Florida is having a cold snap, and apparently there's been a rash of dogs showing up at vet clinics with paralysis. After several weeks of this, vets are starting to think it's because of the iguanas. See, iguanas don't handle temperatures near freezing well; there's a lot of iguanas in southern Florida (who knew?), so there's dying iguanas falling out of trees and frozen stiff. Then dogs find them and think these are the greatest chew toys ever!
However, carcasses are also great incubators for botulinum bacteria, so the dogs get botulism (maybe...there's actually no confirmed clinical data, but it seems to make sense). Most of the dogs can recover, but it takes a week or two for the paralysis to wear off.
Oh, the joy of Promed Mail. Keeping me entertained when the snow plows wake me up too early.
