I adopted a beardie with yellow fungus (YF) in October of 2019. He unfortunately lost his battle a month ago today. I would love to be able to have another beardie but I know how contagious YF is and the last thing I want is to make another beardie go through what my baby went through. I read somewhere online that YF spores can stick around for six months - but I am also having a hard time finding any information on YF on the Internet. I let my beardie with YF run around my room, so basically everything I have he has touched. I do not know how to go about cleaning carpet, or anything in my room for a matter of fact. How can I disinfect properly to ensure another dragon does not get yellow fungus? Or is there a certain amount of time I need to wait to ensure all the spores are gone? If I have to wait, to totally fine, I just want to be 110% sure that there is no possibility of another beardie getting YF from my setup/household. I would greatly appreciate any information - and if anyone has any websites or sources with information on cleaning after yellow fungus that would be amazing as well.
Hi Alexa, sorry about your dragon, that is always a stressful time taking care of such a sick pet. You should clean + vacuum your room as best you can but to really be on the safe side don't let your dragon roam around in that room. Are there places in your house/apt. where your dragon did not roam ? What type of enclosure do you have, is it a tank or a custom build ? Cleaning with a soapy bleach mixture or soap and RWV [ red wine vinegar ] can kill most everything. It still might be best to get new decor though .
Thank you for your response. It is a tank, but I was planning on getting a new enclosure and all new decor just to play it completely safe. I am also concerned about the lights, he never touched them but I do not know if the fungus can be transmitted through air and if I need to clean light bulbs or light fixtures. Do you know how long YF spores stick around by chance? I find it hard to believe that it would stick around for a long period of time without a host - but it is such an evil disease I would not be surprised either.
I don't know about the lights but I think that if the fixtures were wiped down that they would be safe. I don't think there's a definite answer or proof either way so whatever you feel is safest in your mind.