My new young Bearded Dragon has hard spot/lump on back

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lleddirs

Member
Hello ER community,

I just bought a Bearded Dragon... I bought all the essentials... even the calcium which he's already had a few times. Last week he was shedding his skin and I noticed a small spot developing on his back almost on the edge of his underbelly, which I thought at first sight of it that it may have been a little bit of skin still hanging on but now it seems to be growing and I'm so stressed that there's something wrong with the poor little guy. Does anyone know what this could be and what my next step should be? I'm thinking vet obviously... as well as contacting the store where I purchased. Please see the photos attached. The spot/lump is hard (crusty) and it definitely seems to be subcutaneous. Did a very small amount of reading up on known BD issues and read that they can get abscesses and things like that. Does anyone know what this could be or maybe have experienced the same issue?

please help...
Very Nervous for the little guy! :cry: :banghead:

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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please go over the husbandry of the tank---- please NO coil UVB's --- basking temps and how are you taking them? No stick ons they are inaccurate -- NO colored bulbs please
Karrie
 

lleddirs

Member
Original Poster
Well... I have her in a 40-gallon tank (with Double-Doors)... I have 2 - 8.5 Dome Lamps (1 w/UVB and yes it's a coil if you are talking about the shape of the bulb ... the other is a Basking Spot bulb (White/clear/Flat))... Yes, I have 2 stick on Thermometer/Hygrometer for temp humidity... always for the most part in range. I have lights on the left side and none on right. If incorrect what do you recommend? I mean it was a Bearded Dragon kit. Also, what would the brand/kind have to do with a spot/lump?

Thank you!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yes the one would be a coil-- please get rid of it--- it is basically giving no UVB in a 40 gallon tank--- please replace w/ a 24" fixture w/ reflector-- and a Reptisun 10.0 T 5 bulb- they are the best on the market- you will need help w/ proper placement- so when you get it please post so we can help--- I have flagged your post to our vet tech mod and another experienced person on the forum about the skin issue
Karrie
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Definitely do make the lighting changes to help him out so that he gets better UVB
exposure.
The skin issues are hopefully not fungal. You can try getting some raw, unpasteurized
honey first, to put on that area. Since you mentioned it was somewhat crusty, that may
be fungal but not sure. Does it seem to bother him?
You can also clean the skin/scales with a diluted betadine also, using a swab to dab it on
the skin. It doesn't look raw, correct?
Are you using a loose or solid substrate for him?
How is his appetite doing?

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

lleddirs

Member
Original Poster
So, his appetite is great he seems OK... it definitely does not look raw. It doesn’t seem to bother him for the most part... I mean I was poking and feeling it and may have been tickling him a little bit so he did twitch a little bit but it looked more like I was just bothering him. His substrate is carpet... reptile carpeting. I did do some reading before I bought him, I’m not completely ignorant and I read a lot about them and noticed comments that carpeting is better. I even did some research on the kit that I bought and it was a reputable, five star kit with very good feedback. I don’t understand how they can sell a UV light that says it’s giving off UV light and it not be giving off UV light, makes no sense to me, but I will look into making the lighting change, definitely! I want to say that crusty may not be the word for it... it’s just hard, it’s harder than the rest of his body but it is hard almost like there’s some thing stuck to his body... but I don’t know if crust is the right word! He definitely doesn’t seem to be bothered by it but when I caught it, I caught it early and watched it from when I first noticed it last week and I can tell it’s getting bigger and I’m just getting a little bit worried... but I would say it is an early catch, whatever it is. I’m not sure what honey will do but I do have organic honey from a friend who raised bees this past summer and she gave me a jar of it... so I could use that, But I definitely wanna make sure I’m not doing anything that’s going to make it worse or help it grow... whatever it is... so I hope honey is the right way to go! No offense, just being cautious.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Honey is a antibacterial and will kill any infection going on --- please apply it and I would maybe keep pics of it to see if its getting any bigger or worse --- also use the betadine solution as well that Tracie recommended -- she is the vet mod on here
Karrie
 

lleddirs

Member
Original Poster
So I woke up this morning and noticed that she molted overnight. It's amazing to me how quickly they molt and shed... it's so fast. I figured it would take days... But this is now the second time she's molted since I got her. So what's funny now is that she molted around the bump and it sort of stopped there and can't seem to continue or at least slowed... I took a photo for you to get an idea of what I mean. please see the photo below.

