Re: iguana miracle(?) story

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Posted by meagan on February 24, 1999 at 19:32:27:

In Reply to: iguana miracle(?) story posted by Rick on February 24, 1999 at 10:34:50:

well, first off, i`m happy to hear that every thing turned out ok. and secondly, i wanted to tell you my own story. you see my ig, petrie, was being kept in similar conditions,only in his case it was out of lazyness and intended neglect. my brothers friend was his first owner. then he moved and couldn`t keep him, so he gave him to my brother. my brother did not take care of him good at all. we live in the central valley of california and for the most part, the temps are warm. our summers are without fail over 100 every day. but the winters can get pretty chilly. usually about 50 at night but its not uncommon for it to reach 30-or lower. when my brother first got petrie, it was summer time, so an outdoor enclosure was ideal. then the temps started to drop at night around september to about 60. keep in mind, petrie is under one year at this time (svl of 6"). he is still being kept outdoors at night. and then in october it started to get a little colder, around 40-50 at night, and he was still being kept outside. i told my brother countless times to bring him in because it was too cold but he just didn`t seem to care. on top of that, my brother rarely fed him and when he did it was usually iceberg lettuce or bok choi. finally i had enough. i took petrie from the backyard enclosure and set him up a cage in my bedroom. at first, i wasn`t prepared and all he had was a bird cage, a heat rock( his only source of heat as i was not equipped before i took him) and a hide box. now he is over 8" svl a beautiful green color with a nicely set up aquarium. i got rid of the heat rock the next day when i was able to go buy him a proper heating setup ( basking lamp, human heating pad). but i wanted you to hear this story, because my ig survived as well. sometimes things go against all odds ya know? petrie was young, less than a year and even more sensitive to heat and humidity changes than an older mature ig. for him to be able to survive was amazing.

: They are free-roaming in our reptile room, an addition built on many years
: ago to our house, here in the south west US.

: We have had a warm spell and with the nighttime temps not getting much below 65F
: I would guess, the daytime temps around 75 - 79F, I decided that these guys
: would benefit from some much needed direct sunlight. We have a large metal dog
: kennel that I have secured under a large tree(leafless now) and some branches inside
: as well as a large water tray. They had been out there for azround 4 - 5 days/nights
: when Monday night's overnight temp unexpectedly dropped into the mid-30's.

: Well, needless to say, the green guys paid the price - dearly. It was about 7:30am, tuesday
: when I at work already, got a call from the wife, announcing that "I had killed the iguanas".
: I was devastated. she proceeded to tell me that on her route out back to check on the other
: animals we have out back(horses, etc..) she noticed the iguanas laying on the floor of the
: cage. Went over to them, opened the cage door and proceeded to lift out first "Bernie", the male
: She said his body was limp, one eye barely open, no breathing, and aparently had just expired.

: The female, on the other hand, was, by her description, dead much longer.
: She was bloated, her eyes closed tight and actually protruding outward.

: To repeat, I was devastated. I had no idea it was going to drop in temp as it did and had only the
: best intentions for our green friends. The whole rest of the day I beat myself up over my stupidity
: and oversighted neglect.

: the wife said she would leave them for me to "tend to". I told her that I intended to inter them
: over by the wood pile upon arriving home that afternoon.

: Well, after running a couple of errands enroute home, I pulled in the backyard, unloaded some hay & pellets
: and proceeded to the wood pile to begin clearing a spot, checking the hardness of the ground
: with a shovel. Then I proceeded towards the house, and as I passed by the cage under the tree, glanced
: towards my friends.

: THEY BOTH RAISED THEIR HEADS, TURNED TOWARDS ME AND BLINKED THEIR EYES!!!!!

: THEY WERE ALIVE!!! A MIRACLE???!!!

: I bolted to the cage, staring in disbelief as their heads and eyes tracked me and I opened the cage and
: touched each of them. They both looked as healthy as could be, quite full of life! What had happened?

: I raced to the house, as my wife had just arrived home from work, and laughing heartly announced that
: they were alive!! Both of them!! She said, with disbelief and wide-eyed denial: "No way" I saw them both
: quite dead! I dragged her outside where she, too, stared at the bobbing heads and blinking eyes as I did.

: How could this be, and recalled that as I walked towards the house a minute before, that my thoughts
: were saying if just one of them was still alive, my grevious error would be a little easier to live with.
: But both lived. How?

: We scooped them both up and brought them inside, placed them on the hot rock, positioned a heatlamp and got
: some food, which they began to eat.

: Way back when we first got them, we had been told, or at least lead to believe that these creatures were, upon
: occasion, able to survive certain "low, overnight temperatures". But this was too much.

: Anyway, to wrap up, I share this with you in the hopes that perhaps one of you may shed some light on our personal
: miracle, maybe an explanation, maybe just a similar experience. Whatever.

