Dried nasal discharge but no URI signs?

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, I am curious too, regarding the pore. A lot of vets mistakenly irritate & damage their pores
only to cause infection in them. Just because the pores are light brown, etc doesn't mean that they
are clogged. That is a natural color & are hormones that are supposed to be there, in a waxy type of
substance. I highly discourage removing any pores or plugs, if they are not bothering him!
Please post some pictures so we can direct you better.

Tracie

 

[SupportDragon]

Hi there, hope you don't mind that I chime in. Can you post a pic of his pore that you're worried about ? Just want to see what you're dealing with.
I'm sorry he's been dealing with so many health problems, hopefully the G.I trouble will be fixed soon. For night temps. while he's sick you can probably go about 78-80F.

Here are pictures I took without manipulating his leg. The angling isn’t great, but he’s in more pain than I’ve ever seen him in before. So, I’m inclined to avoid touching that leg at all costs.
You can see there’s 2 pores on the very end of his leg. The one that’s more proximal to his body is starting to close. You can also see the swelling above and to the right of the pore. There’s also some mild redness to the right.
I soaked him really well and exfoliated the pore with a toothbrush to try and help it reopen. It has opened slightly, but the plug isn’t even visible through the pore itself (only under the skin). It reopened last sunday. The area around it has been inflamed for a full week.
There was some purulent exudate when I initially reopened it. No blood. No scale damage.
I’ve been alternating warm and cold compresses. Warm to help relieve pressure. Cold if he refuses to eat due to the pain.
Taking care of him has been a full time job for the past 2 months, so hopefully these issues finally clear soon. I’m sure he’s sick of me by now

 

[SupportDragon]

Hello,

I agree, I am curious too, regarding the pore. A lot of vets mistakenly irritate & damage their pores
only to cause infection in them. Just because the pores are light brown, etc doesn't mean that they
are clogged. That is a natural color & are hormones that are supposed to be there, in a waxy type of
substance. I highly discourage removing any pores or plugs, if they are not bothering him!
Please post some pictures so we can direct you better.

Tracie

I posted pictures in a response to the other commentor.
He’s always had difficulty with his pores, unfortunately. He hates when I touch them so I avoid it unless I’m exfoliating them after a soak or there’s a major plug.
The way I normally tell if the plug is severe is when I press upwards on the skin under his pores, I can see the outlines of the buildup through the skin. They don’t ever protrude outward through his pores, but the hormone still builds up within the glands themselves.
I’d say he only has this problem with about half his pores.
But, this pore has started to close on its own. It didn’t even look like a pore last week. It just looked like a tiny hole in his skin. Which was concerning because there was apparent buildup within the gland. The doctor noted it at his recheck (11/18) and I told her I was going to see if I could do anything to help it at home, first. I had been avoiding touching his pores since he started getting ill.
I attempted to remove any crusting to allow it to reopen on Sunday. Monday his entire femur region swelled up. It might be infected due to the purulent exudate I noticed Sunday, but the ceftazidime should cover that.
He has needed a dental but the doctor was holding off until his GI issues cleared. With the new impaction, she’s opting to put him under for the dental next week and close the pore. I’m not sure if this involves her fully removing that individual gland, she just said she was going to close it.

 

[AHBD]

Is he walking with difficulty ? Can you post a short video of him walking ? I see a very, very minor swelling but the antibiotics should take care of that, if it actually is. The pores themselves look fine but in my experience the more a person or vet messes with them, the worse they get. Or they actually create a problem that didn't exist. The only time I saw a vet dig up [ open up or do surgery ] on femoral pores the leg looked much worse after and developed a serious , painful infection. One thing about animals, they don't understand anything that is happening and are negatively affected far more by these procedures than we are. Is there a problem with his mouth so that it needs attention now ? Maybe give time for his leg to heal a bit and give him a break from all the stress.

 

[SupportDragon]

Is he walking with difficulty ? Can you post a short video of him walking ? I see a very, very minor swelling but the antibiotics should take care of that, if it actually is. The pores themselves look fine but in my experience the more a person or vet messes with them, the worse they get. Or they actually create a problem that didn't exist. The only time I saw a vet dig up [ open up or do surgery ] on femoral pores the leg looked much worse after and developed a serious , painful infection. One thing about animals, they don't understand anything that is happening and are negatively affected far more by these procedures than we are. Is there a problem with his mouth so that it needs attention now ? Maybe give time for his leg to heal a bit and give him a break from all the stress.

So, the only reason the doctor would open the pore is to remove the buildup. She’s not opening it permanently. Instead, she has opted to close it completely. The reasoning being, it already started to close itself. That’s why she thinks the impaction, and possible infection, has developed. Ideally, this will help avoid infection in the future.
There’s a number of reasons why she has recommended, and I have agreed to, the procedure. To keep it concise, he’s in so much pain that he won’t eat. How long do we have until he declines to the point where the procedure won’t be an option anymore?
I’m really sorry that I wasn’t clear to begin with, but this procedure is not a question. I truly appreciate everyone’s concern with his physical well-being, but there’s too much for me to explain over forums. I can’t physically show everyone everything wrong or explain all of the serious issues in one post. However, I’m very open to suggestions about how I can help him in the meantime.
My two major concerns are: how do I help him over the next 5 days (he’s not willingly accepting any food; I can’t give him NSAIDs on an empty stomach), and why does he keep getting sick/how do I proactively prevent it (specifically with GI issues)?

