We adopted Dobby in August 2019-- he was my 10 year old daughter's class pet, previously cared for by her amazing science teacher, who doted on him, but who had complications during a maternity leave and wasn't able keep him. Dobby is almost 2 years old, super affectionate, and we've all fallen head over heels for him. BTW: he has always been referred to using male pronouns, even though we recently discovered he's biologically female, but we still call him he .
Over the past month, we've noticed that Dobby is less interested in "hunting," and will ignore crickets even when they are dancing between his legs. That wasn't a huge red flag, as he often lets insects hang out until he gets hungry. But then I noticed a dark spot on his back after he shed; it was small, but suspicious enough that we took him to the vet. They did a scraping, and it came back positive for CANV. Our vet seems to be experienced with beardies, and didn't recommend a full body scan yet; they prescribed oral and topical anti-fungals (still waiting for the scrips to come in), and let us know this was going to be a long-term treatment. Trying to stay positive that we caught it early, but really frightened about the prognosis.
Some background: Dobby is in a 40 gallon 36x18x18 tank, with a reptile carpet, canopy, and a cave, driftwood, and other accessories. We've got a 36" UVB hood over the screen with only a 5.0 Repti-sun bulb (which I have learned from this forum is not cutting it) and a 100W ZooMed basking lamp-- each of those on 12 hours a day-- in addition to a ceramic heating bulb 24hrs a day. Our inadequate and soon-to-be-replaced stick on thermometer and humidity gauge read 92ishF during the day in the basking area and around 35-45% humidity. He LOVES his salads and frolics through a big bowl of kale &/or mustard greens or arugula every day, along with some supplemental grated carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, and blueberries. He's a little chubby (520 grams), and the vet said we were over doing it with crickets (35 or so a week). Cut down to 20 a week.
We want to do everything we can to give Dobby a fighting chance to survive. At the same time, our dog is facing a cancer diagnosis, and we are in NYC/Queens where vet bills, esp. for reptiles, are astronomical. Totally OK with long term topical or oral medication if that's what he needs. But would be super appreciative of any advice on (budget savvy) tips for retrofitting his tank to optimize his health, better dietary options, tank/accessory cleaning, and hygiene/caring for him. We want to upgrade the lighting situation ASAP and would appreciate advice. Our vet suggested a ZooMed PowerSun bulb to replace the basking light. Should we also keep (or upgrade?) the UVB florescent set up, too, or is that redundant? He's outgrown his cave, so I'm ordering a shale rock den that he can bask on as well, closer to the bulbs. I've been getting weekly crickets from Petco as it's challenging to keep the small amount he eats alive in our critter keeper, but would love advice on this front, too. Grateful for any suggestions, and especially stories of beardies with yellow fungus who survived???
Over the past month, we've noticed that Dobby is less interested in "hunting," and will ignore crickets even when they are dancing between his legs. That wasn't a huge red flag, as he often lets insects hang out until he gets hungry. But then I noticed a dark spot on his back after he shed; it was small, but suspicious enough that we took him to the vet. They did a scraping, and it came back positive for CANV. Our vet seems to be experienced with beardies, and didn't recommend a full body scan yet; they prescribed oral and topical anti-fungals (still waiting for the scrips to come in), and let us know this was going to be a long-term treatment. Trying to stay positive that we caught it early, but really frightened about the prognosis.
Some background: Dobby is in a 40 gallon 36x18x18 tank, with a reptile carpet, canopy, and a cave, driftwood, and other accessories. We've got a 36" UVB hood over the screen with only a 5.0 Repti-sun bulb (which I have learned from this forum is not cutting it) and a 100W ZooMed basking lamp-- each of those on 12 hours a day-- in addition to a ceramic heating bulb 24hrs a day. Our inadequate and soon-to-be-replaced stick on thermometer and humidity gauge read 92ishF during the day in the basking area and around 35-45% humidity. He LOVES his salads and frolics through a big bowl of kale &/or mustard greens or arugula every day, along with some supplemental grated carrots, apples, sweet potatoes, and blueberries. He's a little chubby (520 grams), and the vet said we were over doing it with crickets (35 or so a week). Cut down to 20 a week.
We want to do everything we can to give Dobby a fighting chance to survive. At the same time, our dog is facing a cancer diagnosis, and we are in NYC/Queens where vet bills, esp. for reptiles, are astronomical. Totally OK with long term topical or oral medication if that's what he needs. But would be super appreciative of any advice on (budget savvy) tips for retrofitting his tank to optimize his health, better dietary options, tank/accessory cleaning, and hygiene/caring for him. We want to upgrade the lighting situation ASAP and would appreciate advice. Our vet suggested a ZooMed PowerSun bulb to replace the basking light. Should we also keep (or upgrade?) the UVB florescent set up, too, or is that redundant? He's outgrown his cave, so I'm ordering a shale rock den that he can bask on as well, closer to the bulbs. I've been getting weekly crickets from Petco as it's challenging to keep the small amount he eats alive in our critter keeper, but would love advice on this front, too. Grateful for any suggestions, and especially stories of beardies with yellow fungus who survived???