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Posted by girlzilla on February 20, 2003 at 11:22:19:
In Reply to: Am I doing the right thing? posted by blacklightning42 on February 19, 2003 at 21:01:14:
Hi, I adopted an abandoned iguana in August. Just a few tips to add to everyone's advice.
My iguana was also in pretty bad shape, and of course had metabolic bone disease, as yours probably does. A non-arboreal enclosure is great while they're healing, but after a while s/he will climb anything it can get it's claws into, or go crazy trying... For Bud, my ig who's still healing, I have a cardboard box with two holes cut into it as a combo hide box and perch. I put towels on top, both as cushioning and to get him close enough to his UV light, and have a wide ramp up to the top of the box. It's just a wooden plank with a bathmat industrial-stapled to it. I also have a similar ramp up to the door of his enclosure, which at this point in my finances is a jumbo wire puppy crate on top of a high table.
Plus he likes to climb on my couch, and doesn't have a hard time doing that, even though his claws get clipped often and he's missing three nails right now.
The toes of iguanas who have not been climbing cylandrical branches, or anything at all, sometimes splay out and look twisted. I don't doubt that your iguana has broken toes, but once they heal, and he once more becomes a climber (keep fingers crossed!) you may see at least the unbroken-toe-muscles gain tone and therefore pull the toes back into a more normal looking position.
I love the Melissa Kaplan diet. And this is something that kept me hopeful recently while my ig wasn't appearing to eat: if something's coming out, something has to be going in. :) The quality of the feces might give a clue to whether that something is bad or good, too.
It's true that it's rare to see an iguana drink from a dish or a bowl. I almost never see Bud drink from his water dish. But almost every time I put Bud in the bathtub (twice a day) I see him lower his head, slurp up water, and tip his little head back to swallow. It's the cutest. Plus, bathing triggers a defecation response in iguanas; I've almost got mine completely tub-potty-trained! It also keeps their skin hydrated, making shedding easier. I also see Bud lick water off of himself and his fake plant when I spray his enclosure (Usually whenever I pass by when I'm home...).
Another thing about bathing: when Bud was in REALLY bad shape, he didn't climb, move or walk around a lot. The one thing he would do was swim in the tub. I think it's just like people who need low-impact exercise and pick swimming. :)
Just one more thing. I don't buy that crap from pet-store owners about "we have to run a business". Think about it. They are buying these animals, and what if they never sell ANY of them? Will they just let those animals languish and die? Would they do that to a dog? It is my opinion that until the time they sell the animals in their care, pet retailers are completely responsible for the well-being of those animals as if they were their own.
It is especially shameful in the case of iguanas, which most likely have been ripped out of their natural habitats especially for the benefit of these pet store proprieters, who will probably end up selling them to people who don't even know how to take care of them. Or getting rid of them thanks to the sympathetic hearts of people like you. It is shameful that they made you pay anything at all for your iguana. You relieved them of an embarrassing example of their poor care, the least they could have done was GIVE you the iguana.
Good luck with everything. What is your ig's name? Or are you waiting to find out the sex?
-Erin
