Month: December 2015

Angel had a great trip to Reno. My cargo handlers Tashi and Paul were in San Diego, and John and Dennis were in Reno. Being winter and the holidays I was concerned about flight delays and the warmth of the box.

I microwaved the snuggle safe for 4 ½ minutes this time. She was just warm enough, though it being a bigger box now, in hindsight, 5 minutes would have been OK, but always better to be on the side of caution.

The pilot announced no drink service, since it was going to be turbulent. Great! I did what I always do, prayed to St. Francis to help me in this time of need, and he came thru, not a bump and even a gentle landing as the snow fell all around us! God is Good!

In the morning, Angel was a bit dismayed when she saw the bareness of winter. “What happened to Camelot”? was her reaction when she looked outside the window upon the white snow and leafless trees.

Since November, I noticed a big decline in food intake, which is normal after the fall solstice, and her poo is small, which I guess is due to her not eating. But nevertheless I feel she is with egg.

So much so that I brought her to Dr. Boyer before I left to see what he thought. He said if she was gravid, (with egg) she wasn’t showing yet but it was the right time of year for her to lay. He told me I would be able to tell because she would stop eating for 2 weeks! 2 weeks!? He also said that since she is an adult now I can cut back on the calcium to once a week and the minerals to once a month, unless she is gravid.

So…since she arrived in Reno she hasn’t eaten much and her food intake has dwindled down to nearly nothing…oh, my. Sometimes, I have to push something in her mouth that I have dusted with calcium.

I put her in the bathroom and run the sink and offer her a drink of water from a glass that I drip in front of her. It works well. She is thirsty and drinks her share in the morning and evening. Her poo is raisin small.

Today I’ll see if I can get an appointment with her Reno vet Dr. Maker. I’d like to get an x-ray and see what’s going on inside, eggs or a blockage, or perhaps just peace of mind for me. Just never had a girl iguana and with boys you just have to deal with the aggression, which is easily fixed with giving them a surrogate. A stuffed dinosaur or alligator used to be babes favorite during the breeding season.

As far as her lounging set up, I bought a reptisun bulb for heat and uva/uvb and put pillows and electric blanket in the window of my room. She is abit isolated but took to it and stays there most of the day, watching the wind and rain and snow fall outside.

She gets down in the morning to potty and takes a walk downstairs where she rubs on the slider door to get out in “her” sunroom. I open the door and let her out so she can see how cold it is. She checks it out for signs of other iguanas and fights with her reflection in the windows.

Upstairs she goes to the back slider and wants to get on “her” deck. Yes, she remembers the house and all the places to go in it.

She constantly wants to get lost in the living room and finds refuge in hiding spots. I have spent a lot of time hunting for her, but I have been working a lot and she hasn’t had the attention she needs.

I am vacation now for 2 weeks so I will be spending more time with her. I am hoping today we are going to make an appearance at a pre-school as a featured guest. Angel will love today. She loves being the center of attention!

 

It’s Christmas morning. A much better Christmas than last year when Angel was alone at the shelter for the holiday. I was so worried and stressed of her being there and then to find out later the volunteers who promised to care for her went on vacation and had other hardships so they were not able to visit for those 2 weeks.

I wish I would have taken her before Christmas, but it would have been so difficult bringing her to Reno and then back to San Diego. She was so unruly and unmanageable at first. I made the right decision, God had he reasons, I have to accept it. Young iguanas memories are short lived so this eases my mind.

Nearly a year later and I am so glad that I adopted her. She has turned out to be quite an intelligent girl, with a personality that shines. She has forgotton all about her previous life and loves the life of privilege she lives now.

I think she is definitely with egg. Her food intake has dwindled and I am lucky if she gets a bite in a day. I bring her to the sink and fill it up with water. I drizzle a glass of water in front of her and let her drink as it runs in front of her mouth.

I think I can see the eggs now. Her potty has changed. It began as narrow and ribbony, to that of small raisins, to now more like small mouse droppings. Am I concerned? Yes. But of course it has been a holiday week and I am hoping that her Reno Vet, Dr. Maker will be in next week. I plan on bringing her in for an evaluation.

