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Posted by Carrie on August 29, 1999 at 16:25:57:
Well everybody, I haven't been around here much since Trex passed away, but I did want to check in now that I finally got the results of the necropsy. I had posted right after it happened, to let you all know the preliminary findings - that it was most likely renal/kidney failure - but I was told that there were more tests to be run and that they would get back to me with the results. Well, after waiting a few weeks with no contact from them, I finally got off my a** and called to find out what was going on.
Anyway, I now have a fax copy (and a better one coming snail mail) of the results. I'm not entirely sure what all this medical jargon means, but the part I can understand is the comments section: "The extreme calcification in the multiple tissues examined is called `metastatic calcification' and is caused by oversupplementation of vitamin D and/or ultraviolet light with an adequate dietary supply of calcium. Usually the large arteries, the kidneys and the stomach are the most commonly affected tissues. The clinical signs associated with this condition are rather non-specific and most commonly include anorexia and weakness. There was some skeletal muscle fiber degeneration present (particularly in the jaw musculature) which probably reflects changes associated with anorexia and dehydration."
The sad part is that he was at "the best herp vet on the East Coast" just a few months earlier because he was lethargic and not eating well. He seemed to be having troubles with his mouth, and the vet put him on an antibiotic, but never drew blood or anything. I put too much trust in him and didn't question him on it, even though I always hear you all talking about levels of things in your igs' blood. I wondered why, but never made him check. I also checked right after that with the New England Herpetological Society, to see if anyone could recommend a good vet to go to and the response I got was to go to the very same vet I had just come from. I told the woman (who used to work for this vet) all the concerns I had after the visit - the vague and outdated information I had got from him, the lack of blood work - and she said that drawing blood wasn't a common thing, nor was it necessary.
The worst part, though, was that I had stopped really researching info on ig care and had gotten comfortable that I knew pretty much all I needed to know. The day he died, I had finally started up again, because I was looking for more info for NIAD presentations. I was finally reading the information on the Iguana Den site - where he says he doesn't supplement any more and explains why. I had printed out all the information and was going to go out that night to buy new food for him. If only I had read that info sooner, I might have saved him.
There is always so much more to learn. Will we ever get it right? Not to start a heated debate on what's right and wrong, but I find that these days I wonder alot, should these creatures even be housepets? We seem to kill so many through ignorance and inability to provide adequate homes. Well, I guess that's one of those questions for the ages.
Anyway, if anyone is interested in seeing the full autopsy report, I will gladly mail you a copy, just send me an e-mail and give me your address. I am hoping that somehow this information can help some of you with that continuous journey of learning how to properly care for your iguanas. If this at least helps make captive life a little better for some other igs, I can feel a little better.
- Carrie (missing Trex)
