Re: progress report

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Posted by Harry's Dad on June 05, 1999 at 19:12:28:

In Reply to: progress report posted by Sucker on June 05, 1999 at 18:28:30:

Howdy Sucker,

First off,before when I suggested force feeding......my term for force feeding is NOT to climb on top of your iguana and take a stick and force his/her mouth open to feed it; but to feed him/her by your hands as you are doing.
NOW you can forget sexing your iguana at that age LOL.......we'd all love to know the sex of our iguanas when they are 4 inches long. You will have to wait around a 1 to 1 1/2 before it's to the point where you can see signs. I think there's plenty of people who had to CHANGE names around that time because they thought they had a male and then found out later it was a female.
I would like to point a few things out, the glass tank you have him/her in......I wouldn't put it next to the window.....it could easily "cook" your iguana. Please trust me on this one. Anyway, the sunny coming through the window is of no value to the iguana other then heat. Windows are made of a glass that reflex UVB rays.
Now I'm afraid to ask what this "heat" source is in the corner of the tank.......a HOT ROCK? OMG throw it out......or make it so he can't get direct contact with it at all...cover it with stones then but a few some branches over it. There should be enough heat that will rise from it to warm your iguana. Go to the top of this page and hit search.....type in Hot Rock.....and see what postings come up.
I would also not worry about the salmonella it's not worth the time for the test. The test could come back negitive but yet still carry salmonella. I would suggest just cleaning your hands good and trying to clean his/her tank as soon as your iguana "poops". A stool sample could tell if your iguana has worms. Blood work can tell alot about what is going on with your iguana's whole system.
OK I've talked too much.....Sue's wanting me in the living room to watch a movie......I hope the above helps.
HD
: Ok, the baby iguana's been at home for a day now, and is still alive. Maybe it was the competition and the sheer numbers of the other iggy's all tossed into the same TEN GALLON(yup I'm yelling) tank with him - they were all bigger than him. Anyway. It warmed up a little and the sun came out this afternoon, so after his/her noon feeding I put the whole hospital setup outside(half shaded of course) for a while, while my son and I played in the yard. He got way up on his front legs and seemed to be listening to the outside noises, and looked around, obviously interested and not feeling too threatened because he didn't attempt to hide under his branch or anything.

: The feedings are going ok. I already had a reptile calcium supplement in the house so I mixed that with a thin fruit and veggie baby food mixture, and water, and didn't have to do any forcing. Although he seems not to know how to eat on his own, he will eat when I hold him in my hand and put the medication syringe in front of his mouth. I get a drop in the tip, he licks it off, we do it over and over until he loses interest. I'm watching his yes, very shallow, water pan for signs of droppings to see if his digestive system is working. His hospital tank is in front of a triple pane window, and there's a heat thing under one corner of it. He is moving around in there today, and does have a place to escape from the sun if he gets too warm.

: His belly is bigger now from eating, but those skinny legs scare me. You know, he has NO fat in his legs or around his pelvis at all, It's skin draped over bone. I've never even seen one this small. How old is about a 4 1/2 - 4 3/4 inch iggy anyway? Not including the tail.

: I like the comments below about the drug store breaking the law, and Monday I'm gonna check it out. He plans to close the store at the end of the month anyway, so I guess he isn't too concerned.

: Not sure what will happen if he lives, but he'll have to be placed somewhere I have visiting rights, or at some way to know he's being well cared for.

: There is no available vet here for another week(he's gone fishing) so right now bloodwork isn't viable, but I'm going to want a salmonella check as soon as we can, and in the meantime I'm disinfecting everything in sight and using tons of antibacterial soap on myself, in addition to the hand sanitizer. Can't afford to take chances, especially with a young child in the house.

: If everyone wants, I can keep you up to date on his progress, or lack of it, as we go. If he does get well then I'll maybe be posting him for adoption on here. One last dumb question for today: is there a reliable way to sex iggy's that are under 6 inches? I'd like to know who I'm dealing with.

: p.s. too bad these things are so cute. If they weren't, they probably wouldn't take such a beating, huh?

