Starved Iguana with mouth & nostril sore

Question

Percy1  

Percy2   First off the history you asked for:
My daughter rescued two abused iguanas. She believes they were teenagers; the previous owners refused any info. They were about 18" long at the time and very skinny and dark. To date 10 months later they are both plump, green, and happy.

They live apart in a solid glass aquarium 50"L x 30"W x 18"T. As they are getting bigger she is researching the best type large cage for them.
They are now about 30" long, nose to tail tip.
Mega Ray UVB 100 Watt
Temperatures between 80 - 85
Diet consisting of spinach, mustard greens, collards, peas, carrot squash, minimal fruit as fruit tends to make watery pooh.

Now the problem:
I took the grandkids for the whole school summer vacation and my daughter had an opportunity to make extra cash during the summer so her in-laws agreed to watch and care for her pets, five total two iguanas included.
On her return she found the parrot, guinea pig, and one iguana dead. The cat obviously fed itself outside and Percy, the surviving (barely) iguana is super skinny and has sores and a swollen infected nostril and something (maybe fungus) going on with his mouth. The poor thing looks starved.  The in-laws swears they fed him and don't know why the other animals died. They told my granddaughter (6) her guinea pig probably died of old age and my grandson (10) that the parrot was a gift and it was probably very old too.
I'm sending two pics - they are both very hard to look at. He is gaining weight, she has been adding  banana to his food to help him gain weight faster as she's afraid of loosing him.
She said the cage was dirty, bare, and had some wood chips in it when she arrived.
She lives in a very small town in GA and there is no reptile vet as she has called all listed.
This poor boy, Percy, needs help fast. We just don't know what to do. Percy and family is planning to move in with me in TN for awhile as all are upset and stressed.
I know about and have raised bearded dragons from eggs, but never had an iguana. Totally different I'm sure as one is a meat (worm) eater and the other a vegetarian.
Can you tell anything from these pics?

Answer
Hi Ariellah,
Oh, those poor igs..bless you and your daughter for taking them in and trying to do everything right for them!!! I am so sorry to hear so many pets have died.
As you know, parrots live longer than most people do...
As to getting weight on Percy... you don't want to do it too fast as that can cause shock to their system.  I would not use banana as it really isn't a good food for iguanas due to the high potassium.  Also, don't feed spinach other than a few leaves on occasion as the oxalate acids in the spinach bind the calcium making it unabsorbable. Many times getting them hydrated will help  a lot with how they look weight wise.  Give him long soaks in shallow, warm water.. They actually do absorb a small amount of water through their vents. Offer water with a syringe...very, very slowly.  Adding a small amount of pedialyte to the water can help also.
As you both know, wood chips are a big no no.
If I were you or your daughter, I would get a fecal check done to rule out parasites. Also, have the vet check the injury to see if it is a fungus or infection. Any vet should be able to do the fecal and they should also be willing to conference with a reptile vet to help them out with treatments.  NEVER allow a vet to use IVERMECTIN on your iguana.  Each would be treated a different way. Also, there may be some mouth rot(stomatitis) which requires oral antibiotics to heal. Looking at the picture, I do think I see mouth rot going on.. You can apply Neosporin ointment to the nose area, but be careful around the nostrils.
Your vet may carry a product called CRITICAL CARE for HERBIVORES.  If not, you can order it on line at www.calvetsupply.com  It is a wonderful product to help herbivores get the nutrition they need when they are ill. Be sure to order the feeding syringes also.
Oh, also, bearded dragons actually do need to have the same greens as an iguana.  As beardies get older, their diet is mostly the greens/veggies.
I wish you and yours and Percy the very best...your daughter saved him once..I'm sure she can do it again.  Just don't rush the weight gain..it is vital to go slow with getting a starved iguana back to health.