3 year old beardie recently diagnosed with staph infection

Howdy!

My bearded dragon, Franklin, was recently diagnosed with a staph infection via tracheal wash culture. Upon examination, this is what the vet noted:

RESPIRATORY
"The tracheal wash was performed. Cytology revealed only blood contamination. Nasal flush was performed at no additional charge. Cytology reveals moderate numbers of heterophil's with primarily cocci bacteria. The sample was submitted for bacterial culture and sensitivity testing." Moreover, "there is excess mucous present in the mouth, and redness associated with the choana. The nose is asymmetric and swollen on the right side. The lungs auscult clear."

SKIN
"There are several scales on the beard and ventral abdomen that are discolored. This is consistent with some sort of infection, whether that be bacterial or fungal. A scale biopsy and histopathology is recommended, along with fungal and bacterial culture and susceptibility. There is also discoloration of the scales at the rostral mandible. Testing was declined. Silver sulfadiazine was begun for trial treatment."

Sadly, I am unable to afford the $600 scale biopsy, but still got him the nose culture and all of the medication that they recommended.

He is currently taking:
-Silver sulfadiazine (daily)
-enrofloxacin nasal flushes (daily)
-Ceftazidime (every 3 days)

The culture revealed that the staph is resistant to the ceftazidime, so they are mailing another daily injection antibiotic that the staph found in the nose is not resistant to. I forgot the name of it, but will update when the medication arrives.

Otherwise, he is healthy. He has a lot of energy, no boils or red blisters, no signs of MBD, and a good appetite. He weights ~ 630 grams, making him overweight. The vet seemed very surprised to find staph.

His current setup:
-40 gallon breeder tank (soon to be upgraded)
-Powersun Mercury Vapor Bulbs 160w
-Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO Lamp, 18 Watts
-Reptile Carpet (Will replace with new enclosure)

What is usually the prognosis of a staph infection for beardies? Is there anything else I can do to speed up his treatment?

Thanks for any insights.

Right before starting treatment:


After beginning the Silver sulfadiazine:





Him being angry boi:

Hi there,

What was the reason behind getting all this testing done anyways? Was he exhibiting sickly behavior or was there something you were worried about.

Your vet sounds very thorough but I wonder how many of these tests aren't really necessary at all.

His belly looks absolutely normal. Nothing weird there. The beard looks a little bit odd, mainly the black specs but those aren't super uncommon either.

He definitely is a big boy.

Do let us know the new antibiotic they prescribed once you get it.

Do you have a picture of his tank handy?

-Brandon

claudiusx":2u13vfi1 said:

Hi there,

What was the reason behind getting all this testing done anyways? Was he exhibiting sickly behavior or was there something you were worried about.

Your vet sounds very thorough but I wonder how many of these tests aren't really necessary at all.

His belly looks absolutely normal. Nothing weird there. The beard looks a little bit odd, mainly the black specs but those aren't super uncommon either.

He definitely is a big boy.

Do let us know the new antibiotic they prescribed once you get it.

Do you have a picture of his tank handy?

-Brandon

Click to expand...

Thanks for the response.

He was making audible clicking noises when breathing and was periodically drooling from his mouth. Also, he had a respiratory infection when he was younger after having his tail removed due to tail rot. The sides of his beard (near his ears) were significantly darker than those shown in the picture. I will have to see if I have pictures the side of his beard before treatment. Honestly, if it weren't for the weird sounds when he was breathing and the drool, I wouldn't have taken him in to begin with. And I agree that I do not see anything abnormal about his stomach.

I will upload images of his enclosure shortly.

Okayyyyyyyyyy why is the tank covered and where is the UVB?
Karrie

Hi there, he does look alert + healthy aside from having a minor R.I. It's good that his appetite is strong and he will probably be fine. The greyish belly scales are normal , the beard is a little banged up but I agree with Brandon that it's not serious. Is the silver cream being applied to the beard ? And Karrie asked about your uvb, I see that you mentioned a Powersun MVB and a Reptisun 18 watt. Is that covered up by the towel/clothing ? Don't trap too much heat in there , be careful.