# Black spots on green iguana, what is it?



## dimazaur (Sep 13, 2013)

my iguana have black spots, should i be worried about it?

its about 1 years old .


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

Does it feel different to the rest of the skin? (lumpy, bumpy etc)


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## dimazaur (Sep 13, 2013)

Salazare Slytherin said:


> Does it feel different to the rest of the skin? (lumpy, bumpy etc)


yes, its a little "higher" than the rest of the skin


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## varanus87 (Jan 30, 2012)

Does he have a polystyrene in his viv ? Could b melted into his skin ... Or looks a lil like scar tissue maybe ....


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## dimazaur (Sep 13, 2013)

varanus87 said:


> Does he have a polystyrene in his viv ? Could b melted into his skin ... Or looks a lil like scar tissue maybe ....


no, no polystyrene


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

dimazaur said:


> yes, its a little "higher" than the rest of the skin


Yes it is something to worry about sadly, and he will need to see a vet asap, if that is what I think it is too, then you need to look at his housing layout a great deal more, I don't want to jump to conclusions because without seeing the animal myself it is hard to say based on a picture, but lumps and bumps of any kind are not normal in those areas for iggys. 

To me (and this is very common where you are from unfortunately) it looks very much like the starts of a fungal infection, and there are many things which can cause one to surface, usually starting with in their enviroment, and their diets, which may later cause stress and depress their immune systems. 

Can you post a picture up of the whole enclosure, and details of it, maybe we can help him out then, still he will need a vet to take a look at those, and if it is that, he will need antibiotics or antifungal treatments or sometimes both. 

Can't really say much else than that, I really do feel for you at your end.


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## dimazaur (Sep 13, 2013)

Salazare Slytherin said:


> Yes it is something to worry about sadly, and he will need to see a vet asap, if that is what I think it is too, then you need to look at his housing layout a great deal more, I don't want to jump to conclusions because without seeing the animal myself it is hard to say based on a picture, but lumps and bumps of any kind are not normal in those areas for iggys.
> 
> To me (and this is very common where you are from unfortunately) it looks very much like the starts of a fungal infection, and there are many things which can cause one to surface, usually starting with in their enviroment, and their diets, which may later cause stress and depress their immune systems.
> 
> ...


here is the enclosure, a simple one, with heating cable under the glass and a 2.0 lamp (i still cant find a place to buy 5.0)


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## cavan (Mar 2, 2009)

that set up aint good enough for your iggy mate


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## dimazaur (Sep 13, 2013)

cavan said:


> that set up aint good enough for your iggy mate


why not?


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## Salazare Slytherin (Oct 21, 2009)

dimazaur said:


> here is the enclosure, a simple one, with heating cable under the glass and a 2.0 lamp (i still cant find a place to buy 5.0)
> 
> image


Okay, the setup isn't the best tbh, I remember you saying the the 2.0 lamp issue you had, it sure wont be doing him any good really but I know you already know this, and I know you have had trouble locating a higher one, guess you never seen Johns last message on your thread (I will see if I can find it), this is really needed, the the position of the lamp, and where the iguana is actually sitting, he can't bask properly, as far as I know the compact lamps don't get very warm, and he wont really be warm enough to perfom the functions he needs too optimally, in that size enclosure, (even if you obtained a basking lamp to position directly above him) where he can sit under, at the right wattage, it would be extremely difficult to allow for a good heat gradient, and ambient, I am thinking even with a 40w bulb that enclosure would overheat, but it is something he needs, so you will need to upgrade the enclosure, and provide good climbing and hiding options (fake foilage) to help him feel safe, igs don't do well in all glass enclosures because they are consistantly staring into a reflection of themselves, (this can stress them) if they feel open and vulnerible. (remember they are prey animals, very nervous animals when young or they should be, and feeling safe, and being able to get out of the way of stress or bothers is important to their mental health too. 

Ideally you want to offer him as much space as possible, but also ideally you would want a plot in the south american rain forest! so for now if you can get him a bigger enclosure or build one he will greatly appreciate it with more height. 

Bompard it up with branches and logs, in a larger enclosure you will find it easy to offer a good heat spot ambient and cooler areas towards the bottom so he can thermoregulate, the enclosure he is in now, he really really can't! 

