Possible yellow fungus and freaking out.

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Hello all.

I rescued a bearded dragon about two weeks ago now and he had his first vet check yesterday.

What I thought was stuck shed actually turned out to be a suspected fungal infection the vet was concerned about being yellow funguS.

He did say, however, that the swabs looked mostly bacterial, but there were things that could be fungal in the sample he took.

What are the chances of this being something easily curable with that description?

I'd think, if it was actually yellow fungus or any fungus, it wouldn't be bacterial at all?

The vet also said he didn't see any spores, which he said was a good sign.

The dragon is on ditrium and itraconazole with a daily soak in Novaslan. I'm also to apply lamisil to the area once daily.

It appears to already be treating the areas affected, however, I'm also not naive enough to think that wishful thinking may play a part.

Any and all advice is appreciated.

Here are some pics.

https://ibb.co/34qYCxS
https://ibb.co/tMC8YRd

The one picture is from the vet picking trying to see what was going on. The wound is already healing nicely, surprisingly.


I'm a new dragon owner and am more than a little scared.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Thanks for the pictures, they really help out.
It does "somewhat" appear fungal in some areas, if there is any fungus present it may not be
yellow fungus but maybe a black fungus which isn't quite as bad. If they already were proactive
& started treatment just in case, any fungus should be headed off relatively quickly.
It also could just be some old shed, since there is some areas there that are shedding. Those
areas are somewhat raw in a couple of places.
You could also use some raw, unpasteurized honey or manuka honey to put on the raw areas,
to expedite healing.
When do you expect the culture test back? Seeing as the vet didn't notice any spores then yes,
that is a great sign. Hopefully it is just a bacterial infection. Perhaps the previous owners tried to
peel off some shedding skin too early & it became raw & infected.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

riverdragon

Member
Original Poster
Hi Tracie,

Thank you so much for your reply.

I know it's not definitive (can't diagnose anything over the internet), but your response has put my panic to rest somewhat.

He's got such a place in my heart already, even though I haven't had him all that long.

I'm not entirely sure he took a culture (he just took a smear), so again, we aren't 100% sure what it is or if it's yellow fungus at all, but we're treating it as if it is, just to be safe. He is going back for another evaluation in about three weeks, I'll ask about it then.

As for the raw places, are you talking about on his leg and near his vent?

That's where the vet picked to see what was going on and to get samples for his smear.

And yes! I have heard of the honey thing (one of my good friends is a dragon keeper and tipped me off about it), so I will be getting some ASAP! He won't luck it off, will he?

I will for sure keep you posted on his recovery!
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
The underside looks quite like Y.F., good that he's been started on the meds. I agree that honey will be good for the leg and the dragon won't lick it off but just be sure there are no loose insects to bother him. Crickets especially will hide in any crevice during the day + then come out at night to find food. Best wishes to your special boy !
 

riverdragon

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AHBD":17z64ima said:
The underside looks quite like Y.F., good that he's been started on the meds. I agree that honey will be good for the leg and the dragon won't lick it off but just be sure there are no loose insects to bother him. Crickets especially will hide in any crevice during the day + then come out at night to find food. Best wishes to your special boy !

Eesh, that's troubling. I do know the vet did take smears from both and his words were "it's mostly bacterial" and it IS getting better with the soaks, so I suppose the only thing to do is hope for the best.

I did buy some honey today as well so I used that and as for crickets, I hate them so no issue there, but I appreciate the warning!
 

riverdragon

Member
Original Poster
riverdragon":31n0p84r said:
AHBD":31n0p84r said:
The underside looks quite like Y.F., good that he's been started on the meds. I agree that honey will be good for the leg and the dragon won't lick it off but just be sure there are no loose insects to bother him. Crickets especially will hide in any crevice during the day + then come out at night to find food. Best wishes to your special boy !

Eesh, that's troubling. I do know the vet did take smears from both and his words were "it's mostly bacterial but there looks to be some fungus" and "I didn't see any smores" and it IS getting better with the soaks, so I suppose the only thing to do is hope for the best.

I did buy some honey today as well so I used that and as for crickets, I hate them so no issue there, but I appreciate the warning!
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
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Great that you got some honey! Hopefully some raw unpasteurized honey as that will help the best.

Hope things start healing up!

-Brandon
 

riverdragon

Member
Original Poster
claudiusx":1rkfsi9p said:
Great that you got some honey! Hopefully some raw unpasteurized honey as that will help the best.

Hope things start healing up!

-Brandon

It is! I don't buy any other kind. :)
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Here is a pic of a dragon with Y.F. Yours does look very much like it so I think the vet will get that report if he actually sends the skin scraping to a lab. The good thing is that you've already started treatment and can see results pretty quickly. Be aware that it can seem to disappear + then reappear because it is usually internal. Hopefully the treatment will help as much as possible.

https://reptile.guide/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/How-to-Treat-Yellow-Fungus-in-a-Bearded-Dragon.jpg
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

That's great you have already gotten some honey now. When do you think that they will
have the culture results back, estimated, in a week or so? I just hope that they got a good
enough skin scraping.
Starting early on the meds should hopefully help out greatly!
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie
 

riverdragon

Member
Original Poster
Drache613":1lok84f5 said:
Hello,

That's great you have already gotten some honey now. When do you think that they will
have the culture results back, estimated, in a week or so? I just hope that they got a good
enough skin scraping.
Starting early on the meds should hopefully help out greatly!
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

I'll have to call the vet tomorrow and see what's going on with that. I'm not sure he sent anything off at all and I was so overwhelmed at the possibility of my pet dying that I missed a lot.

That said, here's an updated pic of his belly!

https://ibb.co/xFWBjyb
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Wow that looks massively better now! :D
That's great news.
Oh you aren't sure he sent a culture to the lab to check for fungal growth then? Unless he has
his own lab on site, which would be faster. Definitely let us know how things are going.

Tracie
 

riverdragon

Member
Original Poster
Hello all!

Just wanted to give you a quick update on my beardie.

He's accepted his fate of having to take medication every day it seems as he hardly makes a fuss any more and the yellow on the underside of his belly is starting to shed off, showing the glorious white scales underneath.

Is it possible this was simply bacterial and it was stuck shed? (I feel this is wishful thinking, but I'm asking anyway, just so I learn signs and symptoms to watch for).

He goes back to the vet in a week or so, so I should know more then, too.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Thanks for the updates. It sounds like he is improving then! Yes, it is sounding more like a
bacterial infection if the skin is nice & white after shedding & there doesn't look to be any
yellow coloration present right now. Hopefully, it was just old, yellowish shed.
You haven't received any news from the vet regarding the culture test results? Let us know
how the vet visit goes, once you have gone.
I'm sure he is just tolerating the medication. LOL Maybe he wont have to be on the meds
for very long.

Tracie
 
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