hello again, all of you were so helpful with my ratsnake King Arthur, now I have a different issue, so here it is:
Last night I had one of my iguanas out for a stretch and some activity, when I put him back in his enclosure I noticed about 20 minutes later that he was bleeding I pulled him out and he had a very good size wound at the bottom of his foot (front left). He was bleeding a lot I stopped the bleeding and off we went to the 24 hour E.R. They used a liquid bandage and staples to close the wound after cleaning and flushing it. He was given subcutaneous fluids due to the amount of blood lost and sent home with Baytril to hopefully prevent possible infection. So here lies the problem the vet told me no baths, no moisture, and keep the humidity down for 4 to 6 weeks, the wound needs to be dry at all times.
How do you keep an iguana with very little humidity when he came to me with severe Metabolic Bone Disease, pneumonia, severe dehydration and of course malnutrition. He also is well how do we put politely..... special ed.... he was having seizures when I got him and stayed in the exotics hospital for three days until stable, the seizures caused some brain damage. Long story a little shorter I asked the vet how do I keep an iguana who has to have his humidity, due to other skin problems, dry with no baths or moisture, for 4 to 6 weeks without causing any more problems than he already has ? He said I am sure you will figure it out and off he went chuckling. Ughhhh
Any suggestions for my poor Grizzly ?

that sounds terrible I would change your vet

A lot of people confuse humidity and dehydration issues when they are really 2 different things. Dehydration is addressed by increasing water consumption, either by actually feeding water thru a syringe, soaking his feed in water before feeding or adding Repcal brand iguana pellets that have been heavily soaked in water.
Humidity affects the skin and the mucous membranes in the nose and lungs which in too low of humidity will tend to dry out.
I suspect that what your vet is going for is to not to spray down the cage or do anything else which would result in the iguana walking on wet surfaces. This could be accomplished and at the same time keep your humidity up to a reasonable level by using a vaporizer or humidifier in the room if the cage is open. If its closed you could vent the fog into the top at short intervals so that nothing becomes damp but the humidity in the air is still in range.

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

Oh maybe my description of the the vet came across wrong. They are a very good team of trauma vets and are the only ones around that are set up for trauma in exotics. This particular vet and I have gotten to know each other real well in the last few years as it seems that I am there at least once a month if not more, for the ones that come in in need of medical attention immediately. I think his comment meant he was confident I would figure it out as this seems so small of an issue compared to the ones I have brought in before. Who knows maybe I did not have enough coffee last night and so far yet today to figure this out LOL. However I am still stumped!

LOL I personally took the Vet response as banter between 2 people that have come to know each other.

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

Merlin, once again you are excellent!! As I sit here laughing at how easy the answer was to this one! Just simply walk in the bathroom and get the humidifier I use on the kids (wow thats a brain twister as I sit here still laughing at myself) As far as the dehydration I soak all the iguanas food in water, if they need more I do feed through the syringe, but that is usually only when they come in dehydrated. Usually they start coming around after a couple of weeks or so. However Grizzly is the only one I still force feed food and water to on ocassion as his poor little brain doesnt always tell him he needs to eat more for his own good! Thanks so much again Merlin!

awww poor Grizzly! i've always had a soft spot for 'special ed' pets... good luck with the foot!

__________________
Yes my name is D... Yes as in the letter... No i wont tell you what it stands for!!!

I thought I would post a little update on my poor Grizzly. The foot is healing well, I have changed the bandage on it three times, no signs of infections. The down fall to him is that he got a respitory infection the night before last that had him gagging and gasping for air, so back again in the middle of the night to my wonderful 24 hour trauma center, they gave me another set of antibiotics to inject (fortaz) every 72 hours along with the baytril orally by mouth every day. I also now have the fluids to inject every 72 hours also since he is not eating and drinking enough since this whole foot t hing started. I am now having to force feed everything he eats thru syringe because he refuses to eat anything. We go tomorrow to the vet (along with King arthur the snake) to have some tests done, however here is the problem, his sinus cavities are closing. When I got him his nose was swollen severely and the cavities were very small, he had severe Metabolic Bone Disease , still does, progressing slowly, but will never fully recover. They did open his sinuses a little to ease the breathing, but now they are not sure there is anything they can do for him as the scar tissue is built up so much in the cavities. So tomorrow I am seeing the partner to my trauma vet who has a little more experience in the surgical field, but according to the other vet it looks grim.
So my question is has anyone had the same experience with the sinus cavities and had it turn out positive or had a surgical procedure done to correct it? I guess I am looking for a little hope as he has done so well with his recovery since I first got him in, no more tremors, no more seizures. I just cant stand the thought of this is how it ends for him, he has been through so much abuse and neglect in his lifetime and now has a home who cares and loves him and still not enough.
I am very sorry as I am sitting here writing this and my emotions are obviously showing I am just looking for any advice any of you could give me.
Thanks for any info you might have! I very much appreciate it!

Unfortunately I have no experience with anything of that type. We have a couple of folk here that have rescue experience that may be more knowledgeable. All I can do is wish you and Griz good luck!

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

Thank you so much Merlin!! I am aware that was a tough question and not one that comes up often if at all. We will see what happens today, as of this morning he is just laying around not doing much (doesnt look good) so I am trying to prepare myself for the worst. I have done absolutely everything I can for him it is just real hard for me to understand why people do this when the knowledge is right there on their computer! I only hope that people can keep teaching so this stops happening. After years of this I dont know how much more my poor heart can take! This will make number 2 in the last 6 months that have passed away after months of unsuccessful rehab due to neglect and abuse. I just got another one in the night before last that has a huge tumor in the broken dewlap, burns, swollen limbs, and the list goes on!! She is a whole different story!! Thank god for my wonderful vet who is also squeezing her in too. I think I should marry that man!!! LOL