Lagarto Surgery Pictures

Lagarto, our rescued Green Iguana had surgery on October 28, 2010 at Virginia Beach Veterinary Hospital / 2013 Pleasure House Rd. / Virginia Beach, VA 23455 / 757-460-3308 / http://vbvh.vetsuite.com . We have owned Largarto for a year and a half. She was rescued from a pet store. The pet store owners were going to "dispose" of her because of a broken hind leg. We took her in and she has flourished. Common green iguanas frequently have problems laying their eggs. As a result of these issues, many owners end up getting their female iguanas spayed - that is, the veterinarian removes the ovaries and other reproductive organs to prevent future episodes of gravidity and egg laying. These are the pictures after her surgery.

Injured tortoises airlifted to Georgia Sea Turtle Center on Jekyll Island, GA

Injured tortoises airlifted to island

Oct. 21, 2010

Reporter: Ricki Barker
Email Address: ricki.barker@albanyherald.com
Flint RiverQuarium officials say four gopher tortoises with severe injuries had to be transported to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center.

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 ALBANY, Ga. — It ain’t always easy being green — take it from four gopher tortoises that were airlifted from Albany to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center at Jekyll Island on Wednesday.  
          According to Flint RiverQuarium Herpetologist Kelly Putnam, the four reptiles were given to the aquarium after they sustained severe injuries from being hit by motorists.  One of the tortoises, which was nicknamed Michaelangelo, was reportedly struck by a tractor-trailer on a roadway in Albany, while the other three tortoises — Donatello, Leonardo and Raphael — were transported to the RiverQuarium after a wildlife rehab specialist in Thomasville could no longer care for them.

Injured Gopher Tortoise

Meet October's Animal Ambassador

 Meet Lagarto! Lagarto is a Green Iguana (Iguana iguana).Iguanas are a large, arboreal herbivorous species of lizard. Iguanas are native to Central and South America. They can grow to 4.9 ft in length from head to tail, although a few specimens have grown more than 6.6 ft with body weights upward of 20 pounds.

The name Lagarto is Spanish for the word Lizard. Lagarto is a rescue from a pet store. She had a broken back leg. The shop owners wanted to "dispose" of her because she couldn't be sold with a   broken hind leg. Luckily Largarto found her way to NWE. With proper care her back leg has healed nicely. When Lagarto came to us in September of 2009 she was still a juvenile iguana. She was 12 inches long and weighed .79 lbs. Now Lagarto is 29 inches long and weights 2.3 lbs.   She is an active climber and loves to eat collard greens.

Lagarto has enjoyed her care so much that she has decided to lay eggs.
Pictured below is her vet x-ray of her abdomen full of non-fertilized eggs.