I recently received into rescue an Iguana and a Bearded Dragon. They both have no brain bumps, they're sunken in. Has anyone seen this before and do you know causes it?

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Val

http://www.reptilerescuerichmond.org

Malnutrition is what has caused it for all the iguanas that I have received in without them. Basically the way I understand that is,,,,, those are fatty pockets where they store fat,, if you are malnourished and underfed the body will pull from its reserves,, well in this instance the body has used all its reserves and there is no more fat to pull from. My Grizzly had none either and it took him about a good 6 to 8 months for them to start filling in again. I have also had them pass on me when they are so skinny and have used all their resources. I am assuming that this iguana is really thin?

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Thanks Nicole. I have had others in with small brain bumps, they got to normal size in time and because they weren't sunken I wasn't worried. This guy isn't too thin but probably would be if he continued with his owner. I thought it might be nutrition but 2 years ago we got an 11 yo Ig in almost perfect health but he was only fed once a week his entire life. This guy is a freak of nature IMO. He should never have survived with the care he received.

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Val

http://www.reptilerescuerichmond.org

I have heard of that before Feed them like they are snakes,, oh it just gets me so angry. I dont put my iguanas on a specific feeding schedule,, I always have fresh food in there,, they can eat whenever they want. The only exception to this is the ones that come in starved,, I monitor how much they eat and slowly build them up to however much,, whenever they want.
Good luck with your new rescues

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

Yeah it's a malnutrition thing, with a good diet they will fill in...
The same goes for cats and dogs, after all the fat is off of their body their temples and stuff start to sink in.

Nice to see you posting again Val!

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"If you're not falling, you're not trying." - Sonni Trotter

~*~Lacey~*~

My Photos

The Iguana that was only fed once a week belonged to a high school biology teacher, you would think she would have known better. It sickens me to think teachers like that are teaching our children their bad habits. Cosmos, the Ig, was kept in a large enclosure with only a space heater pointing at him for heat, he never had any lights other than daytime and no UVB. I got him at 11 years old and he was HEALTHY! It doesn't make sense. He's 13 now and no one wants to adopt him because he's a senior. Sad.

Thanks Lacey. The rescue is running me off my feet, it's been a busy year.

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Val

http://www.reptilerescuerichmond.org

a high school biology teaher Thats ridiculous! Shame that noone wants him because he is a senior,, they make the best pets! In my opinion anyway....

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead

It will also depend on the age of the ig and sex. Sunken will, of course, happen at any age or sex...but the refill will certainly vary. I've had only one ig come in where they were actually sunken - and it took several months for them to come back. Poor things.

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Veronica
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Exotic Animal Rescue of Henry Co.
~~Rescue - Rehab - Rehome~~

That is definately true,, my Baby Dragon,, I got in about 10 months ago or so and we are still working on getting hers to fill in. It depends on the iguana and how malnourished they are. I feel I will be fighting with her for about another year or so to get her where I feel she had enough body reserves.

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I have sucker tattood on my forehead