(I am not a one to demonise substrates) but in these kinds of enclosure, I don't advise them, because of the factors being presented, their are higher risks of injestion (if his optimal temperatures can't be reached) iggies will attempt to injest particulates to use as a digestive aid, and stress behaviors like seeing their reflections and beng confined and unable to move anywhere apart from onto a bark moist floor can mess with their heads and encourage bacterial, and fungal issues on the iggy itself, causing them to behave in un-natural and weird ways (perhaps not all igs will do this) but it has been known to happen, so I would remove that for now because it will certainly wont be encouraging any fungal issues going on to vanish. 

The main point is to get him into a larger enclosure asap, something he can't see his reflection on from all sides, and a place he can hide and be able to feel safe, the stress factor, heating factors alone (fused with the stress of not being able to climb) (and the diet we discussed on a previous thread) all comming together, wont be doing him any favours including the low UVB levels. 

He needs a bigger enclosure, more foilage, more branches, a basking point above him, a good UVB source, and a good diet, with minimal stress, (good humidity) but equally good air flow too) good ambient, and basking temperatures I personally think that the above points could be where your problems are laying. 

Here is the post John posted on your last thread, he said these guys will ship world wide, check them out. Arcadia D3 UV Flood 24w Compact 12 UVB

There is a combination of stress (reflections) (feeling open) (unable to climb any higher) (unable to lay horizontally), improper thermoregulation, improper UVB levels, and generally an improper enviroment for this iguana, I know you are trying but your igs life is sitting on these factors , these things do kill iguanas, and your iggy, has already showed a very concerning sign in the short time you have had it, this shouts to me, that something needs to be done, somehow, in some way, otherwise he will end up very very poorly or dead, and it will be much more stressful for you to deal with later on down the line unless something is done now.

I would definately still try to find him a vet too, but there is some room for improvements here. 


: victory:


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## dimazaur (Sep 13, 2013)

Salazare Slytherin said:


> Okay, the setup isn't the best tbh, I remember you saying the the 2.0 lamp issue you had, it sure wont be doing him any good really but I know you already know this, and I know you have had trouble locating a higher one, guess you never seen Johns last message on your thread (I will see if I can find it), this is really needed, the the position of the lamp, and where the iguana is actually sitting, he can't bask properly, as far as I know the compact lamps don't get very warm, and he wont really be warm enough to perfom the functions he needs too optimally, in that size enclosure, (even if you obtained a basking lamp to position directly above him) where he can sit under, at the right wattage, it would be extremely difficult to allow for a good heat gradient, and ambient, I am thinking even with a 40w bulb that enclosure would overheat, but it is something he needs, so you will need to upgrade the enclosure, and provide good climbing and hiding options (fake foilage) to help him feel safe, igs don't do well in all glass enclosures because they are consistantly staring into a reflection of themselves, (this can stress them) if they feel open and vulnerible. (remember they are prey animals, very nervous animals when young or they should be, and feeling safe, and being able to get out of the way of stress or bothers is important to their mental health too.
> 
> Ideally you want to offer him as much space as possible, but also ideally you would want a plot in the south american rain forest! so for now if you can get him a bigger enclosure or build one he will greatly appreciate it with more height.
> 
> ...


First of all, thank you very much for your concern and the very detailed answer!

i never saw an enclosure for iguana that doesn't made of glass, and i have to say that the spots was on my iggy when i bought it :\
ill buy a bigger one soon, but its still made of glass.
about the lamp, this site wont ship to israel, i have spoken with ALL of the reptile stores in my city, all of them said that there is only twice a year a shipment to israel with reptile supplies, the next one should be in a month and a half, im checking every day for it.
about the heat, as i said, there is a heating cable under the right half of the enclosure, so he have heat as he want and a cooler area to.
i also making him a warm bath EVERY DAY as i read on the net.


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## dimazaur (Sep 13, 2013)

cavan said:


> snakes are dangerous, my cousin's best mates hairdresser's son had a snake and it started to lay down next to him, he mentioned this to the vet and the vet told him it was sizing him up to eat him...................true story


WOW man that creepy !!!!!!!


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