughts to share and so I thought I�d put them all in one post, sorry if this gets kinda long.

: One of my neighbors told me about a pet store that was selling three foot long allegators that appeared to be covered in a white film that resembled a human yeast infection. So, being the civic minded person that I am, I went to check the pet store out. Among the MANY things that revolted me about the store, they had a 10 gallon tank filled with about 20 2-3 inch iguanas. Yes, you are reading that right, they were no more than 2 to 3 inches stl -that's their entire body length. I have never seen iguanas that small before and I wonder how an iguana that small will manage to eat the large chunks of iceburg lettuce the shop keeper threw in their 10 gallon tank. The sad part is, there is no size restriction on lizards so I can just bet that this guy carries them because unsuspecting parents buy them in twos and threes at $24.99 a piece so that Bobby and Suzy don't fight over them.

: Mel is doing fine, she still has more eggs but after some research and thought, we have decided that the best course of action is to do nothing at all but keep a careful eye on things. After reading tons of articles, consulting with our vet, getting ripped off by another vet, talking to other ig owners, etc. I got to the point where I was teary eyed with confusion and frustrated that no two people answered the same iguana related question the same way. After months of this I have come to the conclusion that 90% of the information available, both on the net and in printed books, is not all it�s cracked up to be. Let me apologize in advance to any �worshipers� of the so called �Iguana Gods� out there but I have seen first hand how much of their info just isn�t right. Truth be told the most accurate information I have been able to put together has been based on things that other iguana owners have shared with me. The more I talk to other iguana keepers and other herp enthusiasts out there, the more I am convinced that all of us are better of learning from each other instead of going out and buying books that in most cases are doing nothing but lining the author�s pockets with money.

: Another vent on the topic of vet care ........ Our monthly herp society meeting was today and the speaker was our beloved vet. He has some slides, one that particularly disturbed me was of an iguana whose back legs, vent area and tail were so riddled with gangrene that you cold literally see the rotting muscles under what was left of the flesh. This was an animal that WAS NOT brought to the vet until it was literally knocking on deaths door and obviously didn�t survive. Let me put out on the table right now that I don�t want to hear anyone�s opinion on how bad antibiotics are or how unnecessary vet care is .... it�s all hogwash and I�m sick of it. The REALITY of it is, had this animal been brought to the vet in the first place, this all could have been avoided. Instead, it was condemned to live out it short life in pain, not being able to move. So, I for one will not agree to disagree on the importance of having a qualified vet, taking the animal to see the vet and the use of antibiotics. I think it�s IRRESPONSIBLE and MORALLY BANKRUPT for anyone to pass out information, ESPECIALLY to a newbie in the area of iguana care, informing them that it is okay to perform medical procedures at home. You wanna play TV doctor that is fine but be warned that there are more than a few people who share my point of view and we will be more than vocal in our efforts to stop these kind of actions from taking place. For those of you who take this type of advice be warned ..... legally even a qualified veterinarian is prohibited from making a diagnosis, prescribing medication or suggesting a procedure without first seeing the animal.

: ***short note on the last paragraph : I�m sure that some people will get ruffled by that last paragraph. Please do not send email or post to me trying to change my mind ..... since you are allowed to post your OPINIONS here, so I am. Do the human thing, do the adult thing and let it ride.

:
: For the past few months, I�ve been watching a trend here on the net, on iguana related sites, where people try to make iguana out to be easy to care for animals or sites that don�t tell the whole truth about proper iguana care, costs, etc. Those of us who love these animals are doing them a disservice by not being 100% honest and up-front when it comes to passing out information. I have the following as an example..... I recently received an email from a woman in her mid-twenties begging me to help her find a home for the adult iguana she recently adopted. She had never had an iguana before and when she searched for information she was told by someone from an iguana related website that she could build a complete enclosure for less than $100.00. So, she took in the iguana only to find that the shell alone, with no heat, light or humidity, couldn�t be built for $100.00, let alone be outfitted with such a small amount of money. She was also told she could use plastic coated hardware cloth for the walls and after further research she was even more confused as to how to keep heat and humidity up in a wire enclosure without having to heat and humidify her entire house/room. I implore people who are contacted by others looking for information to either take the time to be completely forthcoming or to send them to someone else who will be. Because the person/people she had her initial contact with were not, this iguana is now looking for its third home.

: Lastly, while some of us here on the board are hard core iguana devotees with many years of experience and iguanas in the multiple numbers in our homes, some folks here are not but we all share a common interest in these amazing animals and that is why we are here. While it is true that we will not always agree with each other nor will we all always be on the same page when it comes to preservation, education and well-being, the fact that we all participate on this board makes us all a little responsible for sharing quality information with those people who seek to learn. As a community of people who have affection for these animals, whether we like it or not, people will come to this board expecting to be able to learn from us, our success and our mistakes. At one time or another, we were all newbies ourselves and for many of us it was hard to find any information at all, let alone correct information. I can�t stress enough the importance of making sure that the information we are sharing is accurate. I�m hearing more and more horror stories of people who have gotten bad care info off the net, the numbers are quickly catching up to people who got bad info from a pet store.

