Yellow fungus? Please help!!!

My boyfriend and I brought home mister Leo about a week ago. Leo is about 2 years old, and has been owned by boyfriend’s little brother—who, unfortunately, was not at all caring for Leo like he should be. Marcus’ (boyfriend) Mom sent Leo home with us. Leo has this odd yellow crusty bit that I originally thought was a stubborn shed, mostly because it looks almost white in some lights, especially when being soaked. Upon further investigation, I fear it may be yellow fungus. I asked his previous owner how long that spot had been there, and he said Leo sheds it completely off and then it comes back... and it’s been like this for at least four months. Leo isn’t lethargic or picky about eating... very sweet, very loving. We just weren’t prepared to get a baby that may have some sort of horrible disease (and truthfully, we don’t really have the money as I am starting a new job on Wednesday. We spent a lot on getting his set up a little better.).

Is this in fact yellow fungus, and if so, is there a way to treat it at home? There’s a lot of conflicting stuff I’m reading and I don’t want to hurt him or let him suffer. Leo is really easily stressed when messing with his set up and freaks out a lot of its messed with too much, so we are worried about what he will do if we remove everything and lay down paper towels... it almost feels like that’ll lower his quality of life before the fungus does.

If it comes down to it, I will surrender him somewhere if that is the only way to treat him. I want him to live a comfortable life for however long he has left.

Pictures: http://imgur.com/qRkrdMh
http://imgur.com/iozkpvL
http://imgur.com/mNanCyq

Additionally: http://imgur.com/a/peDu4

Hi there, Leo is a really sweet looking boy. Sadly that does look a lot like Y.F. Is it under his vent area [ rear end ] as well ? For now you can get chlorhexdine or betadine + water either of those down to apply to the area with a cotton ball. Avoid bathing for sure. Is the blackish area on the back of his tail suspected as well ?


You'd need to have a skin scraping done to be 100% sure it's Y.F, if it is they usually prescribe voriconazole or itraconazole oral meds.

AHBD":xiokdr23 said:

Hi there, Leo is a really sweet looking boy. Sadly that does look a lot like Y.F. Is it under his vent area [ rear end ] as well ? For now you can get chlorhexdine or betadine + water either of those down to apply to the area with a cotton ball. Avoid bathing for sure. Is the blackish area on the back of his tail suspected as well ?


You'd need to have a skin scraping done to be 100% sure it's Y.F, if it is they usually prescribe voriconazole or itraconazole oral meds.

Click to expand...

The blackish area on his tail is just his scales, I think. I worried at first but there’s no sign of infection or anything like that—it’s just his markings for whatever reason.

This is what his underbits look like: http://imgur.com/Hwcwc74

You might use the chlorhexidine mixture or betadine mixture on that as well Use a soft toothbrush to gently stroke it in to his scales but don't get any in his cloaca.

Hello,

Leo is a great looking dragon. It does appear to be yellow fungus though, but hopefully it
isn't too bad yet.
Were you able to get the betadine at the store yet?
How is his appetite doing?

Tracie

I agree, it looks like Yellow Fungus, but you need to have the Skin-Scraping test done and sent off for testing to confirm it.

Yellow Fungus cannot be treated at home successfully without a prescription for the oral Voricozanole and an external treatment plan as well. The Yellow Fungus unfortunately is extremely difficult to treat, as it grows both inside and out, so that's why it keeps coming back after it sheds off or after you treat it externally with an Antifungal cream. It will disappear externally and then come raging back in a couple of weeks.

To be realistic with you, it usually takes treatment with the oral Antifungal meds and the external treatments from a Reptile Vet for 6 months to a year, with time off from taking the oral medication because it's very hard on them. So like 2 months on it, one off, another 2 months on it, a month off, etc. It's tough to treat, and it's not cheap either. I'd rather be realistic with you and tell you the truth than just tell you that you can successfully treat it at home, because you can't. You have to have a treatment plan made up with an experienced Reptile Vet that includes prescription oral meds daily for months to have a chance at getting rid of it. But first you need to have the Skin Scraping test taken and sent off for testing to confirm it, otherwise you'll have no way of knowing what it is, and if it actually is Yellow Fungus and you simply treat it externally, it's getting worse and worse internally the entire time. The longer you wait to treat it correctly, the less of a chance you'll have to save him. That's just how it is, it's a horrible disease that kills a lot of Dragons and other reptiles. I'm very sorry that's the hand you've been dealt.

Poor baby.
I hope the beardie gets better