Iguanna emergency

Question
I have a six year old iguanna my largest of 4 I have my large iguanna caged in a closet converted to a cage I also have three ferets that most of the time our caged today I came home after going to the pet store to find my 6 yr old with his face pretty much tore off his eyes were attack as well as mouth and nose area when I initially saw him I thought he had passed on my wife is a triage nurse whose iguanna it actually is she has put him back together as much as she can a few stiches and lots of ointment and bandaged which will be changed and redone everyday we know he will be blind for the rest of his life he is my wifes favorite we found out the kids let the ferets out and they also left our door open so thats how it happened we don't know if he will survive but he is breathing on his own and we are giving him the herbavore medicine and water do you think we should puree his food because we know it will be a while till he eats on his own we aren't even sure if he will make it through this but we will give him around the clock care till he gets better or passes and is their any thing over the counter we could help him with pain Thankyou sincerely Tim

Answer
Timothy,

I am so sorry to hear about this incident. I understand that keeping pets can be troublesome, as I have had incidents between iguanas myself. I do think that you should puree the food and use a needle-less syringe to put it in his mouth and/or also try to force feed him by hand to keep him alive. I think what's more important is keeping him hydrated and warm and un-stressed. I suggest syringing him some PEDIALYTE to keep him hydrated and/or soaking him as soon as his wounds allow. I don't know that I would try to give him anything over the counter for pain because their bodies do not metabolize medicines the same ans humans and it could be dangerous. I do know that they always give my iguanas a pet med called METACAM that they use on cats and dogs as well and that is an NSAID (non steroidal anti-inflammatory drug).

I think just keeping him hydrated, keeping his wounds clean, keeping him warm, and keeping him stress-free will give the best chances for recovery. This goes, of course, without saying that is if you decide not to see a vet and are going to try and handle it yourselves.

Just because I feel it in good conscience to mention this, I do think he would benefit greatly from antibiotics and pet pain medication, which only a vet can prescribe.

I really hope he is alright and that I was at least somewhat helpful.

Sincerely,

Sara J Gwerder
President
Raptor Rescue Iguana Sanctuary
Shreveport, LA