Iguana Questions

[balakoth]

Evening all,

This weekend we adopted a 2 year old Male Green Iguana from a lady whos husband just passed away. He came with all of his belongings and a large wall sized enclosure.

His past has involved coming out almost every day to walk around the room, lay on their laps and enjoy some tv with them.

I took him out of his carrying case (we were still setting up the mammoth cage the first day. To let him roam and noticed he had a wound on his tail. Looks almost like a puncture, with a darker color spot around it. Looked like it had bleed under the scales too. We were not told about this of course, and are unable to contact the previous owner until monday.

Im not really concerned at this point how it happened but rather to treat it. I still need to find a good Reptile Vet in this area, but am curious as to the possible seriousness of this wound? He's now been here 2 days and actively climbs , adjusts himself for temp. and is active. He did give me a good butt kickin when trying to put him in his carrying case (He apparently hates that thing) But was thankful when returned to his cage. Im giving him a few days to settle in before letting him out daily. But right now I am concerned with his tail, as I do not want infection or any further harm. This is my first larger lizard, and so far is a magnificant creature. I'd like to keep him that way.

Any comments or suggestions are appreciated.

If anyone knows of a good Reptile Vet in the Seattle area that would be great!


Thanks in Advance

Joe

[Wuntu Menny]

It sounds like a self inflicted wound likely from tail lashing in defense. The halo around the puncture could simply be a superficial bruise associated with the trauma. I'd suggest picking up some Betadine and giving the area a swab with it twice a day. It doesn't sound like any infection is setting in, but keep an eye on it, some precautionary neosporin treatment might also be in order.

Iggies commonly injure their tails and in most cases nothing serious comes of it. Minimizing the stress in his environment and doing everything you can to gain some trust will go a long way to keep the tail whipping to a minimum.

Occasionally, these injuries become infected and necrotic at which point the area blackens and appears to be drying up. This condition can become progressive and slowly move up the tail. If untreated, the animal can succumb to secondary infections and die as a result.

WM

[balakoth]

Wuntu,

Thanks for the information. Question on the betadine? What is your suggestion for actually applying the betadine?

Deigo (The Iguana) ran himself into the tank wall scurrying when I was wiping him off and hit the wound.

So I see a future of betadine tail lashing fun.

[Wuntu Menny]

I usually apply it full strength with a Qtip, making sure there is good coverage to the wound and surrounding tissue. There are several versions and brand names available and I think any of them will suffice.

You may want to use a treat of some sort to distract him while you apply it. Either that or make sure he gets a reward immediately after for not killing you in the process. They are smart little critters and some positive reinforcement will help ease the stress and make followups easier. (Hopefully)

WM

[Linds]

Congrats on the new addition! :D In the future, it's a good idea whenever treating/examining an animal to have the animal held and possibly restrained, for both the animals safety and your own ;)