Pet Information > ASK Experts > Exotic Pets > Iguanas > 5 yr old ig with sore on Dewlap

5 yr old ig with sore on Dewlap

21 15:03:13

Question
QUESTION: I have a 5 yr old male iguana, whom over the past few months has developed a sore on the bottom of his dewlap.  We have been irrigating the sore with a mixture of Proviodine solution and water, and putting polysporin on the area about 3-4 times daily.  We have noticed it getting better.  It was slightly swollen at one point, and tender to the touch, and now it is only tender right at the sore site and only if you put pressure on it.  It is getting harder to irrigate the area, since he seems to think that we are playing games with him and tends to lay down, close his eyes and either tries to lick and nip.  It's quite cute and funny, but annoying and we would like to clean out that sucker good once and for all.  My question is, are there any OTC meds available to make him a little bit drowsy?  And what is you take on the sore.  It looks like scale rot, but his home is cleaned once a day and he's not sitting in his own filth.
I have an image of the sore here at
http://www3.sympatico.ca/shanzzy/HPIM1669.JPG

ANSWER: Hi Teela,
Nice looking ig!!! Thank you for including the picture..it helped greatly. What it looks like is an abscess and they generally do not just go away without vet intervention. To me, it looks like the best treatment would be to have the area surgically removed.  The Vet may be able to do that with  just a local anesthetic. The risk of not removing it is it can grow and also cause an internal infection which isn't a good thing.  To find a vet that can treat reptiles: http://www.arav.org/Directory.htm
http://www.anapsid.org/vets/
There really is no medication that is OTC to  cause any drowsiness.  It sounds like you have done all you can without a vet...which you did the same exact thing I would have done to try and heal the problem.  Chances are, he hooked one of his claws in the dewlap.

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

QUESTION: Your welcome for the picture, I figured it would make life easier.  : )  Thank you for the prompt reply, it's greatly appreciated.  And thank you for helping with our little problem.  I do remember him having a little scratch there at one point, which looked like it could have been done by his claws.  And he is a little clumsy sometimes and steps all over his dewlap.  lol  I have the number of a herp vet here in Montreal, so I will give him a call.  Hopefully it's nothing serious.  Now if I could just get him to stop following me everywhere, life would be good....he needs a little 'friend'.  He's been like this for at least 1.5 months.  Now that we live in a smaller home, he's become quite the territorial boy, and seems to think that I'm a good possible mate.  (I'm the only female in the appt.)
Anyway, thanks again.

Answer
Hi Teela,
Have you tried to give your boy a "love sock"?  Basically, its a green sock that is stuffed with other socks. Also, many people offer small ig sized green stuffed animals which seem to ummmmm....satisfy the boys needs. Seems that there are a lot of people that are not real happy with their male igs admiration for their owners right now...oh..the fun of breeding season!  
On the vet, many small animal vets will see igs and even do minor treatments.  Some will even phone consult with a reptile specialist and since you have a fantastic picture, its something you might want to ask a local vet about.
I replied to this earlier but for some reason it never showed up...sorry about that!