Head Swaying, what does that mean?

[Jen]

I kind of feel really dumb for asking... but I really need your guys help.

I've read quite a bit about (green) iguanas and I know that when an iguana bobs its' head, it's usually showing aggression or is basically p/o'ed. Is head swaying from left to right the same thing? When anyone touches the iguana that we have at our school (she is a class pet, don't worry the previous owner came in and set everything up so she has all the right things... etc) she sways her head back and forth. For the first week she absolutely loved being held, laying on peoples shoulders, nuzzling up in your arms, she was such a people person. Just before the weekend she started swaying her head from side to side and not letting our teacher handle her. I assuming this means she's trying to tell us that something isn't right, but what? The teacher told me she hasn't been eating (for about 3-4 days) or going to the washroom frequently which really makes me nervous. I know being transferred to a new location can put stress on the iguana and sometimes they don't eat for a couple days, I just need some reassurance or any tips on how to correct the problem.

I should also add that after spraying her lightly with some water and letting her drink, I picked her up and examined her body for any bumps or anything, didn't see anything. I then started stroking her back and she settled right down to wear she shut her eyes and layed still while I pet her. She also let me pick her up to my chest and cradled her for a bit and didn't fuss. When I went to put her back in her cage she flipped out and crawled up my arm and would not go back in the cage so someone else had to come get her off! I suspect maybe there is something wrong with the cage, but that could be just me thinking a little to imaginatively.

I stress about this poor girl all the time when I don't have my class and get to see her. I'm worried for her health and I don't want anything bad to happen to her! Any information at all is greatly appreciated.

By the way, her name is Jub-Jub and she's female, around 2-3 years old we think.

[prismwolf]

Welcome to the forum! And never feel dumb for asking. It's actually quite a valid question.

How long has she been in the school?

It's not always the best place for an animal that has the potential to stress easily - especially if a child is tapping on the cage and no one sees the behavior to stop it. Being in a room full of kids all by itself is cause for severe stress.

Does she have a place she can hide in her enclosure?

This is important so she can destress. She may spend a lot of time there at first, but igs are curious. She will eventually want to see what's going on around her. Something as simple as fake vines can work. It's a screen you can still see in to a degree, but she finds safety and privacy behind.

This is egg laying season for some igs.

Females can become gravid (with egg) even without a male ig. A female only needs to be 10" svl (snout vent length). I suggest reading up on iguana and egg laying. If she is gravid the stress can add a double whammy on her stress levels.

If you can get some pictures of her and her enclosure this may also give us some clues.

As for the head swaying...female iguanas bob very differently from males. Without actually seeing how she's doing this, I can only assume it's also stress.

I look forward to hearing from you. I'll be back on tomorrow...unless someone else catches you first...

[Jen]

Hmm... I think she's been at the school for about two weeks now and this is the first time she's shown this action towards anyone. Our classroom is biology students (3 or four different classes in that room on weekdays) so I would think most if not are all mature enough to understand how to treat an animal (and if they aren't, my teacher and I don't hesitate to tell them to get the hell away!). These are not little children which I can understand would be not a good thing if the kids were irritating her, these kids around about 14-17 years old, academic classes (so these kids are here to learn, not to chill out).

I will try to get some photos of her enclosure to show you, but I drew this little sketch for you.

The part where I did the black "shadded" in area and where it stops is a cut our area so you can see inside the enclosure. There is a spot for a second platform which we will put in but it's but up yet. So there is the section at the bottom that she can "hide", you have to get right against the cage in order to see her down there. The platform is half way over top of the section at the bottom so she can hide down there. She spend most of her time on the platform though.

I know a tiny bit about the egg laying but I will need to read up on that.

The only pictures I have of her right now where taken on the first day I met her: (these pictures should work)


They aren't really the best pictures of her though.

I will also see if I can record her head swaying tomorrow for you.

[Jen]

Okay... the pictures didn't work.


Like I said before, the pictures make her look way more yellow than she really is. Sorry about that.

[prismwolf]

I have just been able to look at these pics. Getting kennel dog ready for rain - had to make a quick screen top for a 75 gal. tank - set up 9 gerbils in their new homes...eat some food.

Her eyes don't look right to me. They bulge out an awful lot. Sometimes they do this like in the bottom pic...with the eyes closed. It helps break shed loose. This is not normal with the eyes opened...at least...not in any of the igs I've ever seen, personally and in photos. It looks unilateral. If it was me...I would take her in for a vet trip to rule out anything medical. Those eyes just worry me.

Next time you go into look at her...tell me what kind of UVB light is being used, and how far away she is from it. The basking area temps should be checked, too. That should be between 92-96 degrees.