: p.p.s. Thanks for all the help everyone. I truly feel like I have sucker tatooe'd on my forehead.

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: Howdy Sucker, : First off,before when I suggested force feeding......my term for force feeding is NOT to climb on top of your iguana and take a stick and force his/her mouth open to feed it; but to feed him/her by your hands as you are doing. : NOW you can forget sexing your iguana at that age LOL.......we'd all love to know the sex of our iguanas when they are 4 inches long. You will have to wait around a 1 to 1 1/2 before it's to the point where you can see signs. I think there's plenty of people who had to CHANGE names around that time because they thought they had a male and then found out later it was a female. : I would like to point a few things out, the glass tank you have him/her in......I wouldn't put it next to the window.....it could easily "cook" your iguana. Please trust me on this one. Anyway, the sunny coming through the window is of no value to the iguana other then heat. Windows are made of a glass that reflex UVB rays. : Now I'm afraid to ask what this "heat" source is in the corner of the tank.......a HOT ROCK? OMG throw it out......or make it so he can't get direct contact with it at all...cover it with stones then but a few some branches over it. There should be enough heat that will rise from it to warm your iguana. Go to the top of this page and hit search.....type in Hot Rock.....and see what postings come up. : I would also not worry about the salmonella it's not worth the time for the test. The test could come back negitive but yet still carry salmonella. I would suggest just cleaning your hands good and trying to clean his/her tank as soon as your iguana "poops". A stool sample could tell if your iguana has worms. Blood work can tell alot about what is going on with your iguana's whole system. : OK I've talked too much.....Sue's wanting me in the living room to watch a movie......I hope the above helps. : HD : : Ok, the baby iguana's been at home for a day now, and is still alive. Maybe it was the competition and the sheer numbers of the other iggy's all tossed into the same TEN GALLON(yup I'm yelling) tank with him - they were all bigger than him. Anyway. It warmed up a little and the sun came out this afternoon, so after his/her noon feeding I put the whole hospital setup outside(half shaded of course) for a while, while my son and I played in the yard. He got way up on his front legs and seemed to be listening to the outside noises, and looked around, obviously interested and not feeling too threatened because he didn't attempt to hide under his branch or anything. : : The feedings are going ok. I already had a reptile calcium supplement in the house so I mixed that with a thin fruit and veggie baby food mixture, and water, and didn't have to do any forcing. Although he seems not to know how to eat on his own, he will eat when I hold him in my hand and put the medication syringe in front of his mouth. I get a drop in the tip, he licks it off, we do it over and over until he loses interest. I'm watching his yes, very shallow, water pan for signs of droppings to see if his digestive system is working. His hospital tank is in front of a triple pane window, and there's a heat thing under one corner of it. He is moving around in there today, and does have a place to escape from the sun if he gets too warm. : : His belly is bigger now from eating, but those skinny legs scare me. You know, he has NO fat in his legs or around his pelvis at all, It's skin draped over bone. I've never even seen one this small. How old is about a 4 1/2 - 4 3/4 inch iggy anyway? Not including the tail. : : I like the comments below about the drug store breaking the law, and Monday I'm gonna check it out. He plans to close the store at the end of the month anyway, so I guess he isn't too concerned. : : Not sure what will happen if he lives, but he'll have to be placed somewhere I have visiting rights, or at some way to know he's being well cared for. : : There is no available vet here for another week(he's gone fishing) so right now bloodwork isn't viable, but I'm going to want a salmonella check as soon as we can, and in the meantime I'm disinfecting everything in sight and using tons of antibacterial soap on myself, in addition to the hand sanitizer. Can't afford to take chances, especially with a young child in the house. : : If everyone wants, I can keep you up to date on his progress, or lack of it, as we go. If he does get well then I'll maybe be posting him for adoption on here. One last dumb question for today: is there a reliable way to sex iggy's that are under 6 inches? I'd like to know who I'm dealing with. : : p.s. too bad these things are so cute. If they weren't, they probably wouldn't take such a beating, huh? : : p.p.s. Thanks for all the help everyone. I truly feel like I have sucker tatooe'd on my forehead.

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