PET GREEN IGUANA

	General Information The green iguana is a popular lizard pet. Mature males (2 years and older) are easily distinguished from females as they have larger and more pronounced femoral pores on the inner aspects of the thighs than females. These pores are openings of glands that are used in marking behaviors. Under proper conditions, adults can reach several pounds and grow to 6 feet in length. Therefore, proper provisions must be made for a larger enclosure as the pet ages. Sexual maturity is reached by 2 years of age. Females can lay eggs without a male, although the eggs will be infertile and not hatch. With proper care, your iguana can live 10-15 years. Spaying and neutering can be done for conditions such as chronic egg laying in females or aggressiveness in mature males. Iguanas do not have diaphragms; they use muscles located between their ribs (intercostal muscles) for breathing. Iguanas have a three-chambered heart; dogs, cats, and people have four chambers in their hearts. Iguanas have a renal portal blood system, where blood from the hindlimbs is filtered by the kidneys before reaching the general circulation. This means toxins from the rear limbs (as could occur from wounds on the legs) as well as drugs injected into the rear legs would probably be filtered before entering the general circulation. Iguanas excrete uric acid as their main waste product of protein metabolism (dogs, cats, and people excrete urea). This allows them to adapt to desert environments where water supply might be restricted. Males have two reproductive organs called hemipenes. Iguanas have a cloaca, which receives secretions from the urinary, gastrointestinal, and reproductive systems. The skin is covered with scales and is usually shed in patches, unlike the situation in snakes where the skin is usually shed in one piece. Unlike many reptiles, iguanas have a urinary bladder. Where to start? Most owners buy iguanas locally from a pet store or often rescued through shelters. Ask about a guarantee if the pet isn't what you want. Young, captive-raised animals make the best pets. Older imported animals are harder to tame, may harbor internal parasites, and often suffer from the stress of captivity. Avoid sick-looking animals. Start out right with a healthy pet. Avoid lizards that appear skinny, have loose skin or sunken eyes, and appear inactive or lethargic. A healthy iguana is usually bright green, active, and alert. The vent or cloaca should be clean and free of wetness or stool stuck to it. If you can GENTLY open the mouth (tapping lightly on the snout with a finger often works), there should be a small amount of clear saliva present, and a bright pink tongue and oral cavity. Mucus that is cloudy or "cottage cheese" in appearance is a sign of mouth rot, as is redness or pinpoint hemorrhages on the mucus membranes. Always inquire about the guarantee in case the iguana is found to be unhealthy. First veterinarian visit Within 48 hours of your purchase, a qualified reptile veterinarian should examine your iguana. The visit includes determining the animal's weight, as well as checking for lumps and bumps. The animal is examined for signs of dehydration and starvation. A fecal test is done to check for internal parasites. Many veterinarians consider all iguanas (even those bred in captivity) to have pinworms, so your iguana may be routinely dewormed for these parasites (these pinworms are not transmissible to people). The oral cavity is examined for signs of infectious stomatitis (mouth rot). No vaccines are required for iguanas. Your doctor may recommend blood tests, cultures, or radiographs (X-rays) to check for other diseases. If all turns out well, your iguana will be given a clean bill of health. Like all pets, iguanas should be examined annually and have their feces tested for parasites annually as well. What type of housing does my iguana require? Smaller juvenile pets often do well in a 10 or 20 gallon aquarium. As your iguana grows, he must be moved to more comfortable enclosures. These can often be purchased or built by the pet owner. Your veterinarian or pet store may have examples of these larger enclosures
		to give you an idea of the proper habitat for an adult iguana. What type of bedding? Substrate, or bedding material, should be easy to clean and nontoxic to the iguana. Newspaper, butcher paper, towels, or preferably Astroturf is recommended. When using Astroturf, buy two pieces and cut them to fit the bottom of the cage. With two pieces, one is placed in the cage and one is kept outside the cage and is always clean. When the turf inside the cage becomes soiled, you'll always have a clean, dry piece to replace it. Clean the soiled turf with ordinary soap and water (avoid harsher products unless your reptile veterinarian approves them), thoroughly rinse it, and hang it to dry to be used at the next cage cleaning. Alfalfa pellets can also be used for bedding and are often eaten by the iguana, which is acceptable. AVOID sand, gravel, wood shavings, corn cob material, walnut shells, and cat litter, as these are not only difficult to clean but