Need help with my Iggy please

[ChristinaM]

Brief history:

Larry: female iggy.
approx. 3-4yrs old.
adopted by me, came to live here on Sept 28/03.
Temps are fine ( 90-95F basking, rest of enclosure goes down from there.
Enclosure is big enough (made from a full closet....and she free roams her room)

said to be a good eater etc.
initial couple days were rough, lots of tailwhips.
she calmed fast
she is happy here from what I can tell (relaxed posture, dewlap positioning, she climbs onto my arm and enjoys cuddles)

She won't eat.
She is 42" long (full tail)
only 3.3lbs.
Her ribs are showing and I can see she's losing weight.

I am offering her everything.
Dandelion greens, collards, squash, sweet potato, mango, figs, parsnip, escarole, endive.....pellets, baby food veggies....

I am lucky if she eats approx. 1cup salad a wk.

Last fecal check normal ( July 03)


Suggestions please???????
I can't stand seeing her lose more weight. She's scaring me.

[LadyHawke]

i'd go to a vet for sure, dont put it off
until you get an appointment try getting her to drink either pedialyte or gatorade...for the electrolytes, sometimes thats amazing in itself and can give the system a boost and may encourage her to eat, even soak her in it, just make sure the water isnt too cool and towel dry her after and place her back directly under her heat source and try feeding. i recued an iguana who was in horrible and this helped greatly....he now eats a heaping dinner plate everyday, he's such a pig. these guys require patience as they have been through a lot........but number one thing is see a vet!!

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Did the last vet only do a fecal test? Was this vet knowledgeable with reptiles enough to diagnose the ailments correctly? Get X-rays done to see if any blockage could be causing anything? Blood tests done?
Possible organ failures? MBD? Could be many things.

By the sound of your post she seems to be in good spirits, so I would look at your husbandry or other possible medical reasons for her failure to eat. You did not post that you use UVB lighting, but assume that you are ( a good 5% UVB concentration is ideal).
I would not suggest gatorade or pedialyte, as these are strongly not advised medically. Water as well has plenty of electrolites in it (why your body gets a "high" when you drink large amounts of it) and is best in the long run. What do you use as substrate in her caging? Has she ate at all in the time you have had her? Is she lethargic, passing stools normally? Is she drinking anything besides not eating? Is she lethargic by any means ( I assume this is true as well)?

I would look at all the fine details of how she is kept, how she acts and go back to a vet and look deeper into reasons that she may be ill. A simple fecal only can check for what is in a stool at that time, and can only give positive results, but being negative only means nothing "bad" was found at that time, or in that sample at that exact time. Looking into organ failures or disease may be your next step. I also would suggest feeding her a strict diet of dark greens and allowable flowers (hibiscus, dandelion), and no fruits or veggies.

[Tim and Julie B]

It would also help to know her previous diet. You say you adopted her, so it is possible that she was fed a diet too high in protein, which is far too common with iggies. Many people assume that all reptiles eat bugs and meat and never look into other food sources. It could be that she does not understand that you are offering her "food". It may be worth it to try the canned iggy food mixed with some finely chopped dark greens. If she accepts the food you may need to wean her slowly by increasing the amount of chopped greens while decreasing the canned food. This has happened many times before. All in all, if she still refuses food it may be necessary to do repeat fecals and some blood work. Make sure she has enough UV lighting for the space she is living in. If too little is available she will not be able to form and store enough D3 and it will result in an inability to properly absorb calcium. Please keep us updated, and make another vet appointment asap. Good luck,

Julie B.

[ChristinaM]

Yes we have UV
She has a 48" ReptiGlo 8.0, new as of beginning of Oct.
It sits about 6" from her.

She doesn't poo much. She does expel urates, but hardly any fecal matter, hence getting making getting a fecal a bit hard.

I do bath her, and she has a drink when I do.

My vet is knowledgable, but not an expert. I trust him tho. He's not afraid to say "I don't know" and research the answers. I'm going to try to get her in this coming week.

Her previous diet consisted of the same, along with the odd treat of cat food, bread and pizza.....but the same high value greens. I adopted her, from a foster who had her for about a yr. Her original home, they neglected her. She got big, they got scared and ignored her. I do not know on the enclosure stats.

Her foster's took her to the vet 6 times, they gave me the records from the vet.

No signs of MBD.

substrate: flat carpet.

she has not eaten much since I got her. Her previous owners thought maybe it was relocation stress.

I hope that helps some. Thanks everyone.

[eyespy]

Why no veggies or pedialyte, C.m. Pyrrhus? Do you have any studies showing they do harm? I've worked with vets from the U of P since 1985 and we've had very good success using diluted pedialyte for dehydrated animals, much better than plain water which often induces diarrhea in animals with organ failure or advanced dehydration. We usually use it at 1/4 strength.

We get our best serum values of vitamins C, E and some of the Bs from igs that are fed nutrient-dense veggies such as orange-fleshed squashes, parsnips, okra, prickly pear cactus, green peppers, and snow peas in addition to a varied greens diet. Igs not fed these things tend to develop signs of aging at much younger ages in our experience and are more prone to kidney disease.

[Peter Ludwig]

Talk to a vet about her having an intestinal blockage this can occur frrom fibers she eats with her food, or sometimes sand. Ask the vet if a bit of mineral oil rubbed on her food would loosen the blockage.

[C.m.pyrrhus]

Studies go for and against the whole veggie diet for iguanas. The only thing I feel is that iguanas being foliovores in nature should be left as such in captivity. No study, through zoological or biological research, has proved anything else than that iguanas are foliovores. That is my reason. Studies "prove" that Monkey Treats work well to, but I hate the idea of feeding any animal matter to iguanas. I do not think those studies are all that correct either. Depends on which side of the fence you lean on.
I as well work as a vet tech. I see no reason using pedialyte myself, as seen by other studies. Water being more natural and basic is best off. Diluted pedialyte sounds far better though. I would suggest possably diluting it to 25% for a short time to gain some fluids. Reasonable amount, being that you should get fluids in. Not something to stick with though IMO.