Betsy is the second escaped/released iguana from the central Florida area. She ended up at the Winter Park Veterinary Clinic. After she was there for a little while, they called me. Know by them as the wild lady, she is one of the tamest iguanas I've ever seen.
I know very little about her back round and former care. From her body it is easy to see that she had a hard life. I'll divide her physical defects into two groups.
Possibly caused by her time outside running wild.
1. Her tail is broken off. The part that grew back is stunted and very crooked. This could have been caused by her being put in way too small a container after she lost a good part of her tail.
2. Her nose is skinned. Looks like she stuck her nose under a privacy fence and realized that her body wouldn't fit so she pulled her nose back. This resulted in the top of her nose peeling back. It looks like she has a really big horn on her nose.
Possibly caused by humans.
1. Burns... This poor baby, she is such a sweetheart. Like a lot of iguanas, she has burns that were probably caused by a hot rock. This is the third iguana that I've had that had a run in with the hot rock. She also has a number of burns on her arms that are small and round like the end of a cigarette. Looks like this poor creature was deliberately burned. Can't think of another cause for these burns...damn humans
I picked up Betsy in the early summer of 1999. Since that time she has been an eating machine. Seems like she is shedding continuously. She loves to be held and petted. She went with me to the vet when I had 2 of Ed's babies that were blind put to sleep. Like George she can tell when I'm upset. Like George she is very comforting to me. A very special iguana.
| Date Laid | Number Laid | Number Hatched | Date Hatched |
| 5/13/2000 | 42 | 0 | NA |
| 5/15/2001* | 46 | 0 | NA |
*Had Betsy spayed due to the problems she had laying the first year. The surgery went well. Her calcium/phosphorus ratio at the time of surgery indicated renal failure. One month later the phosphorus dropped significantly, but her calcium was still slightly elevated.
