IGUANA IGUANA NEWSLETTER............................................................TIPS AND TRICKS FEEDING TIP | TIMERS | FIRST AID | SNEEZING | TAMING | HUMIDITY | SALMONELLA | FORCE FEEDING | NAIL CLIPPING | MALE OR FEMALE? | SHEDDING | CALCIUM/PHOSPHORUS RATIOS | CALCIUM DEFICIENCY AND TWITCHING | METABOLIC BONE DISEASE GRAVID FEMALE WITH EGGS | DEHYDRATION PROPER GROWTH IN PICTURES For more complete answers to your questions and a constant source of information, subscribe to IGUANA IGUANA Newsletter. Details below. Feeding Tip SELECT A FEW root and other vegetables, like a turnip, a carrot, a rutabaga, Hubbard or winter squash, zucchini, jicima, beet, beans, and sweet potato in a plastic bag together. Use a large-holed stainless grater. Just grate a little of each vegetable, cut or tear up some mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, dandelion greens, and endive, chop up a bit of fruit, toss and voila!...ig dinner! Four or five vegetables last a week or so, and you can vary the kinds in the bag every week. Make sure to read the section on Nutrition for a complete list of the best foods to feed. FREEZE FRESH...You can grate a large amount of many kinds of vegetables, dump them into boiling water for a few quick seconds, stir, and rinse in a colander immediately. Spread out on paper towels to remove the water and freeze in batches on a tray. It only takes ten minutes or so to freeze each batch. Then fill a plastic bag with the frozen pieces and defrost a meal-sized portion as needed. Freezing your own fresh vegetables retains the vitamins and mineral content unlike store-bought frozen vegetables which are processed months before you purchase them. Parboiling (putting into boiling water for a few seconds) can preserve the texture and vitamin content of the grated vegetables. You must use a large-holed grater for this so the veggies will not turn to mush! Timers SINCE YOUR iguana is diurnal (awake during the day), he or she needs darkness at night to get the proper rest...but the temperature in the terrarium or enclosure cannot drop below 75 degrees for young iguanas and 65 degrees for adults. Pet stores are infamous for selling a new owner one "full-spectrum" white light bulb and hood that is supposed to provide the heat and light for your new iguana. Many owners who keep their iguana in a bedroom simply turn off the light at night, thereby depriving the iguana of the critical nighttime warmth or, just as bad, leave the light on all the time. Your enclosure should be fitted with a fluorescent fixture and full-spectrum Vita-Lite tube, a daytime 75 - 100 watt bulb in a hood, a 75 - 100 watt blue or red night heat light in a hood and/or an undertank heating pad (NO HOT ROCKS...they are dangerous and unreliable and not recommended for use). (See Requirements for more information.) How do you make sure that the temperature in your terrarium is kept at the proper range and the lights and heat lamps go on and off at the correct time?...TIMERS. It is critical that your pet's environment replicate the natural rhythms of the rainforest so timers take the difficulty out of turning on lights and heaters at the proper time to create daytime and nighttime. First Aid AN IGUANA may appear to have a thick, scaly outer skin but it is really very delicate and vulnerable. If your iguana's skin develops any dark areas or spots, you may have to act quickly to reduce the chance of a fungal infection spreading or a burn getting worse. First, review your iguana's environment. Check for hot areas with a thermometer to prevent burns (all lamps should be shielded with wire mesh and out of the reach of a curious iguana) and uneaten food, mold or mildew. Of course, if you notice anything out of the ordinary and the problem persists, take your iguana to a qualified reptile vet immediately. Always keep a bottle of povidone iodine (Betadine) on hand. It is a good idea to put together a FIRST AID KIT that is just for your iguana. Betadine is an anti-germicidal, antimicrobial liquid that can be swabbed on a closely clipped toenail or a prematurely removed spike shed. It can be used on cuts, burns, or fungal spots. In a very diluted form (1 teaspoon to a quart of water), it can be used as a medicated bath for your entire pet. Place a clean pan or tub on newspapers and fill with warm water. Mix in a small amount of Betadine and submerge your iguana, keeping his head out of the water. A good soaking can help to loosen shed skin as well as kill any bacteria on the surface of your pet's