Also, Wanted to thank all who have read my issue and replied, this is a really great place to go for help, and I'm so glad it is available, So... Thank You to all who replied to me. I sincerely appreciate it. Thank you to Tracie also for being so quick to respond to my problem and give me a remedy.

I did have another question though... Do you think I'm jumping the gun, so-to-speak if I was to take her to a Vet... or, do you think I should just try the Betadine and honey first? I mean, what if it's not fungal and it gets worse. I'm wondering if it's that hard to tell by the photo as to what it is? I took the best photo that I could so you could get a good idea as to what this looks like.

I also took a photo of how small she is and put her in front of my PC/mouse to give you some perspective on her size. Also took a pic from above to get another angle of the bump. Hope these will help in capturing enough evidence to help in determining what this is. As I said above, she molted over night/this morning, hence the skin you'll notice around it.

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lleddirs

Member
Original Poster
I placed the betadine directly on the spot with a Qtip and then I placed a drop of honey completely covering the spot on top of that (the Betadine). She didn't seem to mind and was very good during the procedure. She just laid there letting me do it. She's such a good dragon and I hope the Betadine and honey make this go away.

Do I do this every day (meaning the Betadine and Honey) or is it a one-time thing and then you just see what happens? Also, can I give her a bath to get this stuff off and how long should I wait before doing that?

I'm not sure how this is going to work. Their skin is so different as it is amphibian and I'm not sure how their skin heals. I wonder if this fungal infection (If that's in fact what it is) will just shrink, or does it fall off, or what?

Tracie, if you have a minute to read this post and my last, and answer these few questions I had, that would be so appreciated. I'm so worried. I want to make sure I'm doing this correctly as well as how long!

Thanks again...!
Have a great day!

Scott
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello Scott,

Ok, that is a good picture of that area. How long has he had the bump for & would you say
that it has not changed much? It may start to shed off since the rest of him shed but it could
be an abscess of some type. You could wait a bit longer to see if it sheds off. If it does shed
but the bump is still there then it is likely a cyst or an abscess.
Continue to treat it with the betadine & raw honey for awhile. It definitely isn't raw so that is
a plus there. How is his appetite doing?

Tracie
 

lleddirs

Member
Original Poster
Thank You Tracie for replying!

Everything seems good. Her appetite is fine, energy and livelihood are okay... nothings changed with her personality. I haven't seen the spot/bump change much, other than what I previously stated which is that it seemed like it was growing. I will continue to use Betadine and honey, but a quick question... Do I wash the area every time before I treat with the betadine and honey? How would you recommend I do that... maybe put her in a bowl of warm water and gently rub/clean it off each time before treating??? ...obviously dry her right away if that's the way??

She has finished shedding, but that particular spot has not shed off. I'm not sure if the honey is drying and holding it on but it seemed to stop when it got close to the spot. If it is an abscess, will this process help an abscess? Also, if it is a cyst, what do I do about that... Are we talking vet/surgery here? I mean, I just bought her. We're attached to her and the kids love her... but at the same time, I just bought her, I don't really want to bring her back and dump her like she's a bad TV that I'm returning... but at the same time, I don't deserve a $1000 dollar vet bill either. I take very good care of this Dragon but this is crazy for her to have an issue already.

Thanks again...
Scott
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I realize that this is a hard call & very frustrating since you just got her. Definitely watch it
closely to be sure it doesn't get larger though. You can give a short bath or soak daily if you
would like to clean that area off before treating it, or just rinse it off to be sure it's clean. I don't
think it is fungal but not sure if it's an abscess or a cyst. Usually the reason they develop one of
those ailments is due to trauma in that area.
If it's an abscess, depending on how deep it may go, will likely need a vet visit at some point to
have it removed. Otherwise, it will grow, get deeper & compartmentalize making it hard to get all
of the infection in an easy operation.
A cyst could probably just be drained easily with a general or local anesthesia which would by far
be less expensive.
Either way, it may not clear up just doing treatments at home. I have seen in a few cases where
a cyst eventually cleared up & fell off. So you can give it some time & continue to treat it to see
how it progresses.
As long as her appetite is good right now & it doesn't seem to be bothering her right now then you
have a little bit of time.

