LOUIE OUR SAVANNAH MONITOR

So I've had a lot of questions recently regarding the savannah monitor that my boyfriend and I own, Louie, so I thought I would do a blog post about his story so everyone who wants to know can :)

So we got Louie as a hatchling from the local reptile shop, he was so cute and we couldn't resist. Both my boyfriend and I have a great passion for reptiles and did our research prior to getting him.

 

This is Louie shortly after we got him, he grew so fast, just like many reptile species do. So when they grow as fast as he did, if their calcium levels drop a little to low it can cause a more damage than if it was a full grown adult.

 

Louie started showing signs of early stages of MBD, his walking gate was a bit off and he held his back end a bit differently. So we immediately took him to the local Hero Vet to be checked out. At this point we didn't know these were signs of MBD so we weren't sure what was going on with him, so we asked out "experienced" vet. I've been to this vet before and never had any issues until that day.

Louie went in and she did some X-ray and checking him over, watched him walk around but she couldn't figure out what it was that was causing this issues he was having.... I'm no where near a vets education however knowing what I know now I would have been able to determine that right away.

 

So our Vets sent me home with Louie with basically no results and said to give him some time and didn't suggest changing anything we were doing.... well with MBD that's the exact opposite of what needed to be done... and I know that now. So over the next week I did so much research trying to figure out how to help him and that'd when I found out he had MBD. I was devastated, like any owner should be. So we corrected everything that needed fixed immediately and that stopped him from progressing even more, but by that time he had already had some deformities in all his legs and tail. 

 

Looking back I should have gotten a second vets opinion, but I trusted my vet and what she had to say. That was my mistake. If I had of taken him to a second vet who diagnosed the issue he would be in better shape today. So as he grew is issues changed.

 

We built him an enclosure that was a good design for savannah monitors, but he had trouble moving around in it and he doesn't burrow with the way his legs are. So we just finished making him a new enclosure that was easier for him to move around in and get in and out of. This is Louie now.

 

 

The curve in his tail is actually fused like that, his tail has a permanent  kink in it from mbd. You can also see in this picture his thing of his back leg is really thick at the top. All four of his legs have issues but he still gets around ok. his front feet cannot bend forward as far as they need to in order to walk properly so they actually bend underneath of his when he walks

 

We do our best to keep hum active but he does have restrictions.

 

SO please learn from my mistakes take your reptile to the vet if you notice an issue and dot be afraid of getting a second opinion from a different herp vet.

 

 

 

 

Thank you,

Robin Small

Ontario Iguanas

PHOENIX'S WEIGHT LOSS... REASONS?

Phoenix has always been a good eater since I got here last year, however the last month and a half she has been eating basically NOTHING and has lost a lot of weight because of it.

She has still been very active and her mood is still the same  but then I made the connection. Before my reptile room was flooded I had Molly, Billy and Phoenix out all together like I normally do, but this time Molly actually charged at Phoenix and Phoenix darted off. The old layout of the room was fine as they couldn't really see each other but after the flood all my iguanas and their enclosures were moved to the unfinished side of the basement. There wasn't a lot of space so the enclosure were packed in tight together. PHOENIX'S enclosure ended up facing Molly's a couple meters away from each other.

It was right around this time that Phoenix began to stop eating. I picked up on this quickly and used a towel to block off most of her windows in her doors. However this didn't work and I didn't have any other place to move her enclosure.

Today I was so excited because I finished Billy's enclosure and got PHOENIX'S enclosure moved back into the reptile room. I put Phoenix in with Billy to explore his new enclosure and spend time together. While they were in there I went to get some of their salad mix to give Billy, and Phoenix took no time before diving in and eating half of the big salad. This is the most food I've seen her eat in a month and a half. This just goes to show how the environment outside the enclosure can work with or against your iguanas behaviours.

Things like mirrors hanging in a room where the iguana can see his or her reflection can cause snoot of stress and anxiety for them. So be aware of your iguanas surroundings and any changes you make.


