More: Room humidifiers???Why???Iguanas dont need that!!!

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Posted by Roger on July 18, 2002 at 08:44:02:

Your observations do not apply to captive igs, similarly to my observations that our common tree squirrel eat Amanita mushrooms which are uniformly fatal if eaten by humans. I do not observe the squirrels and conclude that amanita mushrooms are edible.

Without added humidity, most igs have various drieness-related problems. This is a generalization that is true for *captive igs in Northern latitudes*, despite observations of wild-ig habitat in other parts of the world.

Igs who don't receive supplemental humidity (this is doubly true of young igs who have a higher surface/volume ratio: i.e. more skin per gram of iguana) commonly get these problems:

Dehydration leading to loss of appetite. This is easily and often verified with blood tests. Heated-cage humidity, without supplementation, is below 20%.

Drying-out of the "parting fluid" which the ig's skin extrudes between the new skin and the old skin that is to be shed. The old skin then adheres to the ig's body making the ig very uncomfrtable, reducing appetite and increasing stress. When old shed clings around toes while the ig is growing, the old skin acts like a torniquet, cuting off the blood supply, often resulting in the loss of the toe/toes. This can cause infections that too often spread up the leg, become septic and kill the ig. This stuff must also happen to the occasional wild ig during a drought, but there is no point in making our captive igs vulnerable to those problems.

Chronic dehydration is stressful to ig kidneys, causing formation of bladder stones, and over time, kidney failure. Liver stress results from chronic dehydration.

Captive igs generally don't live as long as wild ones (whereas many other captive animals such as bears live much longer in captivity), and ig keepers strive to create *optimum* artificial habitat conditions for the sake of the health of their igs.

Young gs often seem healthy even when they are kept in dry conditions, but most of these will have a life-span of less than five years.

Igs do lose a lot of water to the environment by their physiology, excreting it in their urates, feces and nose (salt excretion).

Roger

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Re: More: Room humidifiers???Why???Iguanas dont need that!!! Flavia Guimaraes 07/19/02 (0)

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: Your observations do not apply to captive igs, similarly to my observations that our common tree squirrel eat Amanita mushrooms which are uniformly fatal if eaten by humans. I do not observe the squirrels and conclude that amanita mushrooms are edible. : Without added humidity, most igs have various drieness-related problems. This is a generalization that is true for *captive igs in Northern latitudes*, despite observations of wild-ig habitat in other parts of the world. : Igs who don't receive supplemental humidity (this is doubly true of young igs who have a higher surface/volume ratio: i.e. more skin per gram of iguana) commonly get these problems: : Dehydration leading to loss of appetite. This is easily and often verified with blood tests. Heated-cage humidity, without supplementation, is below 20%. : Drying-out of the "parting fluid" which the ig's skin extrudes between the new skin and the old skin that is to be shed. The old skin then adheres to the ig's body making the ig very uncomfrtable, reducing appetite and increasing stress. When old shed clings around toes while the ig is growing, the old skin acts like a torniquet, cuting off the blood supply, often resulting in the loss of the toe/toes. This can cause infections that too often spread up the leg, become septic and kill the ig. This stuff must also happen to the occasional wild ig during a drought, but there is no point in making our captive igs vulnerable to those problems. : Chronic dehydration is stressful to ig kidneys, causing formation of bladder stones, and over time, kidney failure. Liver stress results from chronic dehydration. : Captive igs generally don't live as long as wild ones (whereas many other captive animals such as bears live much longer in captivity), and ig keepers strive to create *optimum* artificial habitat conditions for the sake of the health of their igs. : Young gs often seem healthy even when they are kept in dry conditions, but most of these will have a life-span of less than five years. : Igs do lose a lot of water to the environment by their physiology, excreting it in their urates, feces and nose (salt excretion). : Roger

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