: Okay, I�m gonna get off my soap box now .... like I said before these were just some random thoughts that occurred to me tonight. I�ll sign off with a quote taken from the lecture I attended this weekend ...�Now, I�m probably gonna say a few things that you are going to disagree with and it�s going to p*ss you off. The truth is, if you have the opportunity to speak, you�re probably gonna say a few things that I disagree with and it�s gonna p*ss me off. So, let�s make a deal, you don�t say anything about it and either will I.�

:
: Peace,
: Ig Chick
:

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: : Hi all! I�ve been away from the board for a few weeks now, it�s just been crazy around here with gravid females, house demolition and rebuild, spring planting, etc .... been kinda a phantom on the net lately. Tonight has been the first time that I�ve had the opportunity to really sit down and read anything let alone write. Had a few thoughts to share and so I thought I�d put them all in one post, sorry if this gets kinda long. : : One of my neighbors told me about a pet store that was selling three foot long allegators that appeared to be covered in a white film that resembled a human yeast infection. So, being the civic minded person that I am, I went to check the pet store out. Among the MANY things that revolted me about the store, they had a 10 gallon tank filled with about 20 2-3 inch iguanas. Yes, you are reading that right, they were no more than 2 to 3 inches stl -that's their entire body length. I have never seen iguanas that small before and I wonder how an iguana that small will manage to eat the large chunks of iceburg lettuce the shop keeper threw in their 10 gallon tank. The sad part is, there is no size restriction on lizards so I can just bet that this guy carries them because unsuspecting parents buy them in twos and threes at $24.99 a piece so that Bobby and Suzy don't fight over them. : : Mel is doing fine, she still has more eggs but after some research and thought, we have decided that the best course of action is to do nothing at all but keep a careful eye on things. After reading tons of articles, consulting with our vet, getting ripped off by another vet, talking to other ig owners, etc. I got to the point where I was teary eyed with confusion and frustrated that no two people answered the same iguana related question the same way. After months of this I have come to the conclusion that 90% of the information available, both on the net and in printed books, is not all it�s cracked up to be. Let me apologize in advance to any �worshipers� of the so called �Iguana Gods� out there but I have seen first hand how much of their info just isn�t right. Truth be told the most accurate information I have been able to put together has been based on things that other iguana owners have shared with me. The more I talk to other iguana keepers and other herp enthusiasts out there, the more I am convinced that all of us are better of learning from each other instead of going out and buying books that in most cases are doing nothing but lining the author�s pockets with money. : : Another vent on the topic of vet care ........ Our monthly herp society meeting was today and the speaker was our beloved vet. He has some slides, one that particularly disturbed me was of an iguana whose back legs, vent area and tail were so riddled with gangrene that you cold literally see the rotting muscles under what was left of the flesh. This was an animal that WAS NOT brought to the vet until it was literally knocking on deaths door and obviously didn�t survive. Let me put out on the table right now that I don�t want to hear anyone�s opinion on how bad antibiotics are or how unnecessary vet care is .... it�s all hogwash and I�m sick of it. The REALITY of it is, had this animal been brought to the vet in the first place, this all could have been avoided. Instead, it was condemned to live out it short life in pain, not being able to move. So, I for one will not agree to disagree on the importance of having a qualified vet, taking the animal to see the vet and the use of antibiotics. I think it�s IRRESPONSIBLE and MORALLY BANKRUPT for anyone to pass out information, ESPECIALLY to a newbie in the area of iguana care, informing them that it is okay to perform medical procedures at home. You wanna play TV doctor that is fine but be warned that there are more than a few people who share my point of view and we will be more than vocal in our efforts to stop these kind of actions from taking place. For those of you who take this type of advice be warned ..... legally even a qualified veterinarian is prohibited from making a diagnosis, prescribing medication or suggesting a procedure without first seeing the animal. : : ***short note on the last paragraph : I�m sure that some people will get ruffled by that last paragraph. Please do not send email or post to me trying to change my mind ..... since you are allowed to post your OPINIONS here, so I am. Do the human thing, do the adult thing and let it ride. : : : : For the past few months, I�ve been watching a trend here on the net, on iguana related sites, where people try to make iguana out to be easy to care for animals or sites that don�t tell the whole truth about proper iguana care, costs, etc. Those of us who love these animals are doing them a disservice by not being 100% honest and up-front when it comes to passing out information. I have the following as an example..... I recently received an email from a woman in her mid-twenties begging me to help her find a home for the adult iguana she recently adopted. She had never had an iguana before and when she searched for information she was told by someone from an iguana related website that she could build a complete enclosure for less than $100.00. So, she took in the iguana only to find that the shell alone, with no heat, light or humidity, couldn�t be built for $100.00, let alone be outfitted with such a small amount of money. She was also told she could use plastic coated hardware cloth for the walls and after further research she was even more confused as to how to keep heat and humidity up in a wire enclosure without having to heat and humidify her entire house/room. I implore people who are contacted by others looking for information to either take the time to be completely forthcoming or to send them to someone else who will be. Because the person/people she had her initial contact with were not, this iguana is now looking for its third home. : : Lastly, while some of us here on the board are hard core iguana devotees with many years of experience and iguanas in the multiple numbers in our homes, some folks here are not but we all share a common interest in these amazing animals and that is why we are here. While it is true that we will not always agree with each other nor will we all always be on the same page when it comes to preservation, education and well-being, the fact that we all participate on this board makes us all a little responsible for sharing quality information with those people who seek to learn. As a community of people who have affection for these animals, whether we like it or not, people will come to this board expecting to be able to learn from us, our success and our mistakes. At one time or another, we were all newbies ourselves and for many of us it was hard to find any information at all, let alone correct information. I can�t stress enough the importance of making sure that the information we are sharing is accurate. I�m hearing more and more horror stories of people who have gotten bad care info off the net, the numbers are quickly catching up to people who got bad info from a pet store. : : Okay, I�m gonna get off my soap box now .... like I said before these were just some random thoughts that occurred to me tonight. I�ll sign off with a quote taken from the lecture I attended this weekend ...�Now, I�m probably gonna say a few things that you are going to disagree with and it�s going to p*ss you off. The truth is, if you have the opportunity to speak, you�re probably gonna say a few things that I disagree with and it�s gonna p*ss me off. So, let�s make a deal, you don�t say anything about it and either will I.� : : : : Peace, : : Ig Chick : :

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