comments:
Looks like it's already healing to me. I'd say no worries! If you still need some peace of mind, you can always slather that tip with a little old-fashioned Neosporin (or any of its store-band knockoffs). I'd call that overkill in this case, though, since the injury is already sealed and there's absolutely no sign of infection. Since you ask about precautions, here's what I recommend. Get a bottle of betadine or providone and keep it on hand. This way you're ready to rock if you ever notice skin infections or want to clean out a wound for a closer look. Usually, you're going to be using it to make a 50/50 mix with water, and give the iguana a 15-minute soak. It can also be applied straight to a wound using a Q-tip. Vets will have less to do if you've already got infections under control. Neosporin ointment, preferably with a pain killer additive. Poking around on injuries is stressful and forms associations that get in the way of taming. Being associated with relief only strengthens that bond. And again, while you're increasing your pet's comfort, you're giving vets less to do. Keep handling sessions brief and frequent rather than long and drawn-out with tail whippers. As they tolerate your presence more, you can lengthen things from there. Look around the cage for sources of injury. Nothing destroys iguana toes faster than fine wire mesh, so if you have any, consider replacing it with heavy vinyl netting or PVC-coated heavy duty mesh. This of course doesn't apply to areas like at the top where you have heat sources--for those, use heavy gauge stainless steel or uncoated wire. This one's less of a concern with females, but watch those cage reflections. Iguanas of all stripes just don't seem to understand that they're looking at themselves rather than at a rival--and it's a rival that is always there, never backing down, matching all territorial warnings with its own. As you can imagine, this is a source of constant stress. While most cages already address this by having a solid back and sides, they always seem to go for sliding glass doors. If that's you, don't fret, sometimes it just means having to rearrange your lighting to minimize the bounce-back from the glass. Other times it means finding a way to create a small angle to direct reflections out of the animal's field of view. Sometimes, still, it means brightening the outside room (think of your own windows: when you look outside during the day, you don't see yourself looking back at you). Hopefully something in all of this helps you out!