Re: iguana sneazing :HELP

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Posted by xta on April 18, 2002 at 07:27:37:

In Reply to: Re: iguana sneazing :HELP posted by saria on April 18, 2002 at 00:13:51:

A fresh fecal sample means= right after your iguana poops, take the fresh poop to the vet to have it checked for parasites (the test works better if you can get it right over there). For a list of herp vets, look at http://www.herpvetconnection.com/

You do need some changes in your lighting and diet. Eventually you will need a bigger cage too, but get the other stuff first. Don't feed pellets! (save it for emergency food). Iguanas need fresh veggies like collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion, hibiscus leaves/flowers, escarole, watercress, endive, with some squash, pea pods, green beans shredded on top, and a little fruit on top like melon, berries, papaya, mango. Write these foods down so you can look for them at the market and stores. You do not have to give them all at once, but pick several off the list and then change out some of the veggies each week. The greens should make up a large portion of his diet-- and they cannot be romaine lettuce (you need more calcium rich veggies!)

Now for lights-- you need a heat light, which you probably already have in one of the lights you bought...although you can use a regular house bulb in the future. Get the wattage of bulb that gets your temps up high (use a thermometer in your cage to see how hot it is). The 2nd kind of light you need is a UV light. It doesn't sound like you have this. These bulbs you can get online cheaper at lllreptile.com or herpsupplies.com (about $20)OR you can get them in the petstore for about $30. These bulbs shouldn't be blocked by screen and should be no more than 1 foot away from your iguana's favorite basking spot. Get the flourescent Zoomed 5.0 Iguana light. If you can afford it, you can get an all in one heat/UV light that can be kept more than 1 foot away....this is the Zoomed Powersun bulb or the Active UV bulb ($50-$65). These give off even more UV light. Don't waste your time with other brands. You need one of these 3 types. Unless your iguana is kept outside in direct sun all day, it will need this to utilize the calcium from his food. This is the single most important fact-- your diet and lights! Otherwise your iguana will join the 1000's of other dying iguanas with Metabolic Bone Disease--where their bones become so soft that they get deformed and break...it is hideous.

Also, it would be a good idea to buy a book. Two good books are either Melissa Kaplan's "Iguanas for Dummies" or James Hatfield's "Giant Green Iguana Manual"

Good luck and keep us posted. :)

: well umm my cage it used to be a dog cennal it had really wide bars so we put screaning all over the inside and duck taped the edges(but not to were she could get stuck) and the llight i have well i dont know what exactly it is i got it at the pet store it is a black heat light and i have a hood to go over it so she doesent burn her self and i have a nice size water bowl that she can swim in or drink out of (member she is still a baby) and i feed her some pellets that r for baby green iguanas and romane lettuce and i am getting her some allfalfa parsnips and squash tomarrow oh and i have a peice of drift wood in there oh and what do you mean by fresh facle sample??? oh and i will be sure to do that after i find out what it is

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: A fresh fecal sample means= right after your iguana poops, take the fresh poop to the vet to have it checked for parasites (the test works better if you can get it right over there). For a list of herp vets, look at http://www.herpvetconnection.com/ : You do need some changes in your lighting and diet. Eventually you will need a bigger cage too, but get the other stuff first. Don't feed pellets! (save it for emergency food). Iguanas need fresh veggies like collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, dandelion, hibiscus leaves/flowers, escarole, watercress, endive, with some squash, pea pods, green beans shredded on top, and a little fruit on top like melon, berries, papaya, mango. Write these foods down so you can look for them at the market and stores. You do not have to give them all at once, but pick several off the list and then change out some of the veggies each week. The greens should make up a large portion of his diet-- and they cannot be romaine lettuce (you need more calcium rich veggies!) : Now for lights-- you need a heat light, which you probably already have in one of the lights you bought...although you can use a regular house bulb in the future. Get the wattage of bulb that gets your temps up high (use a thermometer in your cage to see how hot it is). The 2nd kind of light you need is a UV light. It doesn't sound like you have this. These bulbs you can get online cheaper at lllreptile.com or herpsupplies.com (about $20)OR you can get them in the petstore for about $30. These bulbs shouldn't be blocked by screen and should be no more than 1 foot away from your iguana's favorite basking spot. Get the flourescent Zoomed 5.0 Iguana light. If you can afford it, you can get an all in one heat/UV light that can be kept more than 1 foot away....this is the Zoomed Powersun bulb or the Active UV bulb ($50-$65). These give off even more UV light. Don't waste your time with other brands. You need one of these 3 types. Unless your iguana is kept outside in direct sun all day, it will need this to utilize the calcium from his food. This is the single most important fact-- your diet and lights! Otherwise your iguana will join the 1000's of other dying iguanas with Metabolic Bone Disease--where their bones become so soft that they get deformed and break...it is hideous. : Also, it would be a good idea to buy a book. Two good books are either Melissa Kaplan's "Iguanas for Dummies" or James Hatfield's "Giant Green Iguana Manual" : Good luck and keep us posted. :) : : : well umm my cage it used to be a dog cennal it had really wide bars so we put screaning all over the inside and duck taped the edges(but not to were she could get stuck) and the llight i have well i dont know what exactly it is i got it at the pet store it is a black heat light and i have a hood to go over it so she doesent burn her self and i have a nice size water bowl that she can swim in or drink out of (member she is still a baby) and i feed her some pellets that r for baby green iguanas and romane lettuce and i am getting her some allfalfa parsnips and squash tomarrow oh and i have a peice of drift wood in there oh and what do you mean by fresh facle sample??? oh and i will be sure to do that after i find out what it is

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