Skin problems

My bearded dragon is 4 months old and has some kind of skin discoloration. A couple weeks ago I noticed some sort of bruising on his stomach and he was acting very lethargic for a few days he wouldn't eat or drink. He started getting better and the bruising stopped spreading and started drying out and became hard. He has been acting normal and eating well his bowels are moving at least once daily as well. A couple days ago I gave him a bath and the area that had hardened started to peel off of him. Since then he's still been acting normal and eating well I'm just worried and I don't know what it is. That area of his stomach that you see in the photos is still really hard and dry but I'm afraid to put him in another bath in case it peels off.

Hi. Looks like yellow fungus. IMO. Don't give baths. It spreads very easily. I'd take him to the vet and have a skin test done. You can try over the counter antifungal cream. But he may need to be treated with medicine internally.

Hello,

It does look like some type of skin issue. I would try to get a skin graph/culture done to help determine whether or not it is fungus.
You can get some lamisil or monistat to put on the affected areas in the meantime, to start treatment until you can get him to a vets place.
How long have you had him for now & where did you get him, a pet store or breeder?

Tracie

Drache613":2qnqru4z said:

Hello,

It does look like some type of skin issue. I would try to get a skin graph/culture done to help determine whether or not it is fungus.
You can get some lamisil or monistat to put on the affected areas in the meantime, to start treatment until you can get him to a vets place.
How long have you had him for now & where did you get him, a pet store or breeder?

Tracie

Click to expand...

I got him from a pet store and he was in a terrarium with a couple beardies that were bigger and healthier than him. He was already missing the very tip of his tail and one of his toes. I felt the need to grab him out of there before anything worse happened and here I am. I've had him for 6 or 7 weeks.

Hello,

Well, he has a good home now! Chances are if it is fungal then it was picked up at the store.
Are you using a loose or solid substrate currently?
Also, if you have any probiotics such as non dairy acidophiliz or non dairy soy yogurt, you can start giving him a little of that daily to help balance out his system.


Tracie

Currently I'm using carpet but I do want to make the transition to a harder substrate. I just ordered all new lighting fixtures and bulbs from links in another forum on here so that will come next. The pet store employee never mentioned anything about lighting just handed me the bulbs and fixtures and sent me on my way but I do have a 40g breeder tank.

Thank you all! I'll start with some anti-fungal cream tonight and take him in to the vet tomorrow.

Hello,

Great, going to a more solid substrate will make it easier to keep clean too, especially if it is fungus. I hope it isn't!
Let us know how the vet visit goes too.

Tracie

*UPDATE* I took my sweet bearded dragon Mikros to the vet today. The veterinarian said that it was an extensive thermal burn as of this moment he doesn't have any infection. He gave me some antibiotics to help prevent any infections that could arise during the healing process. He said hopefully the skin underneath will regenerate before he sheds off the hardened/ discolored area so as to not have any open sores. The only thing I can think that would've caused this is; first, when I take him out with me I have a small hot pack that I wrap in a thick towel and set him on, second, I have a piece of driftwood that sits below the heat lamp and I think it may have been to close to the lamp, sometimes when I move the wood around it's hot to the touch. I don't have any heat rocks or heat pads in or under his tank. It never occurred to me that it could do so much harm and I feel absolutely terrible that it is entirely my fault. I am just so happy that he's not infected with a bacterial or fungal infection, he has a little ways to go before he will be healed but he's done a good portion on his own.

Hello,

OH my, I am sorry to hear that it is a burn, how awful!
Well, at least it isn't fungal though, that is much worse because they don't always recover from the yellow fungus issues.
Did he give you any type of ointment or cream to help out with healing?
How is his appetite doing today?

Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

He still shys away from the veggies but he has eaten plenty of crickets and some superworms. He didn't give me any cream for it is there something over the counter that could help so he's not in so much pain (he doesn't act like he's in pain but I can only imagine what a burn like that would feel like). he's been a bit sleepy after the appointment but very alert and active before maybe because of the medication?...

Wow, how close to the lamp was his wood ? That doesn't sound like it could have caused such a huge burn. Can you post a pic of your set up to show the distance between the lamp + the wood ? I think a burn would be more likely if he somehow came in direct contact with the handwarmer, is that possible ? They can get up to 150 degrees. For a burn you can use plain aloe gel [ with no extra ingredients, esp. alcohol ] silver cream or raw unpasteurized honey.If you use that you could put gauze around his belly to protect it + keep things from sticking to it.

It really does look more like Y.F. though.