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Did
you hear the one about the iguana that.............? Of course you did.
You've probably heard lots of tales about iguanas and the weird events
that surround keeping one around for a pet. You've probably also heard
about somebody's pet iguana just dying for seemingly no reason at all. Or
you've heard about their iguana going off feed and not eating. Sometimes
this is seasonal, or because they ate something they shouldn't have.
(like one of your socks or a pair of panties) And sometimes it is a
serious medical issue that needs to be dealt with immediately or it's all
over but the buryin'.
My Lizzy Borden had one of those medical conditions. He developed a
bladder stone. By the time the symptoms got severe enough to be noticed,
he was a pretty sick boy. Iguana's are very stoical creatures and it is
difficult to tell when they are in pain or uncomfortable. Well, to make a
long story short, a trip to the vet uncovered two things. The first one
was that a local cat/dog/farm vet probably doesn't know diddly squat about
an iguana. They need to be treated by a vet who understands exotics.
Secondly, the vet trips ultimately ended up with an X-ray and a huge
bladder stone was discovered inside Lizzy. No wonder he couldn't eat. It
was almost as large as his abdominal cavity at the time.
I have enclosed 4 pictures of that stone. This is all I have left to show
from a $500 operation ..... except for the iguana of course. Lizzy is
very much alive and well today at 7+ years old. So be aware of your
iguanas behavior. Sometimes they desperately need medical attention but
they can't tell you that. It is up to you as the human to keep an eye on
that sort of stuff.
 
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