Beardie Burn??

My 15 year old bearded dragon, Drake, is starting to shed. I noticed about 2 days ago that he has what looks like a bruise or a burn above his eye on the skin that is getting ready to shed. The closer I looked he also has a few very small discolored patches like this (you have to really look close to see them) on his back, tail, and around his snout.
Recently he went to the vet over URI and has been taking antibiotic shots for over a month. My mom built him a custom wooden cage to better hold in heat because we believe his cage was getting too cold at night. We also got him a heat emitter. It is holding in heat MUCH better and Drake has improved a lot! However, the holes for the lights (10.0 uvb tube and powersun basking bulb) do not have screen over them. I have always had the smaller uvb bulb slightly in his tank without a screen before and it didn't occur to me that the tube would be different from the smaller ones. I did some research and it says that the screen helps filter out harmful rays that can "sunburn" your reptile. I was wondering if anyone could tell me for sure if that's what this is or if it could be something more dangerous? Should I set up a vet appointment?
I have been treating it with aloe vera and I got a screen for the light to sit on. For the moment I also went down to a 5.0 uvb. I still have the 10.0 so it can be changed back if need be. He is about 7 and a half inches away from his 100 watt backing bulb. He can't climb any more so I can't give him a hide tunnel but he has a blanket hanging from the top of the cage to put one corner in shadows. Temps are between 95 and 100 on the hot side and 75 to 82 on the cool.
He dosen't act like it bothers him and he is alert, active, and bright eyed. I am very worried and I would appreciate any help! Thank you! Pictures below!






This is before it was set up. Its double sided so we can get a baby beardie in a few months. Drakes side has a lift in it so he is closer to the top because of his elderly and medical needs.

Might be a burn because 7.5 in. Is a bit tooooo close for a 100watt basking bulb, that even to close for a 75, IMO . If the temps in his home are OK I would back his basking spot away from the light a bit. Older dragons don't require more than 95° to 105° in their basking spot.
What are you checking the temps with?
Everyone on here and I agree with them, the screen blocks out allot of the uvb rays he needs. It is not the uvb that burns , it is uva (aka; basking bulb). The 10.0 is the one he needs the most. A 5.0 is to weak to put out what he needs. As long as it is a 10.0 t5 he can be within 12" of it and if it is a 10.0 t8 he needs to be about 2" to 4 " closer.

Gormagon":mxgclh4d said:

Might be a burn because 7.5 in. Is a bit tooooo close for a 100watt basking bulb, that even to close for a 75, IMO . If the temps in his home are OK I would back his basking spot away from the light a bit. Older dragons don't require more than 95° to 105° in their basking spot.
What are you checking the temps with?
Everyone on here and I agree with them, the screen blocks out allot of the uvb rays he needs. It is not the uvb that burns , it is uva (aka; basking bulb). The 10.0 is the one he needs the most. A 5.0 is to weak to put out what he needs. As long as it is a 10.0 t5 he can be within 12" of it and if it is a 10.0 t8 he needs to be about 2" to 4 " closer.

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Thanks for getting back to me so quickly! I lowered it so he is 11' from the basking bulb (is that far enough?) and switched the UVB back to 10.0 and removed the screen. I have a temp/humidity gauge and I am using a infrared thermometer. Do you think he needs a vet or once the lights are corrected will it heal on its own?

Raw honey( the kind you find in health food stores ) is a natural antibiotic and has an amazing healing effect on beardies wounds.
Regular honey at the grocery store has been pasteurized and does no good.
10" to 12 " should be fine.
I sure hope he gets better, beautiful critter ya got there.

Any chance you have fed him anything red and juicy lately? The way the color is collected in the grooves around the scales reminds me of berry juice. Maybe a bath to see if it washes off would be good.
I'm really curious to see what the skin looks like under the shedding skin. Are the discolored bits on his body also on shed?

Gormagon":w6br6ofx said:

Raw honey( the kind you find in health food stores ) is a natural antibiotic and has an amazing healing effect on beardies wounds.
Regular honey at the grocery store has been pasteurized and does no good.
10" to 12 " should be fine.
I sure hope he gets better, beautiful critter ya got there.

