For Annaka, re: your question....

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Posted by Mark_and_Aimee on December 28, 2002 at 09:45:28:

Your original question is below... But here's the story.

A large male Iguana named Izzard was taken in back in July 2001... He was very aggressive, and had begun to lose weight. We was brought to our herp vet, trying to figure out a solution for the extreme aggression, and to see what was causing the weight loss. Blood work showed he was not doing as well as we had hoped, and our vet told us that his kidneys were failing, and he most likely would not live more than a few months longer. He was 4 years old at that time.

Well... He had a whole bathroom to himself at that time, and did not care for people in the slightest bit. He did not eat as much as he should have... mainly because he spent so much time being a butthead. He lost a lot of weight, eyes started to sink, tail looked horrid, etc.

We eventually converted the master bedroom to the Ig room in March 2002, and went ahead and moved Izzard into general population. He calmed down to the point of being handleable within a few weeks, and was eventually a wonderful ig. Until things changed again...

The alpha male ig left the room. Of course, that iguana was MY boy, and he came to live at my house. That changed the entire hierarchy of things, and Izzard was once again alpha. He became the butthead he is again.

So... now it is December 2002, and Izzard is at his worst... He will stalk you, leap at you from the shelves, lunge at your ankles from the floor... You name it, he's done it. He is obviously feeling fine. His eyes look great, his tail is big and fat, and he has a HUGE gut on him! His "brain bulges" are even back...

What is the current status of his kidneys? I dont know. But I don't think they have gotten any worse. Either that, or he just doesn't need them anymore ;-)

And... here's the pics:

Izzard with another one of the BIG boys (Iguardo)

Izzard hanging out... Snout damage is from his daily battles

And this is just one of the other big guys... in fact, he's the biggest! This is Wasabi.

Mark

"Want to share his story? I was under the impression that once the kidneys go, the ig dies fairly quickly, so I'm very curious to see how you've managed to keep him alive/healthy for a whole year. What did you have to do for him when it happened, and are his kidney working again now? Would love to see a pic of him too, if you have any."

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Re: For Annaka, re: your question.... Annaka 12/28/02 (0)