Hey Gang,

We took the Iguana in to see our vet Friday and boy where we hit from the side with what we found out!

First I'll share the vital statistics. As of the vet visit the Ig was 36 inches snout to tail tip and 13 inches snout to vent. The weight came in at a hefty 1790 grams, I guess that's just under 4 lbs? Hydration looked good, urates were of a healthy consistency. Feces was a bit runny but as I understand it is expected with the radical diet changes we put into play. Fecal tests showed no unusual parasite loads, only the organisms that are expected from a healthy iguana digestive tract (big Yay!).

The vet was impressed with the diet we were using but cautioned us away from excessive amounts of fruits and vegetables and suggested sticking to a list of greens he provided which was a very close match to the diet found at the Iguana den site.

An interesting note from the vet on the scars though... He agreed that they were on the healing path and had only been actual wounds at least 1+ years ago but he thought due to the pattern, the number of old wounds and the fact no back spikes were torched down the bone that it was not a burn or set of burns at all. He believes that at one time this iguana suffered from a under skin infection that formed abscesses and that the abscess were left untreated killing the surrounding skin tissues. He said this skin infection took place at least that 1+ years ago and was likely the results of dirty, wet, and cold living conditions. He said that as the Iguana sheds I can expect the scars to shed each time and that they will likely continue to reduce in size until a scale-less grey patch of skin is eventually left where most of the scar is now.

So all in all a picture perfect vet visit, I could not have expected any better. Oh ya, I forgot about he real side swipe of the visit, she is a he. Yep, that's right, the vet flipped him over and in about 2 seconds identified her as a him. He pointed out waxy plugs in the femoral pores and 2 hemi penal bulges in the base of the tail as evidence. He said that the female characteristics, while not common, are taken on by males trying to mimic females. The impression was that this was natures solution for less dominant males breeding. This camouflage, allows him to infiltrate bull male territory unchallenged and breed females in that group. I guess time will tell more. That's about it for the update, he is still eating well, has started defecating every other day, and even comes out of the office to visit us in the front room from time to time but spends 90% of his time in the basking area soaking up the mega rays light and lording over his domain. That's all the time I have for this morning, thanks for reading folks.

-kiley

Glad to hear that your new addition is good and healthy. Long may it continue you and here's to the little guys long life.

__________________
Kirsty
0.0.1 Green Iguana

Good to hear....and you've learned well....putting a picture with the post keeps all of us happy!

So, does HE have a name?

__________________

Those who say it can't be done should get out of the way of those who are doing it.

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

Great to hear that your new iguana is off to a good start.

Napoleon had scars all over his body when we got him (from fights, poor care, maybe burns, abscesses etc). The scars were white scaless patches of skin at first but over time (maybe two years) they became smaller and even grew tiny scales or scale like skin over them. They pretty much blended in with his skin color after a while and even changed colour with his moods or season. In his photo gallery http://www.triciaswaterdragon.com/napphoto.htm you can see a picture of how he looked when we first got him (click on picture for a better view), and in the rest of the gallery you can see what he became with good care. you'll also notice that his scars did blend in quite nicely.

__________________
Tricia

I have to say I am amazed at how much this ig looks like a juvi version of mine, like he did a few years ago. Same shape of the head, look to the eye, banding on the tail, and crest shape. I have never seen another ig that looks so much like my own.

__________________
~ Mark

Thanks for the feedback all! MAR I was thumbing through your album... what a beast! I am no expert by any means but even now compared to other males Iguana Bob (I assume thats who we are talking about) looks somewhat feminine in appearance, were there mistakes in folks guessing his sex by appearance as well or am I and the pet store just cracked out? Once again thanks all, I'll keep the pictures coming as well as some questions as we get to knwo our new 'child'.

Glad to hear the good report!

__________________
~~Steph

"This I believe: That the free, exploring mind of the individual human is the most valuable thing in the world." John Steinbeck