Vent discolouration (Updated With Pics)

Hi, I've only had my dragon for 3 weeks and it's probably just me being paranoid but I noticed that the area around his/her vent has gone from being the same colour as the rest of his underside to a bit of a yellow colour. Is this something i should be worried about? Thanks.

Hello,

Well, if you could post a picture that would help out. It could be that he is going to shed, or let's hope that is all it is & not a fungus. A picture would be helpful. Thanks.

Tracie

He is shedding and it seems that he's turning out to be yellowish in colour most everywhere except under him which is white. I'd like to get you a picture but I don't ahve a camera and my girlfriend can't find the charger for hers. I might just bite the bullet and buy one soon.

Hello,

GREAT, it is most likely shedding related then, that is good news to hear that it is not a fungal problem then.


Tracie

Thanks :]

Hello,

You are welcome, I hope the shedding goes well.

Tracie

It did thanks. He's sporting a shiny new coat.

Hello,

Great, so no more yellow discoloration huh? Great he is all finished shedding then.


Tracie

It looked like it was gone for a couple days after shedding but I just noticed it's still there today now that he's a darker colour. He's had semi runny stools lately but I thought it was because he was eating nothing but salad for a week. As soon as he ate a couple butter worms they were solid again for 2 days and today I went to feed him this morning and he didn't want to eat and tried again an hour ago he still didn't want to eat and he had pooped on his rock, it looked semi solid but there was a HUGE damp spot around it, like 5x1.5" I'm kinda worried about that I don't know what would cause that.

I just gave him a bath he was hanging out on my shoulder, but just jumped onto my table as I started typing, he's been more active than usual the last couple days lots of running around. Still hates baths. Seems to be having a lot of fun climbing around on the junk on my table, he's trying to play guitar hero. If you have any idea what would cause all that wetness in his stool I'd really like to know, it doesn't stink or anything.

Sorry I'd like to get you some pictures, I bought a camera from Futureshop thinking they'd ship it from their store on Vancouver Island which is like 2 hours away but it's coming from Ontario for some reason, so i'm still waiting on that.

Hello,

Has he ever been on any medications?
A picture would be helpful. I hope your camera gets to you soon.
Good that he is eating & active though. Maybe you should get a fecal done on him, to make sure he doesn't have worms or parasites.
Do his stools really smell?
He doesn't like his baths at all?
Sometimes though, after they shed, their color looks a bit different. I am hoping that is what it is. Does it appear to look like it is spreading?

Tracie

He just got off antibiotics for a possible RI.

My camera is due to get here on the 24th but they never properly estimate the arrival here they go by distance and dont take in accouont the 2 ferries you have to take, so I'd say the 26th it'll probably be here.

Yes he's been very active running around looking all over the place all day, I just spent 20 min or so in his viv with him just watching him, tried to feed him again, not interested in anything. But he seems to be rubbing his head on rough surfaces (rhough rock edges and grout), and trying to dig in the corner of his viv (no luck since theres tile). Hes been spending a fair amount of time in a corner looking at his reflection clawing at the glass gently and licking it. He saw a very small beetle go by outside the glass and he tried frantically to eat it, I wanted to feed it to him since he was so excited about it but i didn't know what it was so I just took it away and let it outside. He watched me pick it up and propped his head up exited thinking I'd feed it to him and seemed pretty disappointed when I left, I felt pretty sorry for him.

His stools don't really smell, I can't smell anything when I put my head in the viv, if I put my nose an inch over it and smell it it smells a bit but it's not even noticeable.

He hates baths, he throws tantrums when I give him baths. I've tried in a container, in the sink and most recently in the bathtub tried different temps. but int he end nomatter what he just panics and tries to run out as fast as he can and if he can't he does this thing that seems like when kids hold their breath when their mad. He'll stop moving close his eyes and lay there sprawled out in the water like hes dead then doesn't move at all when I pick him up then in about 20 seconds he'll spring to life again like nothing happened. Scared the crap out of me the first time he did it. But he's done it several times since I've heard a few people say their dragons have done the same thing and no one with any experience ever seems to answer as to what it could be, I'm still curious about it. I Don't think I'm doing anything wrong, it seems like he just hates the water and knows I'll pull him out if he plays dead.

I hope it's like you said and just something from shedding, it's the same colour as his head except its on the bottom of him where everything else is white/gray depending on his mood etc. It doesn't appear to be any bigger than it was before, like I said it looked like it was gone for awhile but maybe I just wasn't looking because I passed it off as a shedding thing.

I just went to check on him and there are a bunch of black markings on him. Over top of his left lung and all the way down his left arm and a small strip across his throat that looks like a collar. I've never seen these before. He's been acting skittish and odd all day but very active, he hasn't eaten a thing, he'll usually at least eat some greens. He doesn't look like he's in pain at all but he's been very jumpy around me and like I said before he's running around a lot. Now I'm worried about him. Any idea what this could be?

