Yellow fungus? Infection? Retained shed?

If it's one thing, it's another. I discovered a suspicious patch on the tip of his snout today. It was bright yellow with black blotches. I panicked and since I had some betadine ready to wash him since he's on Panacur for parasites, I used some on the snout. It stained orange. I then took a q-tip with water and used it to see if the betadine would come off and it did. But as I rubbed, I could see something lifting. Not a whole chunk or anything, but just a thin layer. Sort of like when Elmers glue dries on your hand and you peel it off. Then my mother decide to walk over and put peroxide on it with a q-tip! She didn't even ask. I washed it off but I am extremely worried about his scales and possible damage to them. He has also been shedding very frequently. He finished maybe a week or so ago and he's starting again. I read that coupled with scale issues could be signs of yellow fungus. Plus, he has been on Ponazuril and Panacur. I am currently doing Panacur again because he still has pinworms, so I'm worried about his immune system. What could this be?

After applying betadine:



After washing it and the peroxide off with water (you can see to the sides it's dull because he's getting ready to shed yet again):

It's probably just a little bit of retained shed. Young dragons will shed a lot as they grow.

What about the peroxide? Will he be okay since I washed it off?

I would not expect any damage just from one use and you washed if off. It will be fine.

I agree, just a bit of shed. Just an FYI in the future, peroxide is not to be used on any wounds at all. It was in the past but it's since been found to destroy good tissue + bacteria and can make a cut or wound worse. One of the best things to put on a wound is raw, unpasteurized honey [ from health food store ] It's a natural antimicrobial.

Thank you both.

Does retained shed have a smooth, shiny/polished appearance and texture? The fact that it wasn't "rough" like normal retire skin/scales also alarmed me.

It can look smooth + waxy....have a look at this mug. Beardies shed all different ways, this is a good example right here. Crazy looking, but they always come off.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30008/full

I still think something else is going on, so when I drop off his next fecal sample in a little over a week, I'm taking him in too. I've noticed his lower lip looks reddish where it didn't a few days ago. If you look at the pictures above, the lips close together just fine and look normal in terms of the color and scales. Now I can see what looks like a bit of raw pink and some red. I'm concerned it is a bacterial infection or the beginnings of mouth rot (I looked inside his mouth and it looked overall ok except for a thin red line at the gum of the lower lip where the scales seen to be receding--the part circled in the picture). He also hasn't been pooping every day as usual but rather every other day--if he poops today, that is. If he doesn't, then that'll be two days he hasn't pooped. He eats just fine, though--lunges at his greens and roaches. He also naps a lot and sleeps inside the hideouts I make for him from boxes and keeps closing one eye or the other. I'm scared he's sick with something bigger than parasites. As for the scales on the top of his snout, they haven't changed. They still look the same so I hope it's nothing too serious. It looks weird, though, and I'm not convinced it's just retained shed. I do hope he sheds there soon, though, so I can know for sure.

Any ideas what it could be if it is more than just my imagination or parasites?

This is what I mean about his mouth. It does look different even if it doesn't look dramatically bad.



This is before

I do see a tiny bit of something, but not enough to think it's anything. When you take him in the vet might look at it closely, but it's prob. nothing. Raw honey that I mentioned will be good for any type of possible skin problem so if you haven't already gotten some, get a small bottle from a health food store.

Would this work? It's all I have right now.

Yeah that should do the trick.

Thanks, guys. I opened his mouth again and I can see a cut along the gum that's bright red with blood. It's not bleeding all over the place or anything but it's a small cut. I don't know how he got it. Sometimes he bites his glass dishes when he gets excited to see food. Maybe that did it? I put some of the honey on the cut. I'll do it again tonight. Hopefully that will help it heal. The rest of his mouth looks ok. I also put some on those darkened scales while I was at it. I'm desperate for him to be ok.

He may have bitten something like you said. Hopefully the honey will help. He will probably like how it tastes so you may need to add it often. Just keep an eye on if he's eating it (which is OK) or not.

He licked it right away after I put it so I added more. He's not continuously licking now, though. I'll check as much as I can to make sure he actually still has some on the areas. The trickier one will be the cut inside his mouth because it's only natural for him to lick.

Aw, so there is a small cut....maybe offer his food in another type of container or even a small paper plate [ not styrofoam ] The honey should help his nose , but like you said , it will be hard to keep him from licking it up. But it's good for him whether it stays on or he ingests some.