Kitlings
Member
For two weeks now, I have been treating my 6-month old beardie, Lazaron, for yellow fungus.
I noticed the discoloration first appearing around her vent about two weeks ago:
In my search for a local reptile vet, I called the reptile specialty store which originally I bought her from, and they offered to have their expert check her out for free. After I brought her into the store, they confirmed it was yellow fungus and recommended an antifungal cream like Tinactin.
I bought the generic brand (same active ingredient, tolnaftate) and started rubbing it on the fungus once every day. First I give her a shallow bath, just to clean the area and wipe off the shedding fungus, then I apply a thin layer of the cream. I noticed a massive improvement in just a few days. This picture was taken today:
(Sorry for the sub-optimal pictures, I have a hard time holding both dragon and camera lol... There was a little bit more of the yellow around her thighs and belly.)
So it seems to be working, but I spent a few hours today looking through other peoples' posts about YF and started to worry that it could get worse. My main concern is, is there any way to tell JUST by looking at her, if it has spread internally? It would be extremely difficult for me to afford a vet right now - it's $75 just to bring the dragon in, plus $150 or more for the diagnostic tests and treatment. If the fungus doesn't get better after a month, is there a good chance it's an internal problem? I read that itraconazole or voriconazole can be used as treatment for it.
Since YF is such a serious infection, I know I will absolutely have to take her to another vet if it doesn't get better, I am just wondering if this forum has any advice or tips for me on the treatment
Also I am thinking about giving her betadine baths as well, since a lot of people on here said they used that in their treatment. Apparently however, betadine is just a disinfectant, not necessarily an anti-fungal product. So why is it used? Just to keep them clean? I'm also going to try using Lamisil (instead of the cream I'm using now) since a lot of people on here recommended it in other posts. Is the spray version OK to use? She has a lot of spikes around her legs and belly, and some of the cream doesn't really get into those cracks (even with a q-tip) I'm worried that I'm missing some spots, and the fungus is going to keep spreading.
Thanks for any advice. Here's a normal picture of her taken today. She's been eating and acting normally every day (thank god)... except she gets a bit annoyed when I have to apply all this cream on her, the poor girl.
I noticed the discoloration first appearing around her vent about two weeks ago:
In my search for a local reptile vet, I called the reptile specialty store which originally I bought her from, and they offered to have their expert check her out for free. After I brought her into the store, they confirmed it was yellow fungus and recommended an antifungal cream like Tinactin.
I bought the generic brand (same active ingredient, tolnaftate) and started rubbing it on the fungus once every day. First I give her a shallow bath, just to clean the area and wipe off the shedding fungus, then I apply a thin layer of the cream. I noticed a massive improvement in just a few days. This picture was taken today:
(Sorry for the sub-optimal pictures, I have a hard time holding both dragon and camera lol... There was a little bit more of the yellow around her thighs and belly.)
So it seems to be working, but I spent a few hours today looking through other peoples' posts about YF and started to worry that it could get worse. My main concern is, is there any way to tell JUST by looking at her, if it has spread internally? It would be extremely difficult for me to afford a vet right now - it's $75 just to bring the dragon in, plus $150 or more for the diagnostic tests and treatment. If the fungus doesn't get better after a month, is there a good chance it's an internal problem? I read that itraconazole or voriconazole can be used as treatment for it.
Since YF is such a serious infection, I know I will absolutely have to take her to another vet if it doesn't get better, I am just wondering if this forum has any advice or tips for me on the treatment
Also I am thinking about giving her betadine baths as well, since a lot of people on here said they used that in their treatment. Apparently however, betadine is just a disinfectant, not necessarily an anti-fungal product. So why is it used? Just to keep them clean? I'm also going to try using Lamisil (instead of the cream I'm using now) since a lot of people on here recommended it in other posts. Is the spray version OK to use? She has a lot of spikes around her legs and belly, and some of the cream doesn't really get into those cracks (even with a q-tip) I'm worried that I'm missing some spots, and the fungus is going to keep spreading.
Thanks for any advice. Here's a normal picture of her taken today. She's been eating and acting normally every day (thank god)... except she gets a bit annoyed when I have to apply all this cream on her, the poor girl.