Advice needed

[shara]

My son's bearded dragon, Napoleon, was purchased about a month ago. I think she (obviously I am not sure on the sex, but I call her Pretty Pretty Princess) is approximately 4 months old. Napoleon has more than doubled in size since my son brought her home from the store, and she eats very well (4-6 dusted crickets a day, plus she already eats varied greens, fruit, and vegetables). I follow online guides for the best veggies and fruit for Napoleon very carefully. This is our first bearded dragon; however, I also have a healthy 7 year old, 23 inch, Texas Alligator Lizard, which is kept in separate housing, in a separate room.

Soon after Napoleon was purchased, I noticed some dried strawberry nearly on her lip (which I no longer think was fruit). It went away. About 2 weeks after that, I noticed it again in the same location... and I tried to brush it off. It didn't come off... I noticed that her face was swollen on that side slightly and her nostril seemed to have disappeared. The next day it looked slightly better and her nostril seemed normal. I googled A LOT, and can't find anything similar. I applied (with clean q-tips every time) Betadine and prescription triple antibiotic salve (that I already had for human use) for several days. It doesn't seem to be helping and for the past several days seems to be getting worse.

I would be extremely grateful if someone can help identify what's wrong with our baby Napoleon and suggest treatment? I am hesitant to take a $30 lizard to a $80+ vet if there is anything I can do at home to fix her... however, my son and I are already in love, so I will if necessary.

Napoleon about an hour ago:

I am sorry my introduction to the forums was a request for help, but I appreciate any advice or suggestions already.

Thanks again,
Shara
(on behalf of baby Napoleon)

 

[Esther19]

I'm sorry that your Princess is not well. However, I have no clue what that is. Folks should be coming on soon that are more experienced with her condition. Poor thing.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Shara....I'm also sorry to see little Princess's face. I'm not sure if it's a cyst, tumor , fungal or bacterial growth. I p.m'd one of the mods. for you, Tracie [ user name Drache613 ] that usually has some good suggestions for hard to figure cases. I believe that this will probably need vet attention, but you must be certain that it's someone that's truly experienced with reptiles. One thing that you can try applying is raw honey....but it MUST be true raw , unpasteurized honey, not what is found in most grocery stores. It's a natural antibacterial/antibiotic, it's even used as a wound dressing for humans because, according to research, it is showing to be effective even against the terrible MRSA , which are infections that are resistant to most antibiotics. If you Google " the benefits of manuka honey " or " raw honey as medicine " you will see some interesting articles. It's something you might look in to because it would be safe to apply on her mouth compared to other creams, plus it works on mant types of wounds/ulcers. It can be diluted with a little warm water and applied with a Q-tip several times a day. That is just a suggestion, but I think that that growth may be something that is not going to go away, and it may require quite alot of treatment....but honey may work. By the way, raw honey can be found in some health food stores, Trader Joe's and Tracie [ Drache613 ] sells it as well. I hope your little girl gets better soon !

 

[shara]

Thank you both so much for taking your time to read my post and reply. I also look forward to hearing from Tracie, if she has time.

I actually have some local, totally raw honey... I'm boiling water currently to sterilize it prior to adding it to the honey. hmmm... i think i have distilled bottled water, that might be better!

I look forward to reading any more replies or advice. Please let me know if any additional info or pictures would be helpful.

Thanks again and again!
Shara
Napoleon's Keeper's Mom?

 

[AHBD]

Oh, that's great that you have local raw honey. If you boil the water,let it cool to lukewarm before mixing it with the honey. The honey works as an antibacterial/antibiotic only when it's unpasteurized, so heating the honey too much [ which hot water could do ] would kill those medicinal properties.

 

[kcarello]

Hello, I am sorry about your Napoleon too. I have no ideal what it could be either. Tracie should be able to help you figure it out though. What I can tell you is that 4- 6 dusted crickets a day is not nearly enought for her to eat. She should be eating as many as she wants in a 10 - 15 minute period 2 - 3 times a day. That should be somewhere between 50 - 100 crickets a day. One feeding a day should be dusted with calcium.
I do realize that the bigger concern right now though is the problem with her mouth and I truly hope you get some answers and as already stated, make sure it is a very good herp vet that you take her to.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Shara,

I am sorry about Princess/Napoleon. This area came up suddenly or slowly? You did try bathing her & using a soft toothbrush to see if that area came off in case it was food, right? I don't think it is food, either.
Did the scales appear normal when you first got her?
Do you keep crickets in the tank with her at all? Could one have bitten her possibly which can cause infection or an abscess?
You did mention that the face on that side was swollen, underneath also? Is the inside of her mouth affected?
Is the area hard or soft to touch?
The only true way to determine for sure, is to have a skin culture done to see what type of growth it may be.

Using the diluted betadine daily is fine. The raw honey can help if it is fungal in nature or even an infection as well. You don't have to water it down or thin it out you can use as is.
Are there any other areas on her that look suspicious?

Tracie

 

[shara]

Tracie,
Thank you for taking time to reply.

I have not tried to scrub the area with a toothbrush. Actually I think it's hurting her. I was afraid to bath her, I was worried it might spread. There was a tiny red bump on her lip, that went away and then came back about a week later. Then nearly overnight the puffy discolores area appeared. I store her crickets separetly and she pounces on them as soon as they are added. I think the swollen area looks soft but I haven't touched it. If I get near it, she wants far away. I am also unsure if the inside of her mouth is affected. How would I be able to tell? She's very small and it just looks pale pink inside her mouth.

There's nothing else on her that looks abnormal. Napoleon showed no interest in food today for the first time. She just layed in her hammock sleeping.

A friend thought that the area looks like a burn. I have moved her hammock away from the heat lamp. And I'm moving her to a 40 gallon tomorrow. She would be there now, however the Eco carpet I bought was for a 50 gal and its not deep enough. If it is a burn, she should start showing signs of improvement soon. If she's not improving, we'll be on our way to the vet.

Thanks again,
Shara

 

[shara]

*update*

I couldn't take it anymore and Napoleon went to the vet today. The local vet was fantastic, 23 years experience with reptiles and many years at a very large zoo (during high school and vet school). She said that it's most likely yellow fungus (I didnt have the culture done) but she's fairly certain. She gave me Chlorhexiderm for external and is having internal antibiotics (a combo of 3 different meds) made for us as well with a strick regime of dosing (5 weeks minimum). Dr. Cindy Skinner was so understanding, caring and helpful.

Thanks to everyone that replied and tried to help!

Warm regards,
Shara and Napoleon
Austin, Texas