skin. Make sure you do this during the early part of the day so your pet can completely dry before night. Top of Page Sneezing YOUR IGUANA KEEPS SNEEZING and you are worried that he or she has a cold. Don't worry. Sneezing is a normal process for Iguana iguana.. An iguana will build up salts and other minerals in it's body but can't sweat them out like we humans can so they "sneeze" the salts out. This normal function keeps the necessary minerals in their body at the correct level. Sometimes you can see the white powder on the nose of your iguana or on the glass of the terrarium. This is normal BUT if your iguana seems to be sneezing all the time, you may be too keeping it too warm and it can't regulate its body temperature properly. An iguana must be able to move in and out of the warmest areas in its enclosure to a cooler part so that it experiences a range of temperatures during the day. If your iguana keeps it's mouth open or seems to pant, that is another clue that his or her enclosure is too warm. Taming YOU WANT A REALLY CALM, easy-to-handle pet but your iguana isn't cooperating. A young iguana sees you as a predator until you gain his trust. The key is handling. Go slowly at first. If your iguana is afraid of your hand when you reach into the terrarium, take a few days of just stroking your pet without picking him up. You can even just put your hand into the enclosure without touching your pet to show him or her that you aren't going to hurt them. Consistency and patience are the watchwords of iguana taming. A horse trainer we know swims his young iguana in the bathtub for awhile to tire him out before handling him. A horse taming trick. You can carry your ig around on a piece of wood. Pick a branch with some texture so he can grip it with his toes. Place him on the wood ( a branch section that is bigger around than your pet is ideal) and hold him lightly on it. Your ig will cling to it and feel safer and more secure. Reward your ig by offering a favorite food while he's out. Getting a snack may encourage him to look forward to being out of his enclosure. Hold your iguana while grooming him. Remove loose shed skin and wash his or her face off with a wet q-tip. Any grooming you can do will increase your iguana's trust. Bottom line: Handle your iguana as much as possible, be gentle but don't let the iguana decide when you are going to let him go. Always put your iguana back in it's enclosure when it is calm and not whipping or wiggling. If it thinks by wiggling and thrashing, you will put him or her back...then your ig will continue this bad behavior. Be gentle but firm. Top of Page Humidity AN IGUANA'S NATURAL environment is very moist and humid. We keep our homes very warm and, as a result, very dry, especially in the winter when we use forced-air heating. Unless you live in a very humid climate, your iguana requires much more humidity than is usually provided. The humidity level, when measured by a hygrometer, should read above 60% with 70% to 80% being ideal. If you keep your iguana in a terrarium, make sure you put in a shallow pool of water for swimming and remember to clean it out daily (an iguana's favorite pooping place is water). Additionally, you should spray your iguana with WARM water from a spray bottle every day (or more during shedding). Make sure you spray early so your pet can dry off by evening.You can put your iguana in the tub for a swim but keep the water at shoulder-level or put something large (like a branch) in for your ig to climb up on. An iguana can drown in deep water . To avoid problems with bacteria contamination, always wash out the tub with anti-bacterial soap, Clorox, and boiling water after your iguana has been in it. Putting a humidifier near your iguana's enclosure is recommended and is especially beneficial if you have set aside an entire room for your iguana. Some people hold their iguanas under a soft shower stream to wash them off - just like a summer shower in the rainforest. Salmonella THE NEWS HAS RECENTLY reported a few cases of children infected with the Salmonella bacteria because of possible contamination from the family's pet iguana. Salmonella is a dangerous organism for young children, and older, infirmed, and immune-deficient adults. The important thing to remember is that NOT ALL iguanas carry the Salmonella strain of bacteria. Have you iguana tested at the vet at least once a year for the presence of parasites and unwanted bacteria. Even if your pet is deemed fine, it is always best to err on the side