my iguna

Question
QUESTION: hello, my iguna is 3 years,,,i took her to the vet today but, they didn't know what to do they did a xray of her and she was swollen with white cloudy stuff on the xray..he had no idea...so, we brought her home and she laid in the bath for 20 min. and then back under her lights in her cage...she will not eat but, will drink water if i give it to her,,,she doesn't want to be moved at all and gets mad...she swelled up over nite...there is no eggs in her.....i don't know what it could be or what to do for her...help

ANSWER: Hi Michelle,
She may actually be full of eggs that are not shelled over yet... it can also be that there are broken eggs inside her. Here is a link to an x ray of an iguana full of eggs.. as you can see, the "lines' of the eggs are not easy to see..http://www.repticzone.com/forums/Iguanas/messages/2191449.html

The not eating but drinking is how a gravid ig will act, as is the soaking in water.  Is she more active than normal?  This is also a sign that many gravid igs do. Acting miserable, again, again, a sign of being gravid. Of course all of those things can also be a sign of illness or disease. If your vet isn't knowledgeable on iguanas, you may want to ask him/her if there is an exotics vet near you.  Also, your vet should be able to email the xrays to another vet for their opinion.
Did your ig ever lay eggs before? If yes, was it about this time of year last time?
Try offering her some baby food from a syringe or soak REPCAL ADULT iguana pellets in very warm water til mush and feed from a syringe.

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QUESTION: yes she has had eggs before,,,i don't remeber when? she is acting the same. i looked at the pic. and she did look like that alot...no, she isn't has active has she was 24 hours ago.....the vet told me he didn't think it was eggs but, couldn't give me a answer on what it was, but, it does look like the pics.  my son is very upset because they didn't take blood or anything....how would i know if it is a disease or illness?>

Answer
Hi Michelle,
Everything you are saying leads me to believe she is gravid. Be sure to provide a proper "egging" box for her. If gravid, she should start looking for a place to lay her eggs real soon..  digging, wanting out, etc.. Generally, once they look gravid, it is about two weeks until they lay the eggs. Since you said she looks like she "blew up" overnight, it sounds like she should lay eggs in about two weeks. Many do not co operate with that though!!
Not being as active..she may be stressed about having gone to the vets.
To spot illness, a vet can sometimes tell by a visual(mouth color, etc) that something is going on... xrays and bloodwork generally give an idea as to illnesses or other health problems.
I would try finding another vet to give you and your son peace of mind and to confirm or deny that she is full of eggs, especially if she starts to act ill or doesn't lay eggs in 3 wks or less...
If, she starts to seem lethargic, and/or seems to be straining to push out eggs with no results, then an emergency vet trip is needed.  Do continue to give her soaks in the tub and keep her hydrated.  Offer food with a syringe.  If she is indeed gravid, she won't have much room for food but it is important to get some nutrition in her and to keep her hydrated.