Robin

UNDER THE STAIRS IGUANA ENCLOSURE

So as most of you know for the past couple months we have ben renovating our basement which is also our reptile room. It was just finished this past Sunday so I have been getting the cages ready to move them back in and just started doing so today.

All my iguanas needed to be moved to a larger enclosure so I came up with an idea and drawing of a large enclosure underneath the stair case for my larger male Billy. This would open up his larger enclosure he was currently in, Phoenix will be getting his old enclosure once everything is done however Molly is currently in it.

So on Sunday we did the framework for the enclosure and the last couple days I have been putting up the Plexiglas, made the door and then filled it with shelves and branches to climb on. I am really happy with how the enclosure turned out and its a great way to use up that space. If you haven't seen the picture of it yet here it is....

 

 

Now just to clear something up, yes Phoenix is in the enclosure with Billy however they are housed separately. She was just in there to look around and explore.

 

So that is what his finished enclosure looks like, I love how it turned out! I didn't go all the way to the end of the stairs for a few reasons...

1. My cats litter box used to go there so I left room for it but now I'm going to move it out of that room completely.

2. Its a very awkward angle and if I needed to clean in there it would just be to much. If you Wanted to use this idea and go all the way to the end I would suggest putting a small second door near the end to help with cleaning.

 

 

Because most of the frame work was there already (the two walls) the only big expense for this was the Plexiglas for the windows. I don't know why its so expensive but it looks so much better than chicken wire or aluminum mesh that its worth it.

 

 

 So this is the light set up that I'm using for his new enclosure, if you'd like to learn how to easily put a built in heat fixture click

here to see my YouTube video for full instructions and detail

 

Thanks for reading!!
Robin

PICKING THE RIGHT AGE OF YOUR FIRST IGUANA

There are many pro's and con's to the different ages of green iguanas and it can be a make or break point for the owner if the match doesn't work out well.

This bog post is going to be a quick guide to finding help people decided what age of iguana would b appropriate for their situations and lifestyle.

Many people go into the pet store an see the adorable litter green iguana and on impulse they purchase them. Then in a couple months the little baby hasn't calmed down at all and its up for sale to find a new home. Its important to find the right age that will work with your lifestyle and experience.

Now everything I say is my own opinion from my experience and I am talking about the average in experiences there will always be exceptions to this.

I will start off by talking different age choices for a first time iguana owner. I normally like to recommend an iguana that I around 2-3 years for first time owners. The reasoning behind this is that when taming a baby it is very important to learn their body language and just your behaviour accordingly.  Baby green iguana are naturally very flighty and this can be very overwhelming for a new owner. The amount of time needed for a baby iguana is really high in order to get them tamed and keep them happy and not stressed. A lot of new owners aren't aware of the time they need which leads a lot of them into new homes. So beside the fact that babies take a lot of work and time and patience to get them to where they are a nice companion I don't recommend larger or older thin 4 years old for new owners either. The reason behind this is that iguana can cause a lot of damage when they get aggressive, (even he calmest iguana can be aggressive) and I would be lying if I said you wouldn't get bit. The best way to learn is by your mistakes. Your iguana will give body signals when its not happy with what you are doing. So you must learn these signals and learn how to read them, and I would prefer to get a nip from a smaller iguana than an 6ft adult male.

So for new owners I recommend a medium sized iguana, this size is big enough to handle easily but yet small enough to control if necessary.

But if your going to get an iguana at this age, where do you get it? Look up local reptile rescue centers or on sites like Kijiji or other sale sites. Try to find a healthy 2-3 year old iguana and one that has been worked with a bit. In some cases you can get an iguana that is more or less tamed. This gives you the perfect chance to understand them more and if you get another one in the future than maybe try a baby iggy.

If you wish to get and raise a baby iguana. Just be aware of the time and patience they take and be ready to put in the time and not give up on the iguana. You must respect them for what they are and that is a reptile that is still very intact with its natural behaviours an instincts. If you wish to get an iguana try to understand the world from their eyes in order to work with them better.


Robin
Ontario Iguanas.