Gravid Iguana Questions

Question
QUESTION: Hi again, Diane!  

I have some more questions about Ursula.  She still has not passed her eggs.  She has not eaten a thing in 10 days and she has gotten so restless that she tore out all the claws on her left fore-paw.  I went to school (I go to vet tech school) and asked one of my teachers to take an x-ray.  It showed Ursula's belly full of shelled, slightly oblong eggs in her oviducts. Her bones showed good calcification too =D

I changed the substrate in the nesting box to organic potting soil and she dug a hole straight to the bottom the first night!  I was so excited that she finally took some interest in it.  Unfortunately, after digging the one deep hole she continues to ignore the nesting box like she did before I changed the substrate.   

Ursula is still acting manic.  Pacing and climbing and digging like a crazy lizard all day long.  She is starting to look pretty thin in the hips and tail and very dehydrated (although I provide her with three water bowls now).  She has several small scratches on her body from all the frantic climbing she's been doing, plus missing 5 claws from one foot doesn't help her get around.  She is also starting to go a little brown in color.  She just doesn't look so hot.  

I'm getting pretty frustrated.  I'm wondering if the time is getting near to her laying the eggs or if I should start to think about medically intervening.  I tried reasoning with Ursula, but she doesn't listen to me (although she has become quite tolerant of me petting and holding her these past two weeks). =P  Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  Thanks again!

-Jess

ANSWER: Hi Jess,
Fun isn't it?  NOT!  I hate gravid igs!!! Offer her water with a syringe...try offering soaked 12 grain bread. Its vital that she drinks water..its what they normally do when gravid.  They also spend a lot of time climbing.  Theory there is that the climbing helps to move the eggs down.
Also, give her long soaks in the tub.  If she isn't drinking anything and is frantic then its time to consider a spay. With her acting frantic, she may not be able to lay the eggs for some reason.
If the eggs are shelled, she should lay them if there isn't a problem.
The good thing about spayed igs, you don't have to worry about this year after year.
Is the egging box warm at the top of the soil, cooling as it goes deeper? Does it pack well enough to hold a
tunnel but still easy to dig in?  Generally a mix of sphagnum moss and childrens play sand and warm water makes a good mix.  Also, try to make it deep...about 18-24 inches or more. A big rubbermaid tote is good..one that is close to 3 ft long.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thanks for the quick response Diane!

She is still drinking a lot.  She also spends most nights sitting in two of her water dishes.  I gave her three so at least one would have clean water all the time.  I will try the 12 grain bread, but she doesn't even want to eat her favorite foods like melon or cantaloupe!

I have a heating pad on the top of the nest box so it's warmer at the top and cooler as she digs down.  It is moist, but easy to dig and pile.  It only has about 8 inches of soil to dig in though.  I can't make it any deeper because I can't get it in her habitat (I converted a dresser into her habitat, so it's a decent size for her, but the logistics of getting things in and out are a little funky).  Maybe I will try adding sand.

I would love to get her spayed, but I don't have that kind of money right now.  If she can pass these eggs on her own that would be great.  I can splurge if she has an emergency, but a planned spay is something I'm saving up for. =)

Do you think if she continues to snub my nesting box she will lay the eggs somewhere else in her habitat, or will she more probably retain them? =(

Thanks again!
-Jess

ANSWER: Hi Jess,
With my one iguana, she was young when she laid the first time, just barely 18 months and just 10 inches svl...  I did her egging box..she would go in, dig, dig, dig, come out...this went on a few days.. what I discovered was she was digging to the bottom and then quit..so, I made it deeper and boom!!..she laid her eggs that night.....I think it was 18 of them in about 30 minutes time....
Sooo...it is important to try to find a way to make the dirt deeper, even if you have to leave the box on the outside in the doorway to her cage.  You can use something like a sheet or ? to close off the opening that isn't taken up by the box.  
I'm not sure but, it seems like many of the igs stop eating completely prior to laying, only drinking...It makes me wonder if they do that to clean out their systems so the eggs pass easily.
If she doesn't want to eat, don't force her at this point.
You may want to check into getting a care credit card to pay for the surgery if needed.  Its wonderful to have...  Its interest free for several months, depending on the amount of the procedure.  www.carecredit.com
Some igs are stubborn..if they can't use the box, they will retain them, which we sure don't want to happen.  Actually, its better to spay them when they are gravid as it makes everything easier to see to be sure to get it all out.  Many vets will only spay when gravid.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Ok . . . so I tore apart her habitat so that a bigger nesting box will fit.  It's about 14 inches deep, and filled with moist potting soil and sphagnum moss.  I keep it quite warm at the top with a heating pad and the entire thing is on the warm end of her habitat.  She checked out the nesting box once or twice . . . dug about half way down . . . and continues to ignore it.  I also upped the temperature in her habitat to about 92F during the day and about 88F.  

