Confirmed CANV yellow fungus case :(

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DobbysMom

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We adopted Dobby in August 2019-- he was my 10 year old daughter's class pet, previously cared for by her amazing science teacher, who doted on him, but who had complications during a maternity leave and wasn't able keep him. Dobby is almost 2 years old, super affectionate, and we've all fallen head over heels for him. BTW: he has always been referred to using male pronouns, even though we recently discovered he's biologically female, but we still call him he :).

Over the past month, we've noticed that Dobby is less interested in "hunting," and will ignore crickets even when they are dancing between his legs. That wasn't a huge red flag, as he often lets insects hang out until he gets hungry. But then I noticed a dark spot on his back after he shed; it was small, but suspicious enough that we took him to the vet. They did a scraping, and it came back positive for CANV. Our vet seems to be experienced with beardies, and didn't recommend a full body scan yet; they prescribed oral and topical anti-fungals (still waiting for the scrips to come in), and let us know this was going to be a long-term treatment. Trying to stay positive that we caught it early, but really frightened about the prognosis.

Some background: Dobby is in a 40 gallon 36x18x18 tank, with a reptile carpet, canopy, and a cave, driftwood, and other accessories. We've got a 36" UVB hood over the screen with only a 5.0 Repti-sun bulb (which I have learned from this forum is not cutting it) and a 100W ZooMed basking lamp-- each of those on 12 hours a day-- in addition to a ceramic heating bulb 24hrs a day. Our inadequate and soon-to-be-replaced stick on thermometer and humidity gauge read 92ishF during the day in the basking area and around 35-45% humidity. He LOVES his salads and frolics through a big bowl of kale &/or mustard greens or arugula every day, along with some supplemental grated carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, and blueberries. He's a little chubby (520 grams), and the vet said we were over doing it with crickets (35 or so a week). Cut down to 20 a week.

We want to do everything we can to give Dobby a fighting chance to survive. At the same time, our dog is facing a cancer diagnosis, and we are in NYC/Queens where vet bills, esp. for reptiles, are astronomical. Totally OK with long term topical or oral medication if that's what he needs. But would be super appreciative of any advice on (budget savvy) tips for retrofitting his tank to optimize his health, better dietary options, tank/accessory cleaning, and hygiene/caring for him. We want to upgrade the lighting situation ASAP and would appreciate advice. Our vet suggested a ZooMed PowerSun bulb to replace the basking light. Should we also keep (or upgrade?) the UVB florescent set up, too, or is that redundant? He's outgrown his cave, so I'm ordering a shale rock den that he can bask on as well, closer to the bulbs. I've been getting weekly crickets from Petco as it's challenging to keep the small amount he eats alive in our critter keeper, but would love advice on this front, too. Grateful for any suggestions, and especially stories of beardies with yellow fungus who survived???
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, sorry to hear about Dobby's situation. It would be best to get the long tube flourescent Reptisun 10.0 t5 but the Powersun MVB would be good as well. Can you post pics of Dobby's tank and most importantly of Dobby's fungal area ? Also of her whole body ? To post pics :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
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Hello,

Sorry to hear about little Dobby, that is too bad. Pictures would definitely be helpful just so
we can see the severity of the issues.
So, the vet did prescribe oral anti-fungals then & they will be in soon? It will really depend
on how far advanced the fungal infection may be. If you caught it really early I would say the
prognosis is very good. The oral anti-fungals are somewhat hard on them, so you will need
to keep him hydrated & on probiotics to help out his system.
You can use a Powersun MVB in combination with a tube bulb, as long as it is set up at the
proper distances. The Powersun is a great basking light & is nice & bright. However it isn't
a real strong UVB but adding a tube bulb such as the T8 or a T5 would be very helpful. The
Reptisun 5 tube bulb is a bit weak. You could upgrade to either the Reptisun 10 T5 or the
Arcadia D3 12% T5 both of which are very good.
Since he is an adult, reducing his protein intake is a good idea, if he is on the heavier side.
The greens variety sounds fine, hopefully he eats those pretty well.
There have been cases where the dragons have survived fungal infections, with proper
treatment. So, don't give up, I am glad you acted so quickly for him.

Let us know how "she" is doing.

Tracie
 

DobbysMom

New member
Original Poster
Thanks so much for your help! Here are some pictures of the brown spot that was scraped and tested positive. While we've been waiting for the meds to get here, I noticed this new yellow tinge showing up in his armpit. Also including a picture from when he was feeling better.

Since I last wrote, I upgraded his lighting-- I hung a 24" Reptisun 10.0 T5 HO inside the tank (with a Sunblaster fixture), and still have a CHE and 100W basking light over the screen. If he climbs to bask closer than 10" from the UVB bulb, would that pose a danger? One of his logs is a bit closer than that-- I can move or replace it if that's dangerous. Also wondering if I should throw away his driftwood, given the infection, or if they can be sterilized? I want to be sure he doesn't get re-infected from anything in the tank. If anyone had a recommendation for a probiotic, that would be super helpful, too. Keeping fingers crossed....

107343-484290659.jpg
107343-1490520100.jpg
107343-3054666352.jpg
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Wow, that spot doesn't look like much of anything but it can start out small. In the second picture it's not clear enough + the arm pit area is shaded. I do see a light yellow tinge but I've owned a number of dragons with yellow color that expressed in differing areas of each dragon. I wouldn't worry much about the cage decor, he can shed it equally no matter what he's on so it's impossible to do anything more than just keep the tank clean + dry. You can see Tracie's website [ Drache613 ] for a good probiotic . www.bug-de-lite.com

Some people just use soy yogurt but I don't know how it compares to what Tracie has.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I agree, that doesn't look too bad luckily!
The oral anti-fungal medication should hopefully zap it out pretty quickly. I would definitely
recommend a probiotic for awhile since he will be on a harsh medication & for help in
restoring his tummy/GI tract flora also.
He looks very cute there, eating his greens. :D

Tracie
 
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