Tracie
 

lleddirs

Member
Original Poster
I'm VERY EXCITED... the treatment seemed to have worked !! :D :blob8:

This is the 3rd or maybe 4th day, that I've been treating her with the Betadine and Honey. After the second day was over, I decided to give her a bath and all I can say is that the bath in warm water, gently rubbing the bump with the warm water and a Q-tip seemed to help loosen it as well as clean off the old betadine and honey so I could apply fresh... and helped aid in clearing it up. After the 3rd day of applying the Betadine and honey, today the 4th day, I soaked her again in warm water, and while I was gently cleaning whatever this bump is/was, whether an abscess or cyst, it finally fell off during the soak. I was just extremely gently rubbing/cleaning it with the Q-tip and warm water, I also use the Q-tips to apply the betadine and honey... and it just came off as a wet scab would. and I see fresh clean skin underneath. I didn't want to irritate her with the honey, so after the bathing, I only applied the betadine to the raw area. The honey worked great but seems to irritate the skin a bit, so I will see what happens now with just the betadine. All I can say is... it looks like it worked. I think you should add this process of bathing/soaking it, to this procedure, in this situation anyway. Just wish I knew exactly what this lesion/bump was... Weird thing to happen at a young age.

I hope this is the beginning of the end of this. Tracie, I'm hoping you get a chance to read this and tell me what you think, as to what I said I'm doing now, and let me know if you agree or disagree with the path I chose... meaning with just the betadine, opposed to both that and the honey. It was just a feeling I had. I don't know why, but I had this feeling from what I saw, that the honey bothers the skin a bit, maybe eats away the cyst/abscess (or whatever it was/is), and bothered her a bit, maybe a little strong. But after I saw it fall off I cleaned some more with the warm water and wanted to give it a day to see what happens, Just put the betadine on the fresh skin area and around it to keep it clean.

Is this usually how quickly it works? Does this process usually only work with an abscess... or does it only work with the cyst... or both? I guess what I'm getting at is, I'm trying to figure out if since this procedure with the Betadine and the honey worked, does that somewhat give you an idea as to what this was (Abscess or cyst)? Just so if it happens again, and it happens to be worse, I could know for future reference what this exactly was.

Thanks again, for all the help given by everyone. I will keep you posted on the progress and let you know how it clears, so maybe this could help someone else with the same issue in the future.

Thanks again to all...
Scott
 

lleddirs

Member
Original Poster
Also, Tracie, meant to answer your question about her appetite and let you know that it never changed during this situation. she never lost her appetite and this never seemed to affect or bother her. She seems to be a very good Dragon.

Maybe the procedure with the honey and betadine worked, because I/we caught it super early. Is that possibly the case... maybe? Maybe it just didn't have a chance to get to that point where it would as you said compartmentalize deeper and become worse.

The thing that I would say to take away from this, for anyone else with this issue, is to always keep a close eye, and treat as soon as you see it and get advice on what it is. Maybe, because I received an answer so quickly from Tracie, helped in getting this taken care of right away. As soon as Tracie recommended this procedure, I went right out and bought the betadine. I also had fresh honey that a friend gave me this past summer as she raises Honey Bees. That could have helped also, with the fact that it was organic and fresh.

But always keep a close eye!
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am so glad that the treatment has helped, I am quite surprised it worked so quickly. I would
have to say it was most likely a cyst perhaps. An abscess would likely still be causing some
trouble & would be raw since it has more of a blood supply. If you have any pictures go ahead
& post them. Is the area raw or not? Abscesses if not treated, will definitely grow larger & start
taking up more area making them harder to treat.
The honey might have been a little strong, did it cause it to get a little red? You could use some
antibiotic ointment on it instead if you would like if it looks infected at all.
I'm happy she still has a great appetite & has not shown any decrease on that due to this going
on.

Let us know how she is doing!
Tracie
 
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