of caution. ALWAYS wash your iguana's dishes and cage items separate from any family utensils and dishes. ALWAYS use an anti-bacterial soap to wash anything that comes in contact with your pet, including your hands after handling. ALWAYS wash out sinks with Clorox and boiling water and don't use the same scrubber or sponge to clean the family dishes and your pet's dishes. Also...Do not kiss your pet iguana. As cute as iguanas are, resist the temptation and kiss the dog instead. If you are pregnant or have a baby, you must be especially cautious. It is recommended that pregnant women never handle an iguana (or any reptile) and its cage contents or feeding dishes. Young babies are very susceptible to bacteria and can die from the Salmonella strains of bacteria. Always wash your hands with antibacterial soap and change any clothes that have been in contact with an iguana before coming in contact with young children. As a parent, you should monitor all children when they are around reptiles, teaching them not to put their fingers in their mouths after handling reptiles and to always wash their hands thoroughly after handling any reptile. Top of Page Force Feeding FEEDING A STRESSED, ill, or gravid iguana is critical to the survival of the animal. An animal that isn't eating is losing weight and the nutrition needed to maintain a healthy immune system. A gravid (with eggs) iguana that wasn't in top condition may stop eating due to her eggs taking up a large part of the abdomen. Supplementing with blended food and extra calcium can help a gravid iguana get through this stressful period without an extreme loss of weight and loss of critical calcium.To force feed, purchase a standard turkey baster from the market. This is the easiest method but you can buy special syringes for the purpose from your vet. Always offer chopped and grated food first (try all your iguana's favorites with a little extra fruit as a temptation) but if refused, take the food that isn't eaten and liquefy it in a blender or chop some leafy greens, grated vegetables, adding a small amount of Gatorade (for the electrolytes) to help liquefy the vegetables. You can add a samll amount of softened alfalfa pellets, low-fat dog kibble, or chopped chicken for protein and calcium/vitamin powder. A small amount of sugar can be added for energy. Pour through a strainer and press on the solids. To extend the life of the prepared and blended food, pour into ice cube trays and freeze. Feed a cube or two (depending on the age of the iguana) defrosted and warmed to room temperature, twice a day. Fill the turkey baster and put your iguana on a towel to give him something to grip. Keep a small spray bottle of warm water at your side to spray off any food that dribbles out of his or her mouth (some always does). Place the turkey baster at the front of the mouth and squeeze a little in. Hopefully, the taste of the fruit juice will cause the iguana to open his mouth and you can squeeze in a little more. Grasping the dewlap and gentely pulling down can also work. Take your time. Keep the baster at the front of the mouth and never force it in. You need patience but once your iguana gets the idea, it is quite easy to do. NOTE: Some people are concerned about the above suggestion of feeding softened dog kibble, chicken, or other animal-based protein mixed into an emergency diet during an iguana's recovery or illness because it is never a recommended practice to feed an iguana animal protein (this includes earthworms or meal worms). BUT when an iguana is recovering from an illness, is extremely thin or suffering from Metabolic Bone Disease or Nutritional Secondary HyperParathyroidism and cannot eat due to a deformed jaw, it is critical to assist them. Force-feeding is a temporary measure and should not be continued once the iguana has recovered. Feeding the above diet is not going to affect an iguana's overall longevity. It is the continued practice of feeding high fat, animal protein that can severely affect organ function and is not recommended. Nail Clipping "DO YOU OWN A CAT?" is often the phrase heard by the owner of an iguana. Scratched forearms are almost a badge of courage but you don't need to get all scratched up when your iguana's nails begin to grow out. Take a thick sock and cut off the toe, slip it over your exposed arm before you pick up your long-nailed pet. The sock protects your arm and gives your pet something to grip. Your iguana just won't sit still when you bring out the clippers? It takes you and two