www. Neera's Story. com

NEERA'S STORY

All photographs are (c) D. Giorgianni.  All rights reserved.

This 8 year old Female Iguana was dropped off at a local zoo by the previous owner because she was unable to take care of her anymore.  Suffering from clear signs of advanced MBD including an abscess on her jaw and paralysis in in her hind legs, she didn't have enough strength to even lift her head.

Here is a pictures of when she arrived at the zoo:

After a day or two of fluid therapy, shots and some force feeding she was starting to get stronger and actually was able to head-bob at us from time to time.  In addition, her hind legs were showing a recoil response and we were all very happy with her progress.

With things looking up, we were beginning to plan the removal of the abscess on her jaw.  You can see it in this picture, a lump just below her mouth.  There was also an abscess-type growth on her dewlap.

A couple of days later, she slipped backward rapidly.  She lost all movement in her back legs once again, became weak and listless and began thrashing from side to side in apparent pain.  She had not defecated or urinated while she was with us and that worried us very much.  After exhausting all our resources and consulting with everyone we could, it was decided that euthanasia was the best course of action.  This poor girl was suffering bad, and short of an expensive "exploratory" operation, we had little recourse.  She was euthanized by a local vet the following day.

POST MORTEM

We performed a necropsy  on her to try and determine the cause of her suffering.  It turns out that in addition to the advanced MBD, she was also suffering from Gastro-Intestinal Stasis.  Her intestines were full and impacted.  Her bladder was also overly full.  In fact, to spite 3x daily warm water soaks she was unable to expel any feces or urine.  We can never be sure if the GI Stasis was due to the hind-quarter paralysis or another intestinal blockage.

This is information further reinforces the fact that when you begin ANY rehabilitation efforts for Iguanas suffering from advanced MBD, hydration should come first, then slow feedings after evidence that the digestive system is functioning.  In Neera's case, our efforts to hydrate her were too late and in vain.

In the end, we had provided Neera with a loving, caring home during her final days here.  Neera provided us with valuable knowledge in Iguana rehabilitation.  She is sadly missed by all those who had the privilege of knowing her.