And you call yourself a rescue.. SERIOUSLY?!?

[Sterling1113]

Ugh! Horribly, awfully, severely ticked off and frustrated!! WHY do people have to be such JERKS?!? The sheer nerve and audacity of some people who have the "art holier than thou" outlook just because they know something that other people don't, and that other people SHOULD know.. Seriously.
"Rescue/rehabilitation center/sanctuary"? No. You're doing it WRONG.

I don't care how many animals you've helped, how pretty you make yourself look on social media, and how much you claim to know, but if you're going to be a jerk to me and belittle me for asking for advice because I live TWO AND A HALF HOURS AWAY, don't have a car, and am GENUINELY WORRIED for my animals, then expect me to turn around and GIVE YOU MY ANIMALS? No. That's not how we play this game.

Okay I'm sure most of you are confused by this point. As some of you know I have animals other than birds, I also love reptiles. My boyfriend impulse-bought a lizard(iguana. Which I have experience in caring for.) about a week ago and he isn't doing so well. Unfortunately he isn't that worried about a $40 loss, however I get attached to all my animals and was trying to find some help or advice.

So I found a rescue about two and a half hours away from me on facebook.. and contacted the man to talk to him and ask for advice. I said from the get-go that I don't have a car and it would be on my friend's schedule if I were to give him said lizard. I asked if Saturday would be a good day to bring the lizard, and he said he was busy, so I waited until I heard from my friend to respond again. I let him know in the meantime I would be doing as much as I could to make the lizard comfy and I'd let him know when my friend could deliver the lizard. He immediately told me that "Oh, OK so this is a waste of my time." then told me that my lizard "is dead, and then that's all there is to it." And continued to berate me and curse at me for not "following through with my plan, and cancelling the day before."

Okay. A couple of things. THIS WASN'T AN APPOINTMENT! There was NOTHING professional done about this! It was a conversation!
Secondly... I said Saturday.. and he said NO, so it was NEVER AGREED that I would be coming by on any day, as it was pre-discussed that I'm not on my own schedule as I don't have a car.
THIRD... if that's how you handle people that come to you for advice, then I don't want you touching my lizards. EVER. People ask me for advice about a pet? I give them advice! I don't say "Well it's pretty much dead now unless you give it to me, so if you're just going to keep it, you're wasting my time."
Uhm.. I don't get it. Needless to say I removed his page from my news feed and reported him for harassment.. I won't sit down and have a curse-fight with a GROWN MAN over the INTERNET. He has the mentality of "if you don't know about the animal then you don't deserve to have it." Cool, I understand that, but there's exceptions. I KNOW what I'm doing, I just don't have experience with a SICK animal. And plus I'm ASKING FOR ADVICE! Trying to learn! And he's picking on me for it and curing at me! What the hell..?!?
If that's how he thinks, then this man doesn't deserve any sort of human interaction, because he DOESN'T KNOW HOW TO TREAT ONE PROPERLY..

I was hoping I could have a mature conversation with someone and get some advice.. not come out of the conversation feeling like complete and utter crap to the point of a mental breakdown.
I love my animals, it's upsetting enough that one isn't feeling well. On top of that, pregnancy hormones. On top of that, social anxiety.
And then people wonder why I don't leave my apartment anymore.. because people are awful, mean creatures that attack you for what you love.. and apparently feel no remorse for it.
Fortunately my birds are used to my anxiety attacks/mental breakdowns so they've been quiet for me for the past half hour or so, they can tell when something isn't quite right.. but it also makes me sad that my birds are more aware that something isn't right than the very person causing the problem.
Okay. Rant over. Sorry for that. It just really irks me.. people can be so heartless. Ugh

 

[Kiwibird]

This guy sounds like a jerk. There are some reptile "rescues" out there that basically run like a no overhead pet shop. They get their animals, and often the enclosures too for free and then flip them for money. Perhaps you got in contact with one of "those kind of people?"

I am sorry you are having problems with your iguana What is wrong with him (symptoms)? I've had quite a few reptiles over the years, and have dealt with some health issues in them, so I may have an idea. Most problems with reptiles come from inadequate lighting or nutritional deficiencies in their diet. Sometimes there can also be issues with substrate or problems that arise from the climate in their enclosures. Feel free to PM me if you want to pick my brain for ideas (and I promise I won't be rude ) There is also a "non-feathered pet" section on here you could post the problem under. I know at least one member on here is an actual herpetologist, so maybe he could help if you had some questions.

