MOTUnation.com

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I got a pretty bad hand injury, and I can't really work because my right hand is bandaged and immobilized. Not than things have been hectic lately or anything. It's been rather slow, but even if there were a new gig, I don't think I could do it because I can't play the keyboard with my right hand, so it would be very hard to sequence something...

It wasn't her fault at all. It was all mine...

I hired some workers to improve my Iguana's house. So I needed to take her out, away from the soldering fumes.
She's always GREAT and friendly and pretty much harmless... EXCEPT when she gets very nervous and scared.
So my girlfriend and I put her leash and took her outside. She was taking the sun, and was relaxed, until I tried to pull the cord so she would walk a little bit. She started fighting me and she got all tangled up in the leash. She was like a twister, moving, shaking and turning like crazy.
When I saw her, she was all tangled up and I thought she was getting strangled. She gave me ALL the warnings, and her body language was telling me "careful! I'm feeling scared and dangerous now", but I ignored it completely... I just reacted and tried to grab her to un-strangle her, but she caught my hand. Badly. And it took her more than a FULL hour to let go of my hand. It was bleeding profusely, but she wouldn't let go.
I took her inside and tried to calm her down, talk nice to her, etc., but she wouldn't open her mouth! And every time Jackie tried to open her mouth, she would bite me even harder. I could feel her tooth sinking on my skin.
At one point she was going to let go, but my hanging skin got tangled in one of her teeth, and she grabbed me again, only stronger. I even heard a distinct PLOP... that was the sound of her tooth tearing my hand.

She had NEVER bitten like that. She was truly nervous. So after more than an hour of negotiations with her, petting her and talking sweetly, and getting some drops of cold water in her head, she decided it was ok to let go of my hand.
When she did, my hand, from the middle of the palm to across the other side, were all bleeding with pieces of thick chunks of skin the size of a bean hanging out.

I put the Iguana back on her cage. She looked really sorry. She was depressed for a while. Then I gave her some of her favorite food and she ignored it. I was worried because she swallowed a lot of my blood. But after a call to her veterinarian, he told me to just let her calm down. She had her lunch a few hours later.

The vet told me that he was very surprised she bit me, but he understood when I told him the story. He said that what I should've done was simply and gently put some Tequila or Rum in her mouth (just a drop), and she would've let go of my hand immediately.
I should've known!

Man, I just forgot how BIG my iguana is. Her mouth is SO powerful. She could've easily torn off the hand from a small boy or girl!

Anyway, I learnt my lesson: Next time my iguana is nervous, opens her mouth, gets up on her 4 legs, and curls her tail towards me means I MUST wear my protective gloves!
Since she's not really used to visit the garden, she gets very uncomfortable there. She prefers the safety and familiarity of her residence (yeah, her house is pretty big).

So now I'm stuck with a temporarily useless right hand. I'm typing all this with mostly my left hand and right thumbs...

I could mix with my left hand... I can use the mouse with either hand equally well, but playing right-hand parts with the left hand is not that easy, and I'm supposed to keep my hand immobilized.

Oh, and I had to take a Tetanus shot (I HATE shots), and will start an antibiotic treatment, just as a precaution.

But I love my big dumb iguana anyway!

She's just a small dinosaur who reacts on instinct. An instinct that has allowed her to survive and evolve for millions of years

FMiguelez wrote:She had her lunch a few hours later.

Too much MSG in your diet, perhaps.

I wish you a speedy recovery, FM!

Yipes!!! What a story!

I have a very large cat and he doesn't like getting his claws trimmed. I've since learned to wear these heavy leather gloves I wear for riding (the kind that come up and cover your shirt sleeves when it's cold) when I cut his nails. First time I didn't, he bit me a couple of times so hard it punctured my hand! But I'm sure his bite isn't nearly as bad as an iguana's. I don't know what sort of bacteria iguanas have in their mouths, but you should make sure there's no infection and perhaps consider a tetanus shot or something?

James Steele wrote: I don't know what sort of bacteria iguanas have in their mouths, but you should make sure there's no infection and perhaps consider a tetanus shot or something?

Yeah. I had to get the stupid shot (my arm feels like if I actually had done some exercise). And I'm on antibiotics as a precaution.

I AM CERTAINLY GLAD Iguanas mouth/saliva are nowhere near as lethal as her distant cousin's the Komodo Dragons!
If so, I'd be dead by now. Or instead of loosing a few thick chunks of flesh in my hand I would have been EATEN and smashed alive
And those look pretty scary too!

From Wikipedia:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Komodo_dragon

"Saliva samples were analyzed by researchers at the University of Texas who found 57 different strains of bacteria growing in the mouths of three wild Komodo dragons including Pasteurella multocida.[9][27] The rapid growth of this bacteria was noted by Fredeking: "Normally it takes about three days for a sample of P. multocida to cover a petri dish; ours took eight hours. We were very taken aback by how virulent these strains were".[28] This study supported the observation that wounds inflicted by the Komodo dragon are often associated with sepsis and subsequent infections in prey animals.[27]"

Now, I would NEVER kiss one of those!

They must have nice breath

I've read that human saliva is supposed to be pretty nasty too. I have an uncle who was a police officer and he had a suspect nearly bite his thumb off!

Sorry, FM!

And I thought I had a bad pet story!

(Psychotic Cat pees on Mixer)

Hope everything heals promptly and you're fully functional very soon!

Buzzy

Fernando, I'm sorry to hear about the incident. I know that hurts on different levels, not just the injury to the hand. But you'll be ok. Glad you're a formidable one-hand typist!

Shoosh

It's time to make Ravel proud.

I had a friend who worked in a zoo way back when and he got to keep an alligator and he named him "snappy" he he... I'd go over to his house and when "snappy wasn't happy" all hell broke loose he he... You could just hear the power in it's jaws when it would snap at you!
It got too big to keep and he gave it to a wildlife reserve but reptiles aren't nothing nice especially when they get some size to them. Iguanas are usually quite timid though since they aren't meat eaters... he must have just been having a bad day!
Glad you didn't loose a finger there my man!

Wow Fernando that really bites.

glad you're ok. While my english mastiff never harmed me personally, she had a few of those nervous moments that resulted in MASSIVE property damage (thankfully I was renting at the time). All the best in a speedy recovery.

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Thank you all for the nice wishes

My hand is healing fine so far. It doesn't hurt that much anymore.

My Iguana is 100% back to normal again. She regained her appetite, and she does as she always does when I pet her... she just raises her head, extends her skin underneath her neck fully (so I can appreciate how beautiful she is), and closes her eyes. Sweet as always.

I know she knows she's forgiven. No heart feelings. But I really never got mad at her or anything... it was all my fault. And Jackie did tell me to wear the gloves like 10 times, but I ignored her

Pets! Gotta love them!

Cheers, my friends

OUCH!!!



hey FM,it hurts just thinking about it,I hope you feel better soon.
KG

FM, sorry to hear your Ig story. I've only seen mine turn really wild a few times in the 15 years I've had her. And at those times she lets me know to stay away. Yours looks just a little bit bigger than mine so I know how scary that incident must have been.

Much sympathy from us here, and hope you recover quickly. Let me know how you are doing.

Tom

You're a musician. Take care of your hands! Ahhhhhhhh!!! I always impress upon my students the need for protecting their hands. The next time someone says wear gloves, listen!
Glad to hear it's healing alright, though. I had to play banjo with three stitches on my middle finger of my left hand one night. That was a trip. So I know how frustrating it must be for you. I hope you have a swift recovery. You are a better man than I. It would have been iguana cacciatore after about two minutes with me.

Phil