can cause impactions (blockages) if eaten on purpose or accidentally should the food become covered by these substrates. Cedar wood shavings are toxic to reptiles! What else? The iguana enjoys natural branches. Make sure they are secure and won't fall onto the lizard and injure it. Ideally, the branch should slope from the bottom of the enclosure to the top and end near a heat source so the iguana can bask. Rocks (large ones) in the cage also allow for basking. A hiding place is appreciated by all reptiles and should be available. Artificial plants can be arranged to provide a hiding place, as can clay pots, cardboard boxes, and other containers that provide a secure area. A heat source is necessary for all reptiles, which are cold-blooded and need a range of temperatures to regulate their internal body temperature. Ideally, the cage should be set up so that a heat gradient is established, with one area of the tank warmer than the other end. In this way, the iguana can move around its environment and warm or cool itself as needed. Purchase two thermometers and place one at the cooler end of the cage and one at the warmer end near the heat source. The cooler end of the cage should be approximately 70-75 F, while the warmer end should be 90-100 F. An inexpensive way to do this is to supply a focal heat source using a 100-watt incandescent bulb with a reflector hood, although pet stores sell other types of heat lamps. Your heat source should be placed OUTSIDE and above one end of the cage, which should be covered by a screen top to prevent the iguana from escaping or burning itself on the bulb. At night, heat isn't necessary as long as the temperature remains at 65-70 F. "Hot Rocks" or "Sizzle Rocks" are dangerous, ineffective, and should be avoided! UV light UV light is necessary to provide Vitamin D-3. Failure to provide UV light can predispose your iguana to metabolic bone disease, a common condition of pet iguanas. The UV light should emit light in the UV-B range (290-320 nanometers). Combining a blacklight (such as one from General Electric) with a Vita-Lite, Chroma-50, or Colortone-50 in a two-bulb fixture is an excellent way to provide UV light, although many iguanas do well with just a Vita-Lite. Your veterinarian may recommend other brands of UV light that also provide a source of Vitamin D-3. The UV output of these lights decreases with age and they should be replaced every six months. For UV light to work, it must reach the pet in an unfiltered form, which means that you must make sure there is no glass or plastic interposed between the pet and the light. Finally, the light should be within 6-12 inches from the iguana in order for the pet to receive any benefit. Feeding my iguana  Iguanas are mainly herbivorous, meaning they eat a lot of plants. The hindgut of the iguana is highly specialized to allow fiber digestion, similar to the stomach compartments of cattle. The feeding regimen varies with age this is one that has worked well for many iguana owners. Be sure to discuss a specific regimen for your pet with your veterinarian. For juvenile iguanas (less than 2 years of age): 80% of the diet can be plant-based protein and 20% animal -based protein. For adult iguanas (over 2 years of age): 90%-100% of the diet should be plant-based protein and 0-10% animal-based protein. How often to feed Most young iguanas eat daily; older iguanas can be fed daily or every other day, depending upon each pet's individual appetite. Plant material types Most (80-90%) of the plant material should be flowers and vegetables, and only 10-20% should be fruits. As a rule, anything green and leafy should make up a large part of the diet. Yellow and orange vegetables should also be included. Avoid fiber-rich, vitamin-deficient vegetables including lettuce and celery; their composition is mainly fiber and water with little vitamins or minerals. Acceptable vegetables include collard greens, mustard greens, turnip greens, alfalfa hay or chow, bok choy, kale, parsley, spinach (in small amounts), bell peppers, green beans, green peas, corn, okra, cactus, various squash, sweet potatoes, cabbage or broccoli (also in small amounts), and flowers such as carnations, hibiscus, and roses (avoid azaleas as they are toxic). Fruit can include apples, pears, bananas, grapes, peaches, kiwis, and melons. Fruits that are particularly healthy include figs (which contain calcium), papaya, raspberries and strawberries. Protein foods If you and your doctor decide that animal-based protein sources are acceptable, some appropriate foods include crickets, sardines (drained), tofu, hard-boiled eggs, moths, and mealworms. Dog and cat food, contain too much Vitamin D and fat and should not be fed. Reptile pellets, bird pellets, trout chow, and other fish chows are excellent protein sources. Live prey, such as crickets and worms, should either be raised by the owner, retrieved from a nearby field, or purchased from a pet store or reptile breeder. Care must be exercised when collecting insects, especially from the home garden as fertilizers and insecticides can be toxic to iguanas. What vitamins It