Posted by iZ's mom (+ Kirby too) on August 01, 2000 at 18:41:59:
In Reply to: Mysterious lump on iguanas cheek- need help asap!! posted by Donna Carrick Londono on August 01, 2000 at 16:59:20:
as far as keeping her comfy ... the 1st thing that comes to mind, especially since she's not eating, is to get some fluids into her ... an oral syringe/med dropper and some Pedialyte a couple times a day ... (if you've never done this ... igs want to stick their nose in the air while you do this ... try to keep her head level with the ground or nose pointed down a bit before squirting anything into her mouth ... it'll hit the tongue rather than the back of her mouth that way and reduce the risk of aspiration *and* reduce the feeling that you're trying to drown her) ...
along with making sure she doesn't get dehydrated, i'd try hand feeding her *small* pieces of her favorite food ... *coaxing* rather than forcing ... or ... what's worked for me when the iZ-monster was sick was to spoon feed him collards that i'd run thru the blender (i use a rubber tipped baby spoon to be sure he didn't break a tooth if he decided to chomp down on it) ... alaong with keeping her hydrated, i'd try to get at least a bit of food/calories in her to keep her energy up ... if that means she gets to have a meal of her favorite fruit and that's all, for right now, i'd go for it! just to get some calories in her ...
re: the swelling ... steroids/prednisone to reduce the edema come to mind ... don't know if there's such a thing as a *topical* steriod???? to apply directly to the spot ... ????? ...
wonder if something like "baby ora-jel" would sooth the soreness??? (+ possibly the swelling somewhat???) ... wonder if a cool compress to that side of her face would be soothing and/or helpful??? that'd be my first thought for a mammal, not sure which way to go with an ig ...
it *does* sound like you've done everything you could so far! getting to the vet's, etc, etc ... i hope it gets figured out soon!! i know the waiting on tests is excruciating ...
very best wishes for a speedy speedy recovery!!
Bon., iZ + Kirby