When he's been in his viv he's been in more or less the same spot all day, this one corner and he's been sitting on the thermometer display ever since I took the bigger of his two rocks out to clean it. The thermometer is black in colour? Could he have some how rubbed the colour off on himself? I tried it on my skin and nothing came off. Usually he climbs up his tree around 7:00 or 8:00 and just chills on top of his tree till the lights go out but he's still in the same spot he's been in all day. The temps got up pretty high today due to sun coming in the window but where he's sitting is the hot side just off of where his big basking light was before I took it out.

Also that big wet spot on the rock isn't scrubbing out. I got the poop off it but the very large wet spot that was under the poop has stained the rock slightly. There's no real colour to it, it's almost like theres an oil stain on it or something, it's faint but it won't go away. I'm confused on what could have happened.

I'm sorry I keep adding to this, there'll probably be a small novel by the end of the night, but could the black spot be a bruise? do they bruise? He fell off my couch yesterday. It wasn't that far but it sounded like he landed kinda hard. Should I not be taking him out of his viv while he's so small? I don't know if I've mentioned his size yet be he's six or seven months old and only 7". He seems to really enjoy being outside his viv and likes to explore but he's too curious for his own good and has a tendency to climb off things and either jump or fall, I try to keep something soft under him but this time he was just sleeping on the arm of my couch then woke up suddenly and walked right off. It didn't seem to phase him I picked him up and he fell back asleep on my chest..

It seems like ever since I got him I've been worried about him for one reason or another. Maybe there's something wrong or maybe I just have beardie hypochondria. Between his small size, the poor conditions he was raised in, and my lack of experience I can't help it.

Hello,

Hm, he is pretty small for his age.
I think we need to go over your setup now.
What type & brand of UVB light are you using, is it a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light? What type of basking light are you using, is it a bright white light or a colored light?
Are you using calcium 5 times per week?
The black marks sound like pigmentation variations which is normally caused by stress or improper temperatures. No, the colour of the thermometer did not rub off on him.
What type of thermometer are you using to measure the temps? Is it a stick on thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun? What are the temps in the tank? Perhaps he got too hot today & he turned his beard & part of his chest black because he was uncomfortable.
He has an outdoor enclosure then, so he gets some natural sunlight once in awhile?
You may need to take the rock out & scrub it. Sometimes it does stain! :mrgreen:
He should be ok, if he fell off of the couch. How far down was it, & it was carpet that he fell on right?

Tracie

I know he's small I just got him. Bad pet store. The black marks don't seem like a normal colour change and although they don't cover as much space as before they are still there mostly around his neck, not a black beard it does look like a bruise it between a dark purple and a black. I did scrub his rock with a scrub brush and a bleach solution, the mark won't come out. And it wasn't carpet, it was laminate flooring, and it was about 2.5 feet that he fell. I have scrubbed the rock with a bleach solution for like 20 min, not coming off. I was just worried about the very large amount of space it covered. He is not outdoors, just near a window, if he was outdoors now he'd be freezing : P

How old is your dragon? 6-7months
How long have you had your dragon? Since jan 26
How long is your dragon? Just measured him and he's just reached 7" which is great since he was 5 3/4" when I got him so he's growing
What is the sex of your dragon? I don't know been calling it a male, but really have no clue.
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 3' x 2.25' 2.5' high
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? Ceramic tile
Do you use UVB lights? Reptiglo 24" 10.0 I had ordered a reptisun but I couldn't get it shipped to Canada so I'm trying to find another place to get one. Edit: just ordered one again
How old is your UVB bulb? about a month
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? 13"
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Yes 150w tight beam on a dimmer
What are the basking temps? 105°-110°
What is the cool side temp? 80°-85°
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? 2 digitals with probe
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? On his rock under the basking lamp.
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? No
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Butterworms, bok choy, celery greens, occasional pear been trying a few things but he doesn't seem to want to eat. I was excited that he started eating butterworms a couple days ago because he was eating nothing but greens till then. But now he hasn't eaten anything in 2 days. :[
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? 2 times a day I try 3 but he usually only eats once or twice if at all, usually first time I feed him isn't until about 11:30am, I have a weird schedule.
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? no
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? I have calcium, vit b and a mutli coming from beautifuldragons.com
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? Every day once a day usually in the late morning/early afternoon
Do you bath your dragon? How often? Every 2-3 days
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? Took his water dish out due to possible RI and never put it back in
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? No
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? Vet check, no fecal

Edit: The black spot is no longer on his neck but theres still a bit under his armpit. It doesn't look like anything normal, but then again I have a months experience.

Just gave him another bath he held his breath 3 times. Its so sad, he puffs himself up as much as he can closes his eyes and sits there limp. I wasn't going to give him a bath today but he ran through his poop this morning. Hopefully he'll connect the dots eventually and figure out that poop = bath. I feel sorry for him when he does that, I wish he would stop it, I don't know if there's something wrong with him that causes it or if its just panic. Im not trying to stress him out : /

My camera came in a day early wow, <3 Canada post.

This is the yellow around his vent, It doesn't look like a fungus but I read that if they have poop around their vent it may be signs of parasites, which is why I posted in this part of the forum. I don't know if that's what it is but it's better than it was last week and I've been scrubbing him with a toothbrush every second bath.


This is the stain he left on his rock, as you can see, it's pretty big.


This is the black area


Close up


Other side for comparison