Concerned about Slim - possible yellow fungus.

[AHBD]

Yes, that does look too soggy. I had thought about leaving it open but was concerned about bacteria from the tank + his poos getting in it. Hopefully this treatment will help him out and this is not Y.F, if it is it just spread super quickly since the first bandaging was done. So sorry to see him like this. Hopefully there will be a positive outcome.

 

[Dreamwritten]

Thank you. I really appreciate all of your help. I will keep this thread updated as I care for him. If I don't see significant improvement with the Silvadene, I'm going to ask the vet about continuing the honey treatment. But for now I just want to see how he does.

I cleaned his tank thoroughly and put down some fresh carpet and covered his rope hammock with a soft towel. He seems to be relaxing and enjoying the warmth right now. Almost as soon as we put the silvadene on his wound he stopped black bearding and seemed much more alert, so I'm hoping the pain reliever aspect is working!

 

[Dreamwritten]

Here he is being adorable and relaxed!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am glad to hear the vet visit went well. The Silvadene should work well for that type of wound
but, it doesn't work well with yellow fungus since it is sulfa based.
Poor thing, I am so sorry that he is going through this. Are those yellowish scales not able to be
cleaned off at all, with a toothbrush?
Wounds like that can heal, but you definitely will need to keep it covered while it heals. Our
female whom we rescued, came with issues to us. Anyway, we had to eventually have a very
deep abscess removed & wow, there was a hole, but it healed. There is a nice whitish/grayish
scar but that's ok. All that mattered was that she made it through surgery.
He should be ok, but just keep it immaculately clean, every day to minimize infection. I know
you are already doing that!
Oh another note, your UVB tube, I see is mounted on the back wall of your tank. Can you get
that mounted directly overhead of him instead? He will get much better UVB exposure that
way, with it directing downward instead of outward.

He is such a nice looking dragon, too, very handsome.

Tracie

 

[Dreamwritten]

Thanks for following up Tracie!

I don't know for sure that it's yellow fungus... we will know when the test comes back. He also didn't mention scraping away the scales and I'm hesitant to do that myself and wind up making it worse.

We did have the wound bandaged but it resulted in it being too moist and the scab slid off, so that's why we're keeping it exposed. Shouldn't it be fine with the Silvadene since it's an antibiotic?

I gave him a bath this morning, dabbed the wound dry and applied the Silvadene. I think his appetite is starting to go from the stress--he hasn't eaten in a few days. The stress is starting to get to me, too. I have so much else going on in my life right now and it's so hard to balance everything and worry about him all day on top of it all. This has been going on for months and I just need this to get better...

I will try to move the UVB fixture but I'm not sure how. I used to have it in a hood on top of the tank and was told to mount it where it is now, since the mesh obstructs the UVB rays.

Thank you all for continuing to support little Slim. It means a lot that he has so many people thinking about him.

 

[AHBD]

Poor guy, and I know your nerves must be wracked t this point. It's normal for them to not eat when they aren't feeling too well . Do you have several types of feeders ? You can always make a smoothie that he might enjoy, of the good greens + a strawberry or blueberryies. A little bit of soy yogurt [ has probiotics ] might be good, fruit flavored from Walmart.

Did the vet advise baths ? I know that the area has been moist for a while but I didn't realize that the initial bandaging was done almost a month ago. If it had just had honey or silver cream applied way back before he was cut it might have done the trick, but having it wrapped for so long put the scales in this condition. And again, since they used betadine on the wound there is confusion as to whether this would be Y.F or stain from the betadine along with the soggy skin. Hopefully this will dry out + clear up.

The uvb is O.K as long as he stays right close to it but to attach it to the screen, just take the entire fixture + some sturdy twine. Loop the twine or wire through the screen and secure it by tying or twisting it . Here's how I have one done :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30028/full

 

[Dreamwritten]

Yes, the vet advised baths. I was surprised about that but he seemed to think it's a good idea. A daily bath, pat dry, then apply the cream.

I have crickets and megaworms but he seems uninterested in both, and has never been very interested in his veggies. I'm trying not to force feed him anything to avoid stressing him out more (like smoothies--he hates when I put the dropper in his mouth).

 

[AHBD]

Oh, O.K.

BTW, I was editing my last reply with a picture of how I mount a fixture inside my tank. so you probably didn't see that as you replied very quickly.

 

[Dreamwritten]

Just saw it, thank you! I have to find something VERY sturdy because unfortunately my cats like to sit on the tank to warm their butts. ( :lol: )

So I don't want them to accidentally knock it loose and then poor Slim gets another injury.

 

[AHBD]

Those kitties must be banished from the sick bay !

Do be careful, years ago one of my cats sat on a screen tank + busted it through, thankfully no lizards were harmed, but I wasn't home and it could have been a disaster. The cat probably scared himself to death + left the vicinity but he could have done lots of damage simply from the caved in lid or by looking to catch my little iguana.

 

[Dreamwritten]

Yeah... I do my best to keep them off it, but sometimes they manage to sneak on when I'm not paying attention! Unfortunately I can't close the door to keep them out because the room Slim's tank is in is also the room with the cat stuff.

 

[Dreamwritten]

Update time!

I'm doing the daily baths and cream as the vet prescribed, except tonight I skipped the bath to avoid the wound getting too moist/soft. The cream definitely seems to be helping although it's slow-going:

Some of the yellowish scales are slowly starting to flake off and the more "raw" parts seem to be scabbing over.

He ate some crickets last night. He definitely seems to be a bit frustrated and in a bit of pain, but he isn't acting too oddly.

Still waiting on the CANV results.

 

[AHBD]

Keeping it uncovered is definitely helping. Hoping with all my heart there's no CANV. Good to hear that he ate some crickets though, go Slim !