 

[Kiwibird]

Oops, I forgot the link in my PM!- Tips for New Iguana Owners (An iguana-specific group with a message board link at the bottom). Good luck!

 

[NiRD]

What sort of issues are you having with the iguana? What is the set up like? I know this is a little late, but perhaps this is an issue I could help with?

 

[Kiwibird]

Is there any update on Iggy? Is he improving any?

 

[RavensGryf]

I'm sorry you had this encounter with a JERK. I bet he's just an unhappy miserable person who likes to take things out on others who he thinks are vulnerable. When I say vulnerable, I mean because you're worried about your pet and asking questions for advice. I know it's easier said than done, but try not to worry because you have us here

I hope things get resolved ASAP!

 

[Sterling1113]

What sort of issues are you having with the iguana? What is the set up like? I know this is a little late, but perhaps this is an issue I could help with?

Sorry, sort of lost focus on this thread over the weekend!
He doesn't have any severe symptoms or anything and I know it's not unusual for young lizards(and most reptiles in general) to go a week or two without eating, especially after a stressful situation like moving homes.
He's still moving around and active, just not as energetic as I'd like him to be, yknow?
He's in a 20gal long tank with a UVA basking light and a UVB lamp for general heat, as I know iggys can have issues without having a UVB lamp. I mist his tank daily to maintain a healthy humidity level, and he has about two inches of substrate so he can dig and explore if he wants to. He's only about 9-10 inches long at the moment and of course I plan to move him to a larger tank once he grows a bit more as to not stunt him in any way

I mean *maybe* cause he's so small he's just barely eating and I just don't catch him while he's eating. It just really irritated me how this guy handled our conversation, and I was already so stressed out over several different things and I didn't want to deal with a jerk on top of everything. But oh well, nothing I can do but walk away from the situation which is what I did.
All in all the iggy is okay, I was just really paranoid and it seemed no one around me cared for his health but me. Cause I know my boyfriend isn't going to pay a bill to have him vet-checked, so I'm left stressing over his health and doing everything I can to make him comfy single handed. He will take the iggy out and interact with him and feed him, but I'm the one that does the worrying and stressing emotionally. I dunno.
Anyways thank you for the concern everyone, sorry it took me so long to post back..!!

 

[NiRD]

UVA is usually the heat, UVB is the one that helps with the body's absorption of calcium. Iguanas need both.

Is he pooping?

Reptiles usually have an adjustment period any time they're moved to a new environment. This adjustment period can easily last two weeks. Until you can be sure he's eating, I would avoid handling him.

What type of food are you feeding? Do you know temperatures and humidity levels?

 

[Sterling1113]

UVA is usually the heat, UVB is the one that helps with the body's absorption of calcium. Iguanas need both.

Is he pooping?

Reptiles usually have an adjustment period any time they're moved to a new environment. This adjustment period can easily last two weeks. Until you can be sure he's eating, I would avoid handling him.

What type of food are you feeding? Do you know temperatures and humidity levels?

Yeah he's pooping, which is another thing that made me worry less.
His warm spot for basking is roughly 90-95 degrees and last I checked the humidity was 50%. I keep meters in the tank just to have accurate temp and humidity readings. I keep the little green cubes you get at the pet store in his tank, since that's what he was eating before, and I offer mustard greens, collared greens, and some rose petals in the past that he took no interest in. Not from the hand(while he was in the tank) or just leaving it in his food bowl. He just sort of ignores it.
And thanks for the tidbit about handling him while he's adjusting; I'll definitely not be having him out of the tank until he's eating regularly and seems well adjusted.

 

[NiRD]

If he's pooping, he's eating.

Temperature is good, humidity is a little low. I'd keep offering him real food, and if he eats that, great, if not, you know at least he's eating something. It sounds like you're taking really good care of him, though.

 

[Sterling1113]

Thanks! I'll make sure to mist the tank a little more frequently. I once had a giant horned mountain dragon pass away from worms(I was told after he passed overnight.) and the change was so fast I didn't even get him to a vet in time. So I was worried the same thing was going to happen again, and got really panicky. D:
But I'll keep doing what I'm doing and just let him adjust and do his lizard thing.

 

[Kiwibird]

Glad he's doing a bit better. Who knows, maybe he just has a lazy personality. Keep us posted on him though...