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Posted by PH Meliss on November 18, 2002 at 11:30:41:
In Reply to: Well, if you REALLY want to know.... posted by Flavia Guimaraes on November 17, 2002 at 18:25:17:
:To make her grow up I took some fresh poop from Godzilla's cage and put in her cage.Godzilla is 6 years old and is very healthy.
You think. ;) You cannot tell by looking at an iguana or its poop whether the lizard and poop is laced with Salmonella or any other organism which, when given to a sick or borderline iguana, especially hatchlings, can make them sicker.
>>Why?According to some books I read the adult iguanas have some good bacterias in its intestines, that increase an optimum absorption of the food vitamins and nutrients.
Beneficial bacteria, along with potentially harmful bacteria, live in all of us. Unfortunately, you can't command an iguana to poop out only beneficial bacteria. That's why sick animals (including humans), and those on antibiotics (which also make no distinction in their action, affecting beneficial as well as harmful organisms), should be given a boost of beneficial flora. Fortunately, there are safer ways of doing so than feeding the sickie another animal's poop: use the same bacteria that are used to make yogurt. Called probiotics, the yogurt cultures (which can be found in non-yogurt forms, freeze dried or liquid, in health food stores and the refrigerator case of the health food aisle of many supermarkets) give the sickie iguana's gut a boost, so that it can better break down food, and give what's left of its native beneficial flora a chance to live, grow and reproduce. More info on this can be found in my Emaciation article.
>>Baby igs dont have that but will acquire it from the poop of the adult iguanas.
That's largely been disproved, given the many clutches of captive iguanas raised healthy and strong without being offered any adult poop. And I know of at least one case where a group of ailing hatchlings was killed after being fed the poop from a healthy adult. The adult was indeed healthy, as are the vast majority of iguanas and other reptiles and other species who are carrying--and passing in their feces--Salmonella. The hatchlings, being sick and stressed, couldn't fight off the hit of Salmonella, and one by one they died because the woman who'd had the sick gravid female dumped on her didn't realize there were bigger risks in using ig poop and that there were safer and more effective alternatives...
>>IF they live in a forest with other adult iguanas.If a baby is alone in a cage it'will be much more difficult to it to acquire these bacterias.
IF an iguana needs a boost of beneficial bacteria, the health food store is a better option than a friend's iguana's poop. ;)
>>To me this makes sense!!I measured Kenya on the 18 October.She was 47 cm.Now she is 52.She grew 5 cm=2 inches in one month!!
Igs grow at different rates, depending on the season. During the climactic late fall, winter and early spring, growth is slowed, as is the appetite. During the climactic summer (late spring and early fall), growth rate speeds up along with the increase in appetite and activity.
>>Brazilian iguana people also give poop from a healthy iguanas to sick ones in cases of diarhea.
Giving a load of parasites and harmful organisms to an already sick iguana isn't the way to treat then. From what I understand, based on the mail I get from Brazilian vets and ig keepers, there is a paucity of trained reptile vets there, despite igs being native to parts of Brazil. Risky stuff can work sometimes, but it's better to reduce the risks by using things we know are safer and doing what is necessary to accurately diagnose and treat things like diarrhea, which could be caused by diet, toxins, parasites, systemic or gut infections, stress, etc.
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PH Meliss
Iguanas Pet Host for PetHobbyist.com
Herps and Iguanas
Herp Societies/Rescues and Vets
