Monday, October 31, 2011

I think my dinosaur is an alien.

 If you look closely, you'll see a bit fig under his eye, and green on the jaw.

After my big boy has been fasting for five months, he's now back to 'I eat everything that comes my way'. I'm amazed on what little those animals actually can survive on and that for months. In their country of origin their mating season lasts four weeks only, but the farther north you take them, the longer the season lasts. Nobody knows why, but my big boy is the living proof.
Today, I took him to the nearby vet for a weighing session. I want to monitor his weight since I don't know if the implant I'm going to try next year will work. He needs to have enough substance to be fit and healthy in case it doesn't and he won't be eating.
The result of the weighing was almost 6kg (12pounds), meaning with the tail on the floor. I couldn't believe my eyes. He's grown over the summer and is now 50cm (19.68") snout to vent. He also put on about 1kg (2 pounds) in three months, but didn't shed his skin. My other two iguanas, which were a lot smaller than him, shed their skin constantly. My big boy only shed around his snout and his spikes on the back. That's it! Nothing more, zilch, nada! I'm puzzled. How on earth did he manage to grow without shedding his skin? Who is that alien that lives in my flat?
  You will think I'm crazy, but I actually had to interrupt this post to feed him. His highness went to his feeding place and demanded food by staring at the empty place, then looking at me and back at the place, before finally just dropping himself on his tummy and throwing his feet back. When I gave him a generous amount of rocket, coriander, mint and topped with fresh fig, blueberries and with calcium filled raspberries, he inhaled the the whole lot within minutes. Like a hover. (I took the opportunity to measure him then.)

Called my reptile vet and told them the 'good' news. They say I have to monitor his weight, so he's not getting too fat. When he got out of mating season a month ago, I fed him small amounts, several times a day, so he could make up for the time not eating, but I'll have to go back to twice daily. Iguanas normally only poo once a day, anything more is often a sign of overfeeding. They eat a lot and they will eat more than they need, especially if you serve them delicious stuff.

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