One of my Spanish friends has recently bought an Iguana. But it's skin has started to go Black, is this anything to worry about????? And what to do about it??

Is it like in spots or big sections? Can you get a picture?

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MARSHA

:D I'm smiling because I have no idea whats going on!

I had a friend who's bearded dragon turned black in coloration along his entire body, the condition was then later diagnosed as calcium defeciency due to lack of supplementation.

Black patches and not black coloration on the whole body can mean the lizard has been burned.

is he supplementing its food with calcium and multivitimans? does it have UVB lighting?

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-Adam

"Help Protect our Planet from Overcollection, Purchase Aquacultured Livestock and Captive Bred Herps"

it could also be black fungus or bacterial infection if it is in spots, do the spots look fuzzy? if so its fungus.

Does the owner own a bird as well? my cousins husband had one that when he put it in a room with the bird it would be so stressed it turned black. and he had to rehome it.

Is it eating? pooping? moving around? whats its food? lighting? what temp is it at? It could be too cold and turn black. Did it have the blackness on it when it was baught?

Black is not a good color for an iguana. It should probably go to the vet.

If it started to go black it probably hasnt been burned as it would be red and yellow and such first before it scars black.

Depends on how much the skin is fried if it will turn black I have one here that is burned in many many spots and it has turned black where the burns are. I also have one that came in almost completely black because it was so cold, even after 3 days of heat it is barely starting to turn to the normal colors. I think your friend really needs to asess the husbandry and rule out any possible problems there and if that is not the problem then he really needs to call a vet as that can mean a number of things!

Good luck and keep us posted!! Pics would also be great for helping you!

i was saying it isnt a burn because it just turned black, and it would have looked burned before that right?

I'm trying to contact my friend. And I will get back to you guys with a few answers as soon as I know them.

take it to the vets asap, either way it should not be black and the best thing to do is get some medical advice from a profesional as soon as possible.

It has now returned to normal colour.
It was black in big sections, unsure if it was fuzzy though.
I think that it might have been stressed, but not to sure.

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My Money is on stress.
The stess colouration may change from a rich brown to a dark black, this is perfectly normal for some iguanas.

The kicker of it is, if the skin shifts in colour (i.e from black back to green) then the skin is not necrid, diseased or burnt.

I honestly wouldnt worry, it only means that the iguana requires more acclimatization time prior to handling (assuming that handling caused the stress reaction, which is most likley) with its new owner.