neighbors to hold your pet for a clipping? Always have the vet clip your pet when you take him in for his yearly check-up but in between there is a trick you can use to trim those pesky, fast-growing toenails. Put your iguana on a branch longer than her SVL (snout to vent length) and bigger around than her body. Use a branch with some gripping texture. Place the branch on a towel and hold your iguana on lightly around his body. Use the free hand to pick up a nail end with the cutting edge of the clipper. Always use a nail clipper that is specifically for your iguana and that is new and SHARP! Keep a styptic pencil handy just in case you clip the nail too close to the quick. To be safer, trim only the sharpest end of the nail. You might have to clip more often but you don't chance clipping into the tender quick. Top of Page Male or Female? IS YOUR IGUANA A MALE OR FEMALE? At a young age, it is very hard to tell an iguana's sex and really doesn't make too much difference. It would be nice to know when you first get your iguana so you can name him or her the proper name. But, since it is really hard to sex a young iguana, there are many female iguanas out there named Spike or Iggy. However, when an iguana reaches 2 years +, it does become more important for the owner to know. If you have a female, she may become gravid (with eggs) and should be getting extra calcium prior to the gravid period. Lack of calcium during this time can be fatal to a female iguana because of an iguana's special dependence on a diet rich in calcium and the higher amount of calcium utilized to produce eggs. A gravid female also needs a proper nest site to lay her eggs. A male iguana, on the other hand, can become more aggressive when adulthood approaches and will also grow larger and need a diet to match his increasing size. So how can you tell? There are a couple of areas on an iguana that can give you a hint. Look on the inner surface of your juvenile iguana's thighs and look for enlarged pores or scales called "femoral pores". The male iguana's femoral pores become large and almost protrude so that he can grip more tightly onto the female during the breeding season. Another area to look at on a male is near the vent area. Some males develop lumps or bumps near the vent. These "hemipenal bulges" are part of the male iguana's reproductive organs (the actual gonads or testes are located in the upper mid-portion of the abdomen.) The head can also give a clue to the sex of your juvenile or adult iguana. If you look at the pictures of adult males, their heads are squarer and larger than the female and their jowls are larger. They just look more "male". See Dracul in Best and Worst for an example of a male iguana. Shedding UNLIKE SNAKES, IGUANAS DON'T SHED THEIR SKIN in one long piece. A healthy iguana, in the proper environment and with a healthy diet, can seem to be shedding all year long. As an iguana grows, it's skin must be shed to allow the body to expand and grow. This process, triggered by hormones, is called ecdysis. Resist the temptation to pull off shed skin that is not dry. Removing shed skin before it is ready can damage the delicate scales underneath. You can facilitate the shedding process by misting your iguana with warm water daily and giving it a good soaking in in a tub of water every few days. Make sure you mist early in the day so your iguana will dry completely. It is really important to take all the shed off of the toes of a young iguana. As the shed skin dries, it tightens and constricts the flow of blood to the toes. This constriction can cause the toes to die and sluff off (necrosis). If your iguana doesn't seem too shed very much...especially if it's young...then it isn't growing properly and needs a change in diet and environment. Shedding is a very important process in the life of a healthy iguana and the end result is a beautiful, soft, and colorful new skin. Top of Page Calcium/Phosphorus Ratios WHEN AN IGUANA IS FED a diet of foods high in phosphorus, it's body tries to balance the calcium/phosphorus ratio by taking calcium from the only source available - the bones. Hormones are released from glands in the iguana that signal the bones to release the needed calcium into the blood stream. This rapid loss of calcium, especially during the first year of a young iguana's life, causes bones to soften and swell. Limbs which seem fat are actually swollen, the jaw becomes distended and puffy, the tongue is retracted back and the iguana is unable to eat. Spasms, paralysis, and