Her last apt was on Dec 10 with Dr. Boyer. He said if she was gravid (with egg), she wasn’t showing yet, but the time of the year was right. He said she would stop eating for 2 weeks and her belly would fill out. When I notice that she is digging I am to give her a box to lay in. He suggested a plastic tub filled with about 12” of potting soil or coconut husks, but to make sure there was no perlite in the potting mix. I am to keep it warm with a heat source above.

I am thinking I will introduce her into a suitcase with an opening on top. She keeps trying to hide under the bed. so this seems like the place I will put it. I don’t know about putting potting soil in. I have seem others on YouTube that just lay in the cage, so if I try an electric blanket with other soft blanket inside, she may dig and make a cubby with them. It would be easier for me, the mess of the dirt in the house and all.

It’s Christmas, but I’ll try to make a box in between church and cooking the turkey.

I can’t feel the eggs yet, it is just her potty that worries me. What if it is a blockage? Next week I’ll get an Appointment with Dr. Maker to get an xray. It is going to be a Merry Christmas. I am with my family, snow has fallen and Christ is born 2,015 years ago!

One Year – Angel is with Egg!

Yes, it’s true, Angel is now with egg, or as the doctor says “She’s Gravid!”

I have weighed the options and for her sake I am going to spay her this Friday. It has been an enlightening experience to see her go thru this and it has taught me a lot.

I brought her to Dr. Boyer last month and he said she could be, but she wasn’t showing. I asked how could I tell and he said she would stop eating and would fill out in her belly.

So the next day she stops eating for the next 2 weeks.

I have to say that I have learned that once you establish communication thru whispering, all doors open to the thoughts between the minds.

This is to say that when I tell her something, she really understands what I am saying and takes it seriously.

How can I say this?

So 2 weeks later, I brought her to Dr. Maker in Reno. I supplied water to her by filling the sink up and drizzling water from a glass in front of her. She laps it up like crazy. I keep an eye on her poo to make sure the that it keeps clear, a bit of yellow is ok, but means slight dehydration, so I up the opportunities to drink during the day.

Back to her check up with Dr. Maker. She confirmed by x-ray that eggs were developing. She explained they were all in the sack now and would be calcifying in the next 2 weeks. During this time the eggs are soft and could break if she is handled roughly or jumps or falls, or you see what I mean.

I asked her if it was OK for her to eat. She said yes, she can eat. Up until this time she was eating very little, a few kidney beans and a forced bite of collards was all I could get there to eat.

I told Angel, see, you can eat.

She understood and the very next day she started eating everything in sight again. Her poo was moving again and I was elated.

For the last 2 weeks she has been eating normally. I give credit to the fact that she understood.

Yes, Whispering works. Once you establish communication and a meeting of the minds, they are able to understand you. Maybe not the words you say, but the thoughts you think. They understand what a vet is, that they are there to help them identify the problem that they need help with.

This is a big breakthrough in my belief. I am witness to it now. I am going to believe in it and stand by it.

So, Angel is going to Dr. Boyers at 11 am on Friday. I will bring her electric blanket and set up her little cage so she is secure and comfortable before and after her surgery. I am hoping to be able to bring her home on Friday and care for her at home. I never like leaving them at the office. No one is there at night, so what is the use? I can drive her up there in the morning for Tom to look at and he should be ok with that.

It is hard to think that I am going to spay her, but it is for the best. If I am not going to breed her, why should she have to go thru this every year? The stress on her and the nutrition issues, let alone the laying and all that goes with it.

Stayed tuned to see if her personality changes. I hope she keeps her spunk, I hope she is still the curious explorer, but I also hope she mellows some and becomes my big love bug.

We’ll see. She hasn’t’ been much of a cuddler, but last month she showed signs of wanting attention and petting and cuddling, it was heartwarming. Let’s see what happens next.

Pray that the surgery goes well. I know she is in the best of hands, but I still worry.

I have to say she has really become the little iguana I hoped she would be. She is tame and sweet, though headstrong and stubborn at times, I am now respected and the bond is has grown between us. She has my heart and my love.