green iquana

Question
QUESTION: Our iguana is about 6 years old. Ziggy was raised by his previous owners inside the house in a much smaller cage. About 3 ft x 2 ft x 2 ft. His cage is now about twice that. But for the last 3 years he has lived outside the house her in Dade City, Fl. We take him in during the winter. What he is doing is rubbing his face, primarily the front and around his nostrils. He has rubbed mostly all the skin off in the last 8 months. Hes not sick or doesn't seem to be but we would love to help him and treat him as I know something is wrong. Is there some type of salve or treatment you can recommend for our pet?

ANSWER: Hello Ronald,

Oh wow, that is terrible, poor Ziggy.
Are you using any type of UVB lighting while he is indoors?  If not, he needs some strong UVB exposure to help him absorb his calcium.
How often do you give calcium to him?
A really really good cream is Thermazene.  It is basically silver cream.  You can get a large container of it here:
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=the

I hope that he gets better soon.  Are all of the temperatures optimal for him?  Is his tank sitting in the direct sunlight inside to where it could be getting too hot perhaps?


Tracie

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

QUESTION: Thanks so much. One more question though, What can you feed him that is high in calcium?

Answer
Hello Ronald,

Some good sources of calcium naturally are collard greens, dandelion greens, & escarole.  Spaghetti squash is a good source of calcium, as well.  Do you use calcium powder?  Even at 6 years of age, he still needs calcium 3-4 times per week.

Let me know how things are going!

Tracie