Help! Iguana Nose Rub! Help!

[HaloedSatan]

Ok, I bought a baby red iggy a few a month or two ago. She's about 9 mo. old and is like greased lighting. Anyway, she goes nuts anytime anyone goes near her 90 gallon aquarium. She bounces off the walls and won't stop until you move away from her. We try to leave her alone as much as we can until she becomes at least partly acclimated, but it's tough when you have to feed her everyday.

So, she has developed a bruise on her nose. I've taken a few pics of it, some are better than others, but you'll get the point. Any advice is welcome, especially from anyone who has had this problem before. Her upper lip looks to be slowly receeding and it scares me. So... any advice...? Could a vet even do anything?

On with the pics...

[nanihokuahi]

She is beautiful even with her little nose owie! I think a trip to the vet is in order because he can give you some antibiotics to put on her nosie to prevent infection and probably help with her upper lip receding. They may also give you some advice on how to correct the behavior. In the mean time, here are my two cents.

In terms of her freaking out every time you go near the tank, staying away= not the best option in my opinion. You want her to get used to you, and like you, so what you may want to try is every time you go near the cage give her a little treat. Mine really, really loves raspberries so thats what she got while we were trying to tame her down. This will get her to look forward to you visit instead of freaking out.

I see that you have her in a 90g. Is it very tall? Iggies need vertical space more than horizontal space. Sometimes if young iggies cannot climb they feel vulnerable, and thus freak out more when approached. lots of extra foliage (real or fake) would be good for her as well as it would provide a good place to hide.

I hope this helps a least a little bit. My iggy definitely took a long time to appreciate people, it took a ton of time and lots of treats. She is much better now and is working on being a free roaming iggy in the house!

[HaloedSatan]

Thx for the advice. My other iggy loves red raspberries as well. I would try and give her a treat but I dont think it will work, seeing as she doesnt eat until night when no one else is around. The vet trip is IMO uneeded as I have a plent of reptile antibiotics on hand.

I think the best thing would be to get a taller aquarium. That is something I hadnt thought of (and should have). There are plenty of things to climb in her 90- gallon, but it's only like 17" tall. I'll look into a taller aquarium.

If anyone else has advice, I'd gladly have it.

Thx again nanihokuahi!

	IMO In My Opinion

[AbsoluteApril]

I kept my iggy in a wood framed and (plastic coated) wire enclosure instead of glass. Wasabi (the ig) loved to climb all over the wire (it was 4'x2.5'x5'). Plus I could trim his nails while was hanging out. I think you may need to try a different type of enclosure instead of glass if you can. If not, try putting up aquarium backing or just black/green construction paper on 3 sides of the tank and partially up the front that way there is a visual block. It may help stop her from banging into the glass so much. Lots of hiding spots to make iggy feel comfortable.
For the nose rub, I am no vet and would advise a vet trip to verify the rub has not caused an infection under the skin. In the meantime, I would clean the wound with Betadine and then put some neosporin (not the pain reducing kind!) on the wound.
(about nose rubs: Miscellaneous Conditions)
Good luck!

[HaloedSatan]

Thanks April!

[burmeselover15]

ok i would suggest checking the humidity and temperatures in the cage and see if they are right and to see if you have the right sized enclosure. the reason that she is doing this is due to a mistake in her habitat or temperatures/humidity. She is stressed at something and is trying to get out of her cage and find a better place to stay. Just check the temps/humidity and how big cage and how habitat are going and correct whatever mistake you have and she should be right back to normal

[TammyJ]

What happened here? Did you put more hides (the skittish youngsters need lots of places to hide when they get scared or nervous). Put decorative plastic/paper on three sides of the glass except the front, you know the kind with jungle foliage patterns etc. and keep the tank as high off the ground as you can.

I have never heard of an iguana eating at night, it's not normal, but if yours does it may be due to less traffic in the area.

Sit by the cage and read or watch TV (if the TV is there at all or somewhere else - it may scare the ig) for half an hour, just staying very close and letting the ig get used to you.

The shortened snout may be due to MBD, which it may have had when you got it. I have seen it happen with many igs. Check that the diet is right, and the UV light.

Good luck with that cute little ig!