: I anxiously await any and all replies.

: Rick
: GLB

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: well, first off, i`m happy to hear that every thing turned out ok. and secondly, i wanted to tell you my own story. you see my ig, petrie, was being kept in similar conditions,only in his case it was out of lazyness and intended neglect. my brothers friend was his first owner. then he moved and couldn`t keep him, so he gave him to my brother. my brother did not take care of him good at all. we live in the central valley of california and for the most part, the temps are warm. our summers are without fail over 100 every day. but the winters can get pretty chilly. usually about 50 at night but its not uncommon for it to reach 30-or lower. when my brother first got petrie, it was summer time, so an outdoor enclosure was ideal. then the temps started to drop at night around september to about 60. keep in mind, petrie is under one year at this time (svl of 6"). he is still being kept outdoors at night. and then in october it started to get a little colder, around 40-50 at night, and he was still being kept outside. i told my brother countless times to bring him in because it was too cold but he just didn`t seem to care. on top of that, my brother rarely fed him and when he did it was usually iceberg lettuce or bok choi. finally i had enough. i took petrie from the backyard enclosure and set him up a cage in my bedroom. at first, i wasn`t prepared and all he had was a bird cage, a heat rock( his only source of heat as i was not equipped before i took him) and a hide box. now he is over 8" svl a beautiful green color with a nicely set up aquarium. i got rid of the heat rock the next day when i was able to go buy him a proper heating setup ( basking lamp, human heating pad). but i wanted you to hear this story, because my ig survived as well. sometimes things go against all odds ya know? petrie was young, less than a year and even more sensitive to heat and humidity changes than an older mature ig. for him to be able to survive was amazing. : : They are free-roaming in our reptile room, an addition built on many years : : ago to our house, here in the south west US. : : We have had a warm spell and with the nighttime temps not getting much below 65F : : I would guess, the daytime temps around 75 - 79F, I decided that these guys : : would benefit from some much needed direct sunlight. We have a large metal dog : : kennel that I have secured under a large tree(leafless now) and some branches inside : : as well as a large water tray. They had been out there for azround 4 - 5 days/nights : : when Monday night's overnight temp unexpectedly dropped into the mid-30's. : : Well, needless to say, the green guys paid the price - dearly. It was about 7:30am, tuesday : : when I at work already, got a call from the wife, announcing that "I had killed the iguanas". : : I was devastated. she proceeded to tell me that on her route out back to check on the other : : animals we have out back(horses, etc..) she noticed the iguanas laying on the floor of the : : cage. Went over to them, opened the cage door and proceeded to lift out first "Bernie", the male : : She said his body was limp, one eye barely open, no breathing, and aparently had just expired. : : The female, on the other hand, was, by her description, dead much longer. : : She was bloated, her eyes closed tight and actually protruding outward. : : To repeat, I was devastated. I had no idea it was going to drop in temp as it did and had only the : : best intentions for our green friends. The whole rest of the day I beat myself up over my stupidity : : and oversighted neglect. : : the wife said she would leave them for me to "tend to". I told her that I intended to inter them : : over by the wood pile upon arriving home that afternoon. : : Well, after running a couple of errands enroute home, I pulled in the backyard, unloaded some hay & pellets : : and proceeded to the wood pile to begin clearing a spot, checking the hardness of the ground : : with a shovel. Then I proceeded towards the house, and as I passed by the cage under the tree, glanced : : towards my friends. : : THEY BOTH RAISED THEIR HEADS, TURNED TOWARDS ME AND BLINKED THEIR EYES!!!!! : : THEY WERE ALIVE!!! A MIRACLE???!!! : : I bolted to the cage, staring in disbelief as their heads and eyes tracked me and I opened the cage and : : touched each of them. They both looked as healthy as could be, quite full of life! What had happened? : : I raced to the house, as my wife had just arrived home from work, and laughing heartly announced that : : they were alive!! Both of them!! She said, with disbelief and wide-eyed denial: "No way" I saw them both : : quite dead! I dragged her outside where she, too, stared at the bobbing heads and blinking eyes as I did. : : How could this be, and recalled that as I walked towards the house a minute before, that my thoughts : : were saying if just one of them was still alive, my grevious error would be a little easier to live with. : : But both lived. How? : : We scooped them both up and brought them inside, placed them on the hot rock, positioned a heatlamp and got : : some food, which they began to eat. : : Way back when we first got them, we had been told, or at least lead to believe that these creatures were, upon : : occasion, able to survive certain "low, overnight temperatures". But this was too much. : : Anyway, to wrap up, I share this with you in the hopes that perhaps one of you may shed some light on our personal : : miracle, maybe an explanation, maybe just a similar experience. Whatever. : : I anxiously await any and all replies. : : Rick : : GLB

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