death follow unless the condition is diagnosed and the proper medication is administered by a vet. An iguana triples it's size from hatchling to yearling. With such rapid growth, a proper diet is critical to an iguana's health for it's entire life - which can be 20 years or more. An iguana that survives NSHP (nutritional secondary hyperthyroidism) and MBD (metabolic bone disease) will have more brittle bones and will suffer fractures and other bone deformities. Even a mature iguana, many years after surviving these dietary diseases, can fracture a bone in a fall or suffer frozen vertebrae that can rebreak and calcify, causing even more deformities. Many people mistakenly think, "I'll just sprinkle some Repti-Cal or powdered calcium over my iguana's food so what I feed him won't matter." This attitude is misguided and incorrect. Calcium supplements do not provide the same levels of nutritional calcium that a good, well-balanced diet provides. Powdered calcium is a crude and inferior method of supplying calcium and can be eliminated by the body before it has a chance to break down. In addition, a diet of foods high in oxalic acid, like spinach, actually binds the acid with the calcium to form calcium oxylate, an insoluble salt that can collect, in crystal form, in the kidneys and cause uremia and renal failure. Always feed a greater amount of calcium-rich foods (2:1 - twice as much calcium to phosphorus). Feed your iguana a variety of greens, vegetables, and fruit....just make sure the proportion of calcium-rich foods to other foods are higher. Calcium Deficiency/Twitching and Paralysis WHEN AN IGUANA IS FED a diet of foods high in phosphorus, it's body tries to balance the calcium/phosphorus ratio by taking calcium from the only source available - the bones. Hormones are released from glands in the iguana that signal the bones to release the needed calcium into the blood stream. This rapid loss of calcium, especially during the first year of a young iguana's life, causes bones to soften and swell. Limbs which seem fat are actually swollen, the jaw becomes distended and puffy, the tongue is retracted back and the iguana is unable to eat. Spasms, paralysis, and death follow unless the condition is diagnosed and the proper medication is administered by a vet. An iguana triples it's size from hatchling to yearling. With such rapid growth, a proper diet is critical to an iguana's health for it's entire life - which can be 20 years or more. An iguana that survives NSHP (nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism) and MBD (metabolic bone disease) will have more brittle bones and will suffer fractures and other bone deformities. Even a mature iguana, many years after surviving these dietary diseases, can fracture a bone in a fall or suffer frozen vertebrae that can rebreak and calcify, causing even more deformities. Many people mistakenly think, "I'll just sprinkle some Repti-Cal or powdered calcium over my iguana's food so what I feed him won't matter." This attitude is misguided and incorrect. Calcium supplements do not provide the same levels of nutritional calcium that a good, well-balanced diet provides. Powdered calcium is a crude and inferior method of supplying calcium and can be eliminated by the body before it has a chance to break down. In addition, a diet of foods high in oxalic acid, like spinach, actually binds the acid with the calcium to form calcium oxylate, an insoluble salt that can collect, in crystal form, in the kidneys and cause uremia and renal failure. Always feed a greater amount of calcium-rich foods (2:1 - twice as much calcium to phosphorus). Feed your iguana a variety of greens, vegetables, and fruit....just make sure the proportion of calcium-rich foods to other foods are higher. Top of Page Metabolic Bone Disease OR MBD AN IGUANA THAT IS NOT GIVEN THE PROPER DIET, kept in an inadequate enclosure and not exposed to ultraviolet light from the sun can very quickly develop a paralysing disease that will ultimately cause death. See Best and Worst. "Does your iguana look like this? Read the article: Build Strong Bones. Gravid Female with Eggs IF YOU HAVE A FEMALE IGUANA, SHE MAY BECOME GRAVID (with eggs) between two and a half and five years old. A female needs extra care before and during this period. She should be getting extra calcium prior to the gravid period. Lack of calcium during this time can be fatal to a female iguana because of an iguana's special dependence on a diet rich in calcium and the higher amount of calcium