is recommended by many veterinarians to LIGHTLY sprinkle all the food offered to the iguana with a calcium powder (calcium gluconate, lactate, or carbonate). A LIGHT weekly sprinkling of a good reptile vitamin on the food is also recommended. A common problem seen in pet iguanas is over-supplementation with vitamins and minerals. Check with your veterinarian for specific recommendations about the need to supplement your pet's diet. Water Fresh water in a crock that won't easily tip over should be available at all times. Iguanas will not only drink from the water bowl but will often bathe in it as well (although it is perfectly acceptable to mist the iguana with water a few times a week too). Make sure the water stays clean; many iguanas love to eliminate in their water bowl as well as drink from it. Common diseases of pet iguanas Common conditions of pet iguanas include metabolic bone disease, infectious stomatitis (mouth rot), parasites, abscesses, and hypervitaminosis D. Feeding an improper diet that is low in calcium or Vitamin D and high in phosphorus most often causes metabolic bone disease, probably the most common condition of pet iguanas. Common signs include swelling of the lower jaw and/or swelling of the hind limbs. As the condition progresses, muscle twitching, loss of appetite, and loss of energy (lethargy) are seen. Infectious Stomatitis (Mouth Rot) is seen as pinpoint hemorrhages on the gums or an excess amount of thick mucus, often like cottage cheese, in the mouth. Parasites, especially pinworms, are common in pet iguanas. They often cause no clinical signs and are detected on an annual fecal examination. They may, however, cause diarrhea or weight loss. Abscesses, commonly seen in pet iguanas, appear as hard tumor-like swellings anywhere on the pet's body. Hypervitaminosis D is a condition that develops as owners either over-supplement the iguana's diet with vitamins and minerals or feed it dog or cat food. Clinical signs are vague and include lack of appetite and lethargy. Signs of disease Signs of disease in iguanas may be specific for a certain disease, such as jaw or hind-limb swelling as seen in iguanas with metabolic bone disease, or non-specific, such as an iguana with anorexia (lack of appetite) and lethargy, which can be seen with many diseases. ANY deviation from normal should be a cause for concern and requires immediate evaluation by your veterinarian. Any of these diseases can be severe enough to cause a loss of appetite and lethargy. When seen, these signs indicate a guarded prognosis and the need for hospitalization and intensive care, which can include fluid therapy and force-feeding. Special Problems of Pet Iguanas Iguanas have several unique problems; understanding these problems will allow you to better care for your pet and minimize future health care problems. Cystic Calculi Commonly called bladder stones, these occur when minerals from the diet form crystals, which then form stones. Usually these are composed of uric acid, which usually results from a diet that contains too much protein (such as a diet high in dog food or cat food). Often, you will detect blood in your iguana's droppings. An examination and radiographs (X-rays) allow your veterinarian to correctly diagnosis the problem. Surgical removal of the stones is needed, as is fluid therapy to prevent kidney damage. Your veterinarian will discuss dietary correction in an attempt to prevent future stones from forming. Salmonella While turtles are most commonly incriminated for causing Salmonella bacterial infections in children, iguanas have lately been determined to be a source of this infection as well. This bacterium can cause severe gastrointestinal disease or septicemia (blood poisoning). Many animals and people carry the bacteria without showing any clinical signs (remember Typhoid Mary?), yet shed the bacteria in their feces which can infect others. Prevention, through proper hygiene, is the best way to control the disease. Since most iguanas which carry Salmonella are not ill, they usually require no treatment (treatment often fails to kill the bacterium anyway). Avascular Necrosis Iguanas are often afflicted with a condition called avascular necrosis. In this condition, blood flow to the affected body part, usually the tip of the tail or one of the digits (toes), is blocked. The blocked blood flow means that the affected body part doesn't receive blood, and starts to become necrotic, or dies. Within a short period of time, the toe or tip of the tail becomes discolored and possibly infected. The necrosis or infection can spread up the tail or to other toes. Several things can cause the blood vessels to become blocked, such as infection spreading to the tail or toe, a blood clot in another part of the body (embolus) spreading to the tail or toe, trauma causing damage to the blood vessels, or a tumor cutting off the blood supply to the tail or toe. Usually, the cause is not determined. Treatment involves amputating the affected tail or toe in an effort to stop the spread of the necrosis. Most pets recover well and lead normal lives after the surgery.