My iguana spunky might have Metabolic Bone Disease and I am very worried about him, I took him to the vet and they told me to use a calcium powder as well as the uvb light and maybe change up his diet. I would like to know if anyone out there knows any other way to help my spunky.

Any other way as in something in addition to? If you are looking for a way around the UVB, Calcium supplements, and quality diet, you are out of luck if you want a healthy ig.

Take a look at our care sheet, and give us the specs on his enclosure and some more information about the ig itself.

__________________

Green Iguana Care Guide (Iguana iguana) - Reptile Information - Caresheets Database

Here is our care sheet. Tell us about his set up. Lighting, size, humidity, temp. Also tell us what you have been feeding him.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

No prob with all the lighting, I just recently learned about some of the other stuff they CAN eat, I feel so misguided! Just glad I found out about this site, so is there anything else besides all that that I can do for him?

Well he was eating green peas, Romaine lettuce and apples he doesnt like any other fruit lol, spoiled! Have a heat lamp on during the day then a uvb for night. i was told that they shouldnt have light at night I dont really know WHAT to do anymore so I really appreciate all the help!

Did you take your vet to one that specializes in reptiles?
If not, you should. The green iguana society site has some more information on locating proper vets. It's a good starting point. Recommended Vets - New York

What kind of lights are you using?
Can you tell us more about his enclosure? Any pics?

But what KIND of lighting do you have? what are your temps? The smallest change can help out GREAT. If he has metabolic bone disease, there is a good chance he hasn't been getting proper UVB light. Not all bulbs are created equal and need to be replaced often. And you are correct, the ig needs UVB only during the day. He needs a 12 hour cycle to have lights on, then a 12 hour cycle off. How would you like to sleep with the lights on?

Your diet needs an overhaul. Ditch the romaine, its useless. Look for mustard and collard greens as a staple.

READ the care sheet, at least 3 times. It will get you started on the right direction.

Please tell us everything we have asked. Its for the benefit of your ig.

__________________
My name is Liz
Do what's best for the animal, not what's best for you.

Find another vet, one that specilizes in reptiles. A good reptile vet can tell you if your ig does or does not have Metabolic Bone Disease!
And if it does have Metabolic Bone Disease they will administer a calcium injection.
PLEASE read the caresheet.
The diet needs a major overhaul!
And you should not have a light producing bulb running at night when they are trying to sleep!
What kind of UVB bulb (brand, configuration, etc) are you using and how old is it?

__________________
Merlin,
What's Life Without A Little Magic!

It can be complicated, definitely. That caresheet will help, but here's a few finer points.

None of what you are feeding is good for him, unfortunately. You said "was" so I assume you are now giving him a different diet, but just in case, he *should* be eating mostly dark leafy greens - collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, etc. That should be 80% of his diet. You can and should also give him veggies like squash and green beans. They need to always be fresh, and you'll need to chop everything into bite-sized portions or smaller. Hard veggies like squash should probably be grated.

Avoid any type of lettuce and spinach. No good can come from these.

Secondly, you've probably heard a lot of strange things about the lighting. But iguanas are daytime animals. They love the sun and they need the UVB rays to remain healthy. Since glass and screen filter the UVB out, we have to supplement it with special bulbs. The UVB bulbs should be on only during the day, since the sun is how they would get them in the wild.

Iguanas should have a daytime/nightime cycle. During the day you'll need the UVB bulb, and probably a basking bulb to maintain temperatures in the cage. At night, you'll want to have something like a Ceramic Heat Emitter, which gives off heat, but no light - so the iguana can rest.

That's kind of a brief couple of suggestions from what you posted. The caresheet will give you specifics of what temperatures he should be at, etc. That will help with his care a lot.

__________________
"Let's eat, Grandpa!"
"Let's eat Grandpa!"

Punctuation. It saves lives.

Thanks so much guys n gals, yes he WAS eating the romaine but I have switched his diet up, no more romaine,always did mix up the lettuce with collards. I have to remeasure his tank to give you all the specifics my pic shows Spunky & Spunkette's tank, Believe it or not I just found out about the uvb light a few months ago I feel so stupid! But again I want to do what is best for him, so I immediately swithched up Everything! I am taking him to a reptile vet this weekend as I gotta wait to get paid . So I just grate the squash? & what about sweet potatoes? Again so glad for the help