Bad stuck shed, yellow spots & black patches?

[gweebs]

Hi,
I went away for college for quite a long time and was not able to visit home much. My mom was taking care of my four year old beardie named bowser, when I came home at the end of the semester he really didn’t look good at all. He has so much built up shed, black patches on his upper tail & his tank was absolutely filthy. I did a deep clean of his tank, called the vet and made an appointment. They weren’t much help in telling me how to help fix all of this but they gave us silver sulfadiazine cream for the stuck shed. The cream helps a lot, i’m giving him baths daily and the bottom portion of his tail is finally shedding but i’m really concerned about the black portion on his upper tail. It only showed up a day or two ago and it doesn’t look like rot to me but i’m really unsure. I’m also concerned about the yellow spots under his chin, it’s hard to tell if it’s just ready to shed or if it’s something more. For context, he’s been behaving totally normal, eating enthusiastically, pooping once a day (it looks very regular) and besides those two concerning spots his temperament is totally normal. If you have any inkling as to what these things could be or if it would be smart to take him back to the vet because of them, please let me know.

 

[Longfellow777]

I know those creams kick butt so I’m sure he will be ok but I don’t have any personal experience with stuck shed or anything bacterial luckily. This people may know more once they see the photos
@Drache613
@AHBD
@CooperDragon
@Claudiusx

 

[gweebs]

Okay, thank you so much for replying!

 

[CooperDragon]

The scales on his chin look quite healthy and normal. Just natural yellow coloring and indication that he is in a good mood. Nothing to worry about there.

As far as the tail goes, it looks like there is some darkening along the top of some of the scales, and possibly some swelling. It doesn't look like the scales are damaged/wounded/scabby, so that's good. The swelling may be related to shedding, but I'm not certain. I'd keep an eye on that. It's hard to tell about the overall color due to the white stains (from the silver cream?) but I don't see cause for immediate concern based on those photos.

 

[gweebs]

@CooperDragon
Okay, awesome! I’m going to continue to apply the cream twice a day and give him plenty of baths, I may take him to the vet if the dark scales don’t clear up in a few days so if that’s the case I will be sure to post an update. Thank you so much for your help!

 

[AHBD]

I agree with Cooperdragon. One more suggestion is to skip the daily baths unless he gets dirty. Constant soaking can cause more of a problem to questionable looking scales.

 

[gweebs]

I agree with Cooperdragon. One more suggestion is to skip the daily baths unless he gets dirty. Constant soaking can cause more of a problem to questionable looking scales.

Okay awesome in that case i’ll avoid baths for now and just use the paste, thank you for your help!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor thing, that retained shed definitely doesn't feel very good. I agree, his chin looks fine, but
his tail needs some work. I would continue using the silver cream, or you could even try some
raw unpasteurized honey on the area also in case there is any infection going on also.

Tracie

 

[gweebs]

Hey all, just wanted to again thank all of you for your help and post an update on Bowsers tail. It’s looking loads better after almost two weeks of using the medicine. Below is a picture of his progress! Still a few patches that need work but overall it’s much better!As said before, thank you so much for all of your reccomendations! @Drache613 @AHBD @CooperDragon @Longfellow777

 

[AHBD]

Good to hear it ! It does look better, post a pic after his tail is done shedding to show the progress even more clearly. He sure is a great looking dragon , nice range of colors with the cool red streak up his back.

 

[Longfellow777]

Very happy to hear he’s more comfortable. I agree too he’s got great color and also really dig the red streaks.