Re: Blood test questions

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Posted by BabyHerp on July 20, 2001 at 03:29:54:

In Reply to: Blood test questions posted by Michelle on July 19, 2001 at 14:53:09:

Cardiac puncture method can be used but your vet is correct it IS risky! and anesthesia is often used cuz the iguana can NOT be moving at all!! as risk of heart damage from needle is a possibility.

Caudal tail venipuncture is PREFERRED and more reliable than toenail clipping method of drawing a sample in green iguana and anesthesia is NOT required to obtain blood either way. Toenails are NOT very sterile and bacteria,urate residue can throw off lab values.

Maybe you misunderstood your vet, maybe he's trying to generate $$, maybe he's inexperienced with GGI. You might want to clarify his procedure using caudal tail venipuncture before you proceed/decide if you should see another vet.

One blood sample is in itself not reliable in determining if a disease process is going on.

I would have 1 blood sample done as a baseline by the time JJ is a year old. What this one reveals should decide how frequently you/yer vet do bloodwork. A few months back my vet recommended MY IGS get bloodwork every 3 years vs. annually (they've had toenail and tail blood draws 2 different vets) I still haven't decided about this advice as both of my GGIs are now 6 yrs old and I DO worry about kidney disease!

Here's a website on Iguana Gender you might find useful. Probing GGIs after 3 months of age is pretty darn reliable. Your vet prolly can do this if you cannot wait a few more months to visually sex JJ.

Iguana Gender

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: Cardiac puncture method can be used but your vet is correct it IS risky! and anesthesia is often used cuz the iguana can NOT be moving at all!! as risk of heart damage from needle is a possibility. : Caudal tail venipuncture is PREFERRED and more reliable than toenail clipping method of drawing a sample in green iguana and anesthesia is NOT required to obtain blood either way. Toenails are NOT very sterile and bacteria,urate residue can throw off lab values. : Maybe you misunderstood your vet, maybe he's trying to generate $$, maybe he's inexperienced with GGI. You might want to clarify his procedure using caudal tail venipuncture before you proceed/decide if you should see another vet. : One blood sample is in itself not reliable in determining if a disease process is going on. : I would have 1 blood sample done as a baseline by the time JJ is a year old. What this one reveals should decide how frequently you/yer vet do bloodwork. A few months back my vet recommended MY IGS get bloodwork every 3 years vs. annually (they've had toenail and tail blood draws 2 different vets) I still haven't decided about this advice as both of my GGIs are now 6 yrs old and I DO worry about kidney disease! : Here's a website on Iguana Gender you might find useful. Probing GGIs after 3 months of age is pretty darn reliable. Your vet prolly can do this if you cannot wait a few more months to visually sex JJ.

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