There should be no bedding at the bottom. It should be newspaper, butcher paper, reptile carpet, linoleum, etc...although it doesn't look nearly as nice...many reptiles have died on bark, mulch, sand, etc. Igs have very sticky tongues and go through their world smelling everything with it. It would be very easy for a piece to get stuck and ingested. To much going in can cause an often fatal impaction.

Who cares for her during the holidays?

[Jen]

Wow, I made a HUGE error in her age. Apparently she is actually 9-10 years old. I mixed up her age with the time in which her previous owner had her.

Her eyes actually do look a little strange. Her right eye is looking a little more puffy then the left, my teacher and I are going to be making a trip to the vet hopefully tomorrow.

I have a feeling the basking area is not warm enough but I will try to find out, as well as the other lamp. The weird thing is that the previous owner came and set everything up as she has had is for those 2-3 years so we trusted her to know what she was doing. I have a feeling she didn't really know what she was doing at all.

By bedding I didn't mean those type of things, it's actually a carpet. I just referred to it as bedding as she sleeps on it, sorry for that incorrect term.

Currently there hasn't been any holidays while we've had her, but our teacher will be caring for her during that time or one of the other teachers in the science department.

Oh also, should iguanas be warm to the touch if they are getting enough heat? Or do they feel cold as a generalization?

[zachbaker]

You should put a temp gauge in her basking spot wait 20-30 minutes and see what temp it stays constant at. Generally they should be warm to the touch if kept under the proper heating and lighting. Newspaper and linoleum are two of the best to use for the cage flooring. I would take that carpet out. If its regular carpet this could lead to your iguana ripping toe nails off by catching them in loose peices of the carpet. If its the astroturf(green carpet) its ok but Im not a fan of using it either. Many people on here use that with success but I dont advise using it at all. Any carpet can hold bacteria from fecal matter that has been mashed into the carpet. Salmonella is one such bacteria that can cause so many problems. I also agree with Prism about having it in the school. This is not a good place for her because of the unwanted stress she may receive from immature children who tap on the glass. The school could be brought into legal problems if this Iggy bites anyone. Do you take the iguana out during school hours? If so I want you to do me a favor when you return to school. You need to notify the custodian of the school that you have a animal that contains salmonella bacteria. If many students become sick then they know how to trace threat of bacteria. Your custodial crew needs to be cleaning the desk off with the proper disinfectant every day. If your hands come into contact with the animal then you sit down at a desk and do your work then you can contaminate everything you touch. Make sure you wash your hands properly after every handling of this reptile. As the same for you and the others who do the handling. I know this because I am a custodian and a proud owner of three giant green iguana's. The school I currently work at has a pet iguana and we must disinfect everything in the room where the animal is held. table tops,desk tops, doorknobs, pencil sharpeners, sinks, even soap dispensers. If you have any other questions then let us know. Everyone on this site is willing to help in some form or another.

[prismwolf]

Zach has brought up very good health issues and these are ones that most often keep reptiles from being classroom mascots. Janitors and chemicals - another issue that could make her very sick. Lots of bleach is often used for the floors. This could cause illness.

All of that aside...you maybe right about the previous owner possibly not knowing what they were doing. This often happens. It sounds like good solid ideas were done, but the small technicalities that mean the difference is a healthy ig might be missed.

Yes...an iguana should be warm to the touch in the basking area. If there is no thermometer present then there's no way to know what the temps are. How long are her lights on during the day? I would imagine when everyone leaves for the day her lights are turned off? If she does not receive at least 10-12 hours a day she is being cheated on heat and UVB. Timers can fix this to where they can be shut off on a proper schedule.

Being an older iguana - I am concerned about more than just her eyes. Iguanas this old that have not had optimal care often begin to suffer renal failure. To find a good vet you can use these links to find one near you:
www.herpvetconnection.com
www.arav.org <---click on "Members"
www.anapsid.org/vets

I sure wish you - and her a huge a mount of luck! Please keep us posted!

[Jen]

Well, not much to report on. Our class is most certainly giving her away to someone else and surprisingly, I think that is the best thing for her. She is not doing well in the school setting like we thought she would.

Her right eye is very swollen but the vet doesn't have any openings to see her until a later date, how stupid is that?! We called and we have to schedule an appointment, which I think is ridiculous because she needs to see a vet now. The one person we talked to suggested to buy some eye drops for her, so she has that.

She appear bloated or "fat" as some of the kids have most politely put it, she is not eating much so she couldn't possibly be fat. She has been going to the bathroom more regularly now which is good and the lamp has been moved closer to her (she really enjoyed basking). The lights are on timers so they are on all of the time, switching between the two at the allotted time.

