Originally posted by Kirsten
I'm sorry to hear she may have kidney failure.

I was wondering if iguanas need a lot of extra and special care? Just curious!

Kirsten
She may not be going through kidney failure...the vet couldn't determine if she was developing eggs, or her kidney values were off. Bloodwork I'm guessing must be hard to evaluate with iguanas. They require a lot of care, and a very good diet mostly composed of dark leafy greens, and some fruits and vegetables. Calcium is also critical in order for them not to develop metabolic bone disease which can be crippling...or a slow death.
They also require specialized lighting that provides UVB/UVA light, heating lamps for night, humidity etc. Not an easy critter to care for, but I learned a lot along our journey together. It will be almost 2 years in Dec. Here's a good website devoted to iggys...http://www.greenigsociety.org/home.html
Carmen came to me via someone my husband met. She was in a totally inadequate makeshift cage, and was ice cold and on an awful diet of iceberg lettuce and celery! I'm actually amazed she survived at all in those conditions! She is quite funny for a lizard. One day I had neglected to get her breakfast ready, and I came home to find her out of the tank and standing in the kitchen by the fridge...silly lizard.