I also took her to the vet for an x-ray Monday and we discovered about 15-20 well-shelled, slightly oval eggs in her oviducts.  She also has some extra calcium in her bones still, so the vet said that she is not calcium deficient =D! We also figured out that according to the size of the eggs and her pelvic structure she should be able to pass the eggs normally.  We could not figure out how far along she was or when she is due.  

Yesterday she didn't move all day long.  She was hiding in the cold part of her habitat just behind the nesting box where I couldn't reach her.  I got a little desperate so I went out and bought her favorite treat - cantaloupe.  I chopped it up and lured her out of her hidey-hole with it.  Then I picked her up and put her in the warmer section of her habitat where she could soak a little and get some uvb before bedtime.  She felt a little weak to me =/, but she still clawed the crap out of my arm when I picked her up.  

Today I fed her a little more cantaloupe with some calcium carbonate dust on it. She seems a little more active, but not a whole lot. A few hours ago I noticed her tail lightly slapping the side of her cage . . . It didn't seem to be voluntary or, at least, Ursula didn't seem to be thinking about what she was doing.  After this movement she sat up a little bit and opened her eyes.  Then she climbed up to her basking spot and I noticed that her cloaca looks pretty enlarged (probably normal for how far along she is).  Could her moving her tail like that be contractions starting . . . please? D'=

This lizard is driving me crazy, lol!  I can tell when a dog or a goat is going to give birth months in advance, but I can't tell if my lizard is in the middle of dystocia or normal pregnancy, lol!

Answer
Hi Jess,
Remember what I said earlier?  I hate gravid igs!!
Try offering her cantaloupe juice...she may drink that. Ask at school about using some liquid B vitamins or a B vitamin  injection to see if that helps her energy level.  As to the tail slapping, a friend of mine has a gravid ig as we speak, and I asked her about it and she said that last week her ig was doing that.  I also asked about the vent..she checked her ig and said the vent didn't' look any larger..BUT!! that does  not mean it won't get larger once she is nearer to laying. (If it helps, her ig is making her insane and crazy also) With my one ig that was gravid a few yrs ago, I don't remember noticing that but with her when I handled her I was more concerned with keeping all my body parts intact, if you get my meaning.
It would make sense that it does enlarge to allow passage of the eggs.
Watch her..do you see her "pushing" with her stomach? Generally, if they have a stuck egg, they will constantly be trying to push the egg out.
With your nesting box, try adding some childrens playsand to the mix. You want about 1/4 of the mix to be sand.  Did you add water to the mix to a consistency that will hold a tunnel, but is still easy to dig in?
Generally, they will do a lot of vertical climbing to help move the eggs down.  Does she have a place where she can do this?  What I did was to actually take one of the shelves that have the lip on both sides and hung it vertically on one wall.
I wouldn't let her go much longer with no progress, especially if she is acting worn out. If she is too worn out, she won't be able to exert the energy to push those silly eggs out. If her eggs are shelled, she should be laying them any day.
We can read all the info their is on gravid igs..how long it takes, how they act, etc..but, unless the igs learn to read that same info..they will continue to make us crazy with it!
Some igs just seem to not want to lay when its an area we create for them. That's when there is a big problem for them..and for us. Again, don't let her go too long without veterinary intervention. As to using injections to induce "labor"...there really isn't much success with that and it can actually cause them to rupture an egg which is going to cause egg peritonitis..NOT a good thing.