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Great then I will get some soon as I can! You have been a huge help and I can't thank you enough! I was so worried! This little guy has been my best friend for years. I hate to see him hurting!

Gail":2etxaauy said:

Any chance you have fed him anything red and juicy lately? The way the color is collected in the grooves around the scales reminds me of berry juice. Maybe a bath to see if it washes off would be good.
I'm really curious to see what the skin looks like under the shedding skin. Are the discolored bits on his body also on shed?

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That's what I thought at first but nope hes had nothing like that. Just had his normal greens, superworms/roaches, and green bean, squash, and apple baby food (vets orders). I've given him a bath and it doesn't come off. No, the other spots are not shedding and they are very very small. Like one or 2 scales here and there. I will post a pic after the shed. Hopefully the damaged skin will come off smoothly and whats under will be healed...

I sure hope all turns out well for your little buddy.
If it persist you will need to get him to your vet pronto. You can call the vet and ask him/her about what might be going on as well, I know our vet is glad to answer questions for us...even has a 24 hour emergency number ( haven't needed that yet, thank goodness)!!!

Gormagon":1cdon5u5 said:

I sure hope all turns out well for your little buddy.
If it persist you will need to get him to your vet pronto. You can call the vet and ask him/her about what might be going on as well, I know our vet is glad to answer questions for us...even has a 24 hour emergency number ( haven't needed that yet, thank goodness)!!!

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Problem is we don't have an exotic vet near where we live. Only thing is an animal hospital that has an "exotic expert" once a week and they charge 155 bucks just to walk through the door. When I call they refuse to tell me anything over the phone. Of course I'm going to take him if I have to! But last time we took him it was 400 bucks by the end of it. Ouch. And in my opinion they treated him much more roughly than needed.
In your opinion how many days should I wait before I take him?

That's ridiculous. Especially if you didn't feel like they provided compassionate care. I'd save that as a last resort. The area around the burn looks like it's ready to shed so it will be interesting to see if the area underneath is healed. You could try putting some manuka honey or raw/unpasteurized honey over the burn to help protect it and help it heal. You'll just want to be sure not to allow bugs loose because they'll be attracted to it.

I've never ever had a vet who was willing to offer advice over the phone except for dosage on over the counter meds. Even then its usually the receptionist who looks the info up for me.

Any chance you have or can get a hold of any Silvadene? Thats what the vets gave me for a rescue snake I had with belly burns. Its also what human doctors prescribe for burns, its wonderful stuff.

Watch it really close, if it spreads or turns more red, get him to a vet asap.

CooperDragon":3ou6pejy said:

That's ridiculous. Especially if you didn't feel like they provided compassionate care. I'd save that as a last resort. The area around the burn looks like it's ready to shed so it will be interesting to see if the area underneath is healed. You could try putting some manuka honey or raw/unpasteurized honey over the burn to help protect it and help it heal. You'll just want to be sure not to allow bugs loose because they'll be attracted to it.

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Yeah, I was very displeased with the way they treated him. He wasn't the same for about a week after. He would turn black when I tried to touch him and would try to hide. He LOVES people. Always comfortable with total strangers, kids, and other animals. He was even supper happy and 100% trusting of the vet at first but then they were too rough and after the visit it was like he was terrified. Took some time to get his trust back so I hate the thought of putting him through that again.
I went and bought some raw honey today. Im going to use it only in the day so I can watch for ants. I don't trust those little monsters not to sneak in some how when they smell sweet stuff (I don't think they can but better safe than sorry). I never feed him bugs in the cage so no worries about that.

OK sounds good. Hopefully it will help soon. Please let me know how it goes.

Hello,

That does look like a slight burn, so hopefully the raw honey will help out for him. Overall, he is a
great looking dragon at 15! Drake is a great name, too.
That's a nice looking tank, too very large!
He will definitely need the Reptisun 10 over the 5, for his UVB exposure. The distance for the basking light is better over 10 inches, though. Screen does filter out a lot of the UVB so it's best if he gets unfiltered UVB if possible.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Good news! Some of the shed came off a few minutes ago and it looks MUCH better! Still going to use the honey for a little while to be safe. Thank you all so much for the good advice!!!





Drake thanks you too! ^-^ (this pic is from like 2 weeks ago)