Ok i need iguana help

[ruru]

ok so a friend of mine rescued this poor guy and he has some serious issues i don't know remember all the exacts she told me for his set up, but i have a picture posted of the poor guy any help or advice would be great, she doesnt really know much about them but saw him and wanted to save him from the horrible living situation he was in. She tells me his mouth is swollen, he hasnt been very, he hasnt really been eating much, and as you can tell from the picture he has very swollen back legs, which also looks to me like he has mbd going on. so any suggestions on how to help the little guy to nurse him back to health. The closest exotic vet is a few hours a way...so she really rather use that as an absolute last resort.

 

[okiroo]

He needs a vet so go ahead and make and apt. How much is he eating? The only this i can really say is you NEED a vet for the little thing. Go ahead and set up his area correctly aswell. Thye need a large area of space atleast double or more their length and tall aswell- they get big. (so the bigger the better).

do you know how they need to eat and what veggies are good and greens are good? their food needs to be dusted aswell. i used to use a liquid cal on mine. He tasted it less.

 

[ruru]

She said the only thing she can get em to eat right now is peas, and that he will clean the plate, i will tell her to set up a vet appointment. Is there anything we can do in the meantime?

 

[okiroo]

Keep the animal comfy. soak it and luke warm water. they like that. it will help them poop and they also like to drink when they've been soaked for a while. if it poop clean out the area before you let it start drinking(duh). if you thinkit has MBD put cal on some peas. mabey even give some fruit(usually not good to give to much) but will help with hydration for now.

 

[ruru]

enclosure is about 3ft wide, 8ft long and 4ft tall so its plenty big enough, she has the temps at about 85. I already have her suggest her to let him soak for a bit and have told her she will need calcium so she gettin repcal for the little guys too.

 

[mjhough]

Does he have a place to hide in the enclosure? Not sure if its a must but mine used to always find hiding places it might make them feel more comfortable. I hope it all goes well for her they are fun pets

 

[ruru]

I'm not sure if he has a place to hide but i can find out!

 

[fluxlizard]

Basking temp should be up near 100.

Man- stuff like that doesn't happen overnight. Owner had plenty of time to correct this. Hard not to get a little steamed.

The lizard will need to go see a vet. You might want to ask vet about quality of life issues.

 

[ruru]

I'll be sure they correct the temp, i will be making a trip up to her place this weekend to get it from her for now, yea i know the person she got it from had no idea how to care for any type of reptile, idk how it survived that long the way it was cared for, im just glad she found it and got it from them so we can hopefully turn it around and save it, a vet appointment is going to be set up probably monday. Its ignorant how people can take an animal and do this to it without doing their research on how to care first.

 

[ferretinmyshoes]

Those swollen back legs are classic for MBD. Lots of calcium supplementation and natural sunlight while you get its habitat set up correctly as others have said above. Like flux said, basking should be close to 100 and make sure there's a UVB light covering a wide area. A cage that size might be perfect for a mercury vapor bulb. My ig goes nuts over mango, butternut squash, and sweet potato so she could try some of those. If no go then for now calcium dust the crud out of those peas and then start to mix the peas with shredded greens or in juices of fruits little by little to adjust it over to real food.

 

[kinyonga]

Good advice as usual ferret!

 

[ruru]

well i'm sad to say, i picked up the iggy yesterday to bring him to the vet earlier today and sadly he passed away on the long ride to the vet. He wasnt rescued soon enough.

 

[MollyT]

Oh, no! So sad! At least his last few days were spent with people who were trying to help him. It breaks my heart hearing and seeing animals suffering at the expense of uninformed or neglectful owners. I can't understand getting an animal without knowing how to properly care for it. Poor little guy!

 

[jpm995]

Very sad, but kudos to you and your friend for trying to save it.