Our teacher has been making sure she is getting some water by taking an eye dropper and squirting the water into her open mouth. She doesn't fuss too much when she does that surprisingly. She still does not want anyone to touch her though.

I think that is all I have to report right now... I'm going to cry when I walk into class one day and she's not there, but I think that she is just not going to do well with all these idiotic classmates of mine.

Thank you all for your help.

[prismwolf]

If her UVB light is too close this can give her eye problems. It's called photo-kerato-conjunctivitis - also known as "snow blindness". The UVB bulb and the heat bulb should be on the same timer which also turns them off at night. Igs need darkness just as people do. If she is fat, but not eating much - she could be gravid. Some are laying eggs right now even though it's a bit off-season. This is usually a summer thing. The eggs take up room in the belly and they hardly eat at all in the last couple of weeks, but if she doesn't feel safe laying them...and doesn't have a proper laying box...she could hold onto them until it becomes dangerous...even fatal.

Boy...this girl certainly needs to get out of there and to a vet ASAP. She could be in real trouble.

[Jen]

How far away should the UVB light be? It is at the very top of her cage.

I feel like such a terrible person because I can't do anything for her since she really isn't "my" iguana, she is the teachers and she has made that quite clear. More than once I have stressed the seriousness of getting her to a vet. I will have to try again tomorrow, I fear for her life now more than ever.

[prismwolf]

You are a really caring person for trying to help this iguana the way you are. Whatever happens to her...keep in mind you are doing what you can. It's not easy going against someone with authority that way. I hope you can make a difference, but if not....DO NOT blame yourself.

It depends on what kind of light it is on the distance needed - we still need the brand and style. If it's a tube - 6"- 8" away, if it's the spot light kind 12" - 18" away, if it's the spiral - not enough UVB covers the iguana to be effective anyway.

If I were you...I would report the iguana's care to a local animal rescue org. You can remain anonymous...it's the law that those who report remain this way if they wish. This teacher is practicing animal neglect if she does not seek vet care for an obviously sick iguana. I don't know what the laws are exactly in Canada, but I'm sure there are good laws to help the health and welfare of animals.

Do you feel like you could print out this thread and give it to her? There is good info that may help her change her mind about doing nothing.

[Jen]

I have actually given her all of your messages (you are my well known source of info to her!) several times but she seems to think Jub-Jub is okay, just acting out because of the stress.
I did consider contacting Animal Control.... I think if nothing happens over the weekend that is what I'm going to have to do. I will warn her once more tomorrow and then that's it. She doesn't deserve the neglect she is getting. I'm not saying that our teacher purposefully abuses her, I mean she cares a lot about the iguana. I just don't know why she isn't taking her to the vet when I've told her how important it is. I mean, clearly she isn't getting better. She isn't getting worse either.
I have more evidence that the previous owner gave us a sick iguana; when my teacher called the previous owner, she told her that Jub-Jub has NEVER been to a vet. Ever. That tells me either that she never got sick, or more likely, they just didn't care if she was sick. You saw the pictures I posted earlier and that was the first time she had been with us, before we did anything. Clearly here eyes weren't "okay" before we even got her. The one eye is still swollen.

Her UVB lamp is a spotlight lamp I think, I tried to look for the model but I couldn't see it on the lamp. I will look again. The bulb itself looks like this except it is red coloured.

That probably doesn't tell you anything.

[prismwolf]

Actually...it tells volumes! A red bulb does not produce UVB of any kind. It's nothing but a heat bulb. The picture you show IS what she needs. The red bulb is called an Infra-red bulb. If this is the only light she has ever had, it's a wonder she is still alive. Personally...I find it pretty amazing she's still alive, but she is now suffering from the lack of it.

She desperately needs a vet.

When an iguana starts showing signs of illness - such as Jub-jub is - the illness (whatever it is) is pretty well advanced. Iguanas are masters at hiding illnesses because in the wild looking ill makes you a quick target for the next meal. Your teacher is allowing this girl to suffer. Tell her just because an iguana can't whine, or cry out, does not mean they're not in pain or feeling bad. This is where watching for the signs is so crucial. These are visual cues to be taken just as seriously as if she was a dog whimpering.

[Jen]

She also has a heat lamp, the red coloured one is for night time only. She does have two lights, so that isn't the only one.
Her eyes seems to have gone down in size surprisingly and she actually let the teacher pet her back today without running away or swinging her head. Maybe it's progress? She also doesn't appear to have any eggs, we checked her out a little more throughly today. She does look bloated but it may be how she was laying down. She has been eating very little and only producing the "gooey" part of her feces, from not getting enough solid food I would assume. Our teacher is considering force feeding her if she isn't eating enough, I read about Force Feeding from this website and we may need to do that.