Help with refugee ig...long but please read and help...

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Posted by JC on April 27, 2001 at 22:13:16:

Hello,
I recently was asked to adopt this ig. While I've keep many other lizards (savs, salvator, albigularis monitors, and beardies), I've never had the hankering to own an ig. But this lady dang near started crying on me and I couldn't help but to take the poor creature from her.

Anyway, the lady had this female ig that's about 4' long in a 5'x3'x30" cage that had a big pine log in it...the cage itself is essentially a frame of pine 2x4's that's screened in. But there was some trim of the cage that was cedar. I ripped the cedar out and replaced it with pine and I also ditched the pine log.

The pine log had many pinhead-size bugs on it that she told me were mites but to me they look just like chiggers from the pine log. She also told me that the chronic skin condition that the animal suffered from was a result of the mite infestation...in the pic. By the way, I've only noticed one or two of these red bugs on the ig and have not seen ANY in her cage.

I've never had ANY of my lizards to succumb to mites, yet alone RED ones. ARE there red mites that get on igs?????

Also, as you can see in the pics, this animal looks like hell. But she is eating, drinking and pooping like a normal ig...as best I can tell. When I take here to get some sun, she is fairly active and "tastes" everything as I would expect a normal ig to do.

Currently I am just trying to feed her a good diet as much as I can and treat the pussy wounds. This is the skinny of the diet and treatment.

1. Every morning, I feed her 2-3 leaves of washed mustard greens
in addition to ~1/2 cup of the MK salad (parsnips, strawberries, alfafa pellets, squash, green beans, and a crushed centrum. Also, top this with Miner-All (indoor formula)

2. Her cage has a reptisun 3.0 (I think??) UV light (12 h on/12 h off) and a basking spot right at 100 F. And fresh water is available at all times.

3. At night, I soak her in a water bath first and then a dilute providone bath. Also, last night I put some triple antibiotic cream on the wounds.

Do any of you have any idea what these wounds are? What caused them and most importantly, what's the best way to treat them? The wounds are constantly weeping a clear puss (I've had her for a week to the day). Is a 10% or so hydrogen peroxide solution ok to wash these wounds with? Also, I suspect that a few hours of good direct sunlight would be good but during the week this is tough as I don't get off work until 5 pm or so and there's not alot of good daylight left...of course I make sure the temps outside are at least in the upper 70's but most of the time it's around 85 F here.

One last thing, I've noticed some orange crusty crap on her neck that appears to be excriment from the chiggers (red bugs). I scrub this off with a soft toothbrush but in a couple of days it starts to come back...for what this is worth.

Thanks for the replies.
JC

Follow Ups:

I've seen damage like this from mites only once before... jif 04/28/01 (0)
JC, I believe it is possible.... JohnT 04/28/01 (0)
The sadest part of the whole story is... JC 04/28/01 (0)
Re: Thanks for your words of encouragement and more... JC 04/28/01 (1)
- Re: more... iZ's mom 04/28/01 (0)
Re: Help with refugee ig...long but please read and help... Donna 04/28/01 (0)
POOR POOR POOR IGUANA!!!!!!!!!!!! ugggggggggggggh xta 04/28/01 (0)
Re: RUN don't walk to your herp vet! BabyHerp 04/28/01 (0)
message of support marisa 04/27/01 (0)

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: Hello, : I recently was asked to adopt this ig. While I've keep many other lizards (savs, salvator, albigularis monitors, and beardies), I've never had the hankering to own an ig. But this lady dang near started crying on me and I couldn't help but to take the poor creature from her. : Anyway, the lady had this female ig that's about 4' long in a 5'x3'x30" cage that had a big pine log in it...the cage itself is essentially a frame of pine 2x4's that's screened in. But there was some trim of the cage that was cedar. I ripped the cedar out and replaced it with pine and I also ditched the pine log. : The pine log had many pinhead-size bugs on it that she told me were mites but to me they look just like chiggers from the pine log. She also told me that the chronic skin condition that the animal suffered from was a result of the mite infestation...in the pic. By the way, I've only noticed one or two of these red bugs on the ig and have not seen ANY in her cage. : I've never had ANY of my lizards to succumb to mites, yet alone RED ones. ARE there red mites that get on igs????? : Also, as you can see in the pics, this animal looks like hell. But she is eating, drinking and pooping like a normal ig...as best I can tell. When I take here to get some sun, she is fairly active and "tastes" everything as I would expect a normal ig to do. : : Currently I am just trying to feed her a good diet as much as I can and treat the pussy wounds. This is the skinny of the diet and treatment. : 1. Every morning, I feed her 2-3 leaves of washed mustard greens : in addition to ~1/2 cup of the MK salad (parsnips, strawberries, alfafa pellets, squash, green beans, and a crushed centrum. Also, top this with Miner-All (indoor formula) : 2. Her cage has a reptisun 3.0 (I think??) UV light (12 h on/12 h off) and a basking spot right at 100 F. And fresh water is available at all times. : 3. At night, I soak her in a water bath first and then a dilute providone bath. Also, last night I put some triple antibiotic cream on the wounds. : Do any of you have any idea what these wounds are? What caused them and most importantly, what's the best way to treat them? The wounds are constantly weeping a clear puss (I've had her for a week to the day). Is a 10% or so hydrogen peroxide solution ok to wash these wounds with? Also, I suspect that a few hours of good direct sunlight would be good but during the week this is tough as I don't get off work until 5 pm or so and there's not alot of good daylight left...of course I make sure the temps outside are at least in the upper 70's but most of the time it's around 85 F here. : One last thing, I've noticed some orange crusty crap on her neck that appears to be excriment from the chiggers (red bugs). I scrub this off with a soft toothbrush but in a couple of days it starts to come back...for what this is worth. : Thanks for the replies. : JC

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