utilized to produce eggs. A gravid female also needs a proper nest site to lay her eggs. A female who wants to lay will begin scratching at her enclosure, at the windows and doors and the floor. she wants to get out and find a nest site. At this time she will have stopped eating or be eating much less, she will be more aggressive, and have only one thing on her mind. you must create a nest site for her. If you have built the proper size enclosure for an iguana this size , you should be able to put a kitty litter pan with half sand and half potting soil. Cover the pan with a large cardboard box with a hole in the side large enough for her to enter. The box should be large enough for her to turn around in so she can climb into the pan and scratch around. If she doesn't lay her eggs within a two week period after she has stopped eating, you must take her to a reptile vet for an x-ray to confirm that she is gravid. A female iguana that does not lay her eggs is suseptible to peritonitis and can die from ruptured eggs. An iguana that becomes egg bound can be spayed so that she will never have to go through the gravid process. If you have a female iguana, consider spaying as an alternative to egg-laying. Dehydration DEHYDRATION IS A POTENTIALLY SERIOUS PROBLEM that can result in organ failure. Always offer your iguana fresh water in a small bowl - one that is too small to poop in. Also provide a larger pool for your iguana to poop into. Iguanas like to poop in water and they can rehydrate themselves by soaking in water. The water enters through the vent or cloaca as well as through the mouth. It is incorrect that an iguana absorbs much water through their skin. Their scaly skin is designed to repel water. Top of Page Back to Iguana Iguana Home Page Previous Articles in IGUANA IGUANA Go to Tips and Tricks Go to Questions and Answers Go to Make Your Iguana A Rainforest Go to Games and Puzzles Best and Worst Iguana Hall of Fame Favorite Ig Names Iguana Nutrition A Day in the Life of an Iguana   A subscription to IGUANA IGUANA is $18.00 a year for 12 issues. To get a printed sample issue of IGUANA IGUANA Newsletter, SEND $1.00 to: IGUANA IGUANA, 23852 Pacific Coast Hwy. Ste.123, Malibu, CA 90265 with your snail (regular) mailing address. Make checks payable to: Windemere Designs (Current Month's Issue or Specific Issues - $2.00) This Month's Article - NOVEMBER - MANY REASONS FOR GIVING THANKS The latest printed issues ofIGUANA IGUANA Newsletter contain the following articles: June - From Monster to Mouse and Back Again, Living with a (part-time) Mini-Monster, From the Mail BAg - What I Go Through Living with a Crazed Male Iguana (with photo essay), Nails are for Clipping, Spotlight on Vegetables - The Rutabaga, Ask Dr. Spike - When is it too hot for my iguana to be outside?, Keep Cool! July - Taking a Bite Out of Summer, Reviewing Your Iguana's Health, A Pool for Your Outdoor Enclosure, Adding Humidity to the Outdoor Enclosure - A Mist System on a Times, An Iguana Picnic, Ask Dr. Spike - Why does my iguana eat dirt?, Happy Summer! August - Bad Boys, Bad Boys, Whatcha Gonna Do?, Breeding Season, Castration - Surgery and Chemical, The Presto Salad Shooter for easy meals, Ask Dr. Spike - My male iguana turns orange. What does that mean? September - Dehydration - Dying of Thirst, Organ Damage Caused By Dehydration, Dehydration - Observable and Clinical Signs, Signs of Viseral Gout, Summer Fruit, Conversion Chart, End of Summer Iguana Salad, Lizards Living Large in Florida, Humidity in the Enclosure, Ask Dr. Spike - My iguana eats his feces - Ugh!, Happy End of Summer! October - Skeletons in the Closet - Building a Closet Enclosure, Electrical Work in the Clsoet, The Third Eye, FallBack - Change your timers, Ask Dr. Spike - there are strange things in my iguana's poop!, Lots of Halloween Iguana Hats, October is Breast Cancer Awareness Month! and Happy Iguana Halloween! November - Many Reasons for Giving Thanks, The Proper Way to Hand-Feed An Iguana that isn't Eating, Preparing the Blended Food, From the Mailbox - I Lost My Iguana in the House!, Autumn Torte Recipe and Fig Dessert for You and Your Iguana's Thanksgiving Dinner, Happy Thanksgiving! If you would like the CURRENT issue of the printed newsletter, please send $2.00 with your name and address to: IGUANA IGUANA, 23852 P.C.H., Suite 123, Malibu, CA 90265. Make check payable to: Windemere Graphics and Design Random sample issues - $1.00 Current Issues - $2.00 A subscription to IGUANA IGUANA is $18.00 a year for 12 issues.