iguana fracture arm

Question
i have a 3yr old iguana that fracture his leg, took him to the vet several of times for it, vet said i wasnt using the right uvb light,so i brought the tube uvb light and also vet said the calciun spray i was using was no good so my iguana (stucky) received antiobitics and sum calcium liquid n i was told to put him n a smaller cage which i did n it would heel on its on.two months later arm was the same took him back now he is dehydrated n has a infection n no improvement,vet said well give it more time it should heel on its own because he walks on it find n it dont seem to bother him,so i changed his diet n start given him fruits such as papaya n melon to hydrate him, his diet is collard greens, mustard greens,dandellion greens,chicory,watercress greens,parsnip,acorn squash,butter squash n thats about it he eats about 3cups of food a day has regular bowel movements,12hrs of uvb light n he has a heat lamp, his temp is 85 to 90 degrees n the day n 70 to 80 at night,n hes done with the antibiotics n its been 1month total 3-4months on fracture arm,now i dont know what to do,i have spend over 400dollars,which i dont mind but i do mind when nothing is helping him get better, his arm is not bothering him but its bothering me,please tell me what else can i do.

Answer
Hi Geraldine,
Sorry to hear your are having problems with your ig.  Your diet is great!  Your  vet does sound like he knows what he is doing.  Igs do take a very long time to heal. Your vet is correct on needing a good uvb source and also the "good" calcium as the sprays are basically water.
The uvb light you got may not be one of the good ones. I will give you more info on that in a sec. On dehydration, be sure to mist his "salad" well with water.  For a fruit, my favorite for hydration is watermelon.  You can also soak whole wheat or multigrain bread in some water and offer him it on occasion...
You do need to raise your warm area of the cage... The basking area(where the main heat and uvb is) should have a gradient temperatures of 92-96 degrees.  Its important to use a good digital thermometer or a temperature gun to measure the temperatures. With the digital ones, the best are the ones that have the little probe on the end of the wire.  You can place the probe right in the basking area under the heat source, at your igs level.  That will give you a true reading. Other thermometers placed on the sides of the cage just don't give a true reading in the basking area.
He seems to be eating fine...you have the "daylight time" correct..
If he is using his leg, then it is healed..it may not have healed perfect in the straight department, or he may have a lump in it(which would be where the body fused the bone together).. He may also have a touch of Metabolic Bone Disease from when you didn't have a proper uvb source.  This will take time to heal but many igs will carry some signs they did have it, even though the MBD has reversed.
Can you tell me what is bothering you about it?
On the UVB, depending on the size of your cage, I do recommend the MegaRay MV uvb bulbs from REPTILEUV.COM  It is what I use on my igs... I use the 100 watt self ballasted bulbs.
With the tubes, there are many brands that just don't put out the needed uvb and also the distance the tubes recommend may not allow for good uvb output.  The nice thing about the MEGARAY is that it is also heat along with the uvb/uvb.
Here is some info on uvb... I do suggest that you go to the reptileuv site ( http://www.reptileuvinfo.com ) and read more on the subject.

Lighting ...diurnal(active during the day)lizards need uvb which are the special lights that come in fluorescent tubes or special screw in bulbs(mercury vapor)that are designed to produce uvb and heat. The tubes do not produce heat. UVB is needed by the lizard to be able to absorb the calcium in the foods they eat. Without the uvb, they will develop metabolic bone disease. With the tubes, they must say that they produce BOTH uvb and uva. The uvb needs to be 5% or higher. Repti Sun 5.0 and 10.0(not compact) are TWO of the best uvb tubes on the market. The repti glo 8.0's are a great uvb source also. Arcadia 5.0 (UK), which is the uvb tube available in the UK is a good uvb tube. These need to be positioned 6-8 inches(for the 5.0 and 8.0 and 8-10 inches for the 10.0) over the BD so that they get the uvb that is needed. Recommended length of the tube is a length that allows all or most of the lizard to get under it completly. They need to be replaced every 6-9 months as that they stop producing uvb long before they stop producing light.  They need to have access to uvb and basking temperatures for 10-12 hours daily.  At night, no white lights!!!

There has been new studies that have proven that compact uvb lights, both the spiral/coil type and the ones that look like long "U's" laying on their side and a few other brands are causing what basically amounts to snow blindness in reptiles. The companies have corrected the problem but, there may still be some of the earlier manufactured bulbs out there so be sure to double check what you are using, or even if you are using proper uvb source.  To read more on this, you can go to http://www.uvguide.co.uk/index.htm  
There are tubes and bulbs that say ''full spectrum'' but they do not produce any uvb.On the mercury vapor , they also produce heat.
When you put him back in his larger cage(what is the size of it and how big is your ig?) you may want to add more ramps (closet shelving works great) so that he isn't jumping too much yet.
Also, its very important that the shelf or branch he lays on under the uvb be level or very close to it.  If there is too much of an incline, the ig cannot get his entire body into the uvb at a good distance and also he can't warm his entire body as they need.