How to Identify Dehydration in Iguanas

Video Transcript

"On behalf of Expert Village, I'm Nicole, and I'm here to tell you about iguanas. A dehydrated iguana will have very loose skin. It will be a little bit listless. You don't want to pick an iguana that has very wrinkly skin. Again, make sure the body is rounded. This will indicate good hydration. A dehydrated iguana has very little chance of survival. Iguanas need to be very hydrated, and especially as juveniles, they're so susceptible to problems. And dehydration can cause several different issues inside the iguana. So you definitely want to pick one that is a little more rounded, no loose wrinkly skin except for underneath the chin. This is normal there. Around the belly area should be firm and tight. Dehydration can cause poor shedding, which can cause infections underneath the retained skin, that cannot remove. The iguana cannot remove some skin from its body. Because of dehydration, it can definitely cause infections underneath that skin. It also creates a wonderful place for mites and ticks to hide. You want to make sure that if your iguana is dehydrated, make sure you provide it with plenty of water. And a daily bath would be very helpful to removing that shed skin, and also for hydrating your iguana, because he will soak up the water through his skin. "