 

[AHBD]

You mentioned that his G.I tract was messed up after some sinusitis treatment [ ceft. injections ] so it seems that's when the appetite decline started from what you wrote. Coccidia, lots of meds., strange looking poos, diarrhea all contribute to no appetite.
I truly hope there will be some relief for your poor little guy. Have you tried some probiotics ? He might take meds. with a bit of raw honey. That might help his pores as well [ topically ]

 

[SupportDragon]

You mentioned that his G.I tract was messed up after some sinusitis treatment [ ceft. injections ] so it seems that's when the appetite decline started from what you wrote. Coccidia, lots of meds., strange looking poos, diarrhea all contribute to no appetite.
I truly hope there will be some relief for your poor little guy. Have you tried some probiotics ? He might take meds. with a bit of raw honey. That might help his pores as well [ topically ]

He really seems to like the honey when I put it on his nose, but he doesn’t seem to realize what it is. So he won’t eat it off the spoon himself (nothing could ever be easy with him ). I’m going to try some, topically, when he goes to bed. And I will try putting some on the meloxicam syringe tip when I administer it.
He started Bene-Bac yesterday. I’m hoping it’ll at least restore anything commensal that the metro got rid of.
His current doctor suggested his initial GI issues were caused by his sinusitis compromising his immune system. She’s pretty adamant that the ceftazidime itself wouldn’t cause GI issues.
But, maybe he never had a healthy commensal microbiome to begin with? Is it possible his GI tract was largely colonized by some competitive bacterium (ex: salmonella) that was susceptible to the ceft? If there’s no commensal bacteria to compete with pathogens, that would explain why he keeps developing infections.
I think the issue in that situation would be trying to kill off the pathogens that are competing with the commensal bacteria while it develops and preventing reinfection.
While he’s undergoing treatments, I’ve been strict with his biosecurity. Cleaning his enclosure daily with chlorhex, soaking him immediately after a bowel movement, only using disposable cleaning supplies, etc.
I’m also not sure what else to do to boost his immune system besides keeping him warm.

 

[AHBD]

It might be that once he's on a probiotic and maybe just a few drops of raw honey his tummy will start to feel better. I truly hope so, I feel bad for you both and I know it's super stressful for you.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your boy doing tonight?
You can continue with the honey, daily. That would definitely help out his tummy. Also, a non dairy
organic soy yogurt or a non dairy acidophiliz either one would be a beneficial probiotic for him. The
Ceftz/fortaz is an antibiotic & most of the time antibiotics do cause stomach upset.
What initially caused the pore issue? Too many times, vets manipulate the pores for unknown reasons
& make it worse. The pores are always filled in, with a waxy hormonal substance. If they weren't, there
would simply be a gaping hole. There is no reason at all for the vet to clear out the pore & then to close
it. Why would she want to close it, for what purpose would she do that? If that pore is hurting, try using
some of the raw honey on it, or you can try to find some colloidal silver gel to put on it.
I hope that he starts to feel better soon.

Tracie

 

[SupportDragon]

Hello,

How is your boy doing tonight?
You can continue with the honey, daily. That would definitely help out his tummy. Also, a non dairy
organic soy yogurt or a non dairy acidophiliz either one would be a beneficial probiotic for him. The
Ceftz/fortaz is an antibiotic & most of the time antibiotics do cause stomach upset.
What initially caused the pore issue? Too many times, vets manipulate the pores for unknown reasons
& make it worse. The pores are always filled in, with a waxy hormonal substance. If they weren't, there
would simply be a gaping hole. There is no reason at all for the vet to clear out the pore & then to close
it. Why would she want to close it, for what purpose would she do that? If that pore is hurting, try using
some of the raw honey on it, or you can try to find some colloidal silver gel to put on it.
I hope that he starts to feel better soon.

Tracie

I feel stupid because I didn’t realize these are holocrine glands until now. I wasn’t sure why his swelling has all of the characteristics of an abscess. It is infected, hard, painful, inflamed. It seems he’s forming what appears to be the reptile equivalent of a sebaceous abscess. Pores aren’t supposed to close. But this one is. His pore is quiet quitting. It took me way longer than it should’ve to put those pieces together, but I suppose it’s different when it’s your own pet.
I cannot emphasize enough how painful this has been for him. It took 3 days of meloxicam before I could get him to eat anything besides a little banana. The NSAID seems to have greatly helped with the pain, but not the inflammation.
The only limitation with the honey is that his pore isn’t the thing irritating him. The pore itself isn’t damaged/open in any way. It is the hard, inflamed lump that has formed around/in the gland itself. Underneath his skin. I’m sure the honey is helping prevent any further irritation of the inflamed skin, but not with the issue that requires surgery.
He also started Bene-Bac as a probiotic on Saturday with his other meds.
He let me take better pictures of his leg (previously I couldn’t do anything that might move it at all). His left leg is the bad one.
Please also note that this is after 10 days, NSAIDs, honey, daily warm baths, cold/warm compresses, etc. with very little improvement.

Almost every issue he has had has presented unconventionally. It is very apparent that everyone wants the best for him and I am extremely appreciative of that and of everyone’s suggestions and input. However, helping/treating my beardie is like throwing darts at a board blindfolded, so it’s extremely difficult to tell what is and isn’t going to require serious medical intervention.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It is always hard to know exactly what to do in cases that are more rare than others.
Since there is a hardness to the surrounding area, then somehow, the area around it has gotten
infected. It definitely doesn't happen often like that though.
You could also try some silver gel too. That usually works really well.
Please keep us updated on his condition. I sure hope that it improves for him.

Tracie

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Any updates for us on your dragon?

Tracie

 

[SupportDragon]

Hello,

Any updates for us on your dragon?

Tracie

He’s doing ok now. Whatever the infection was spread between 3 of the glands. He went too deep under general and the infection was worse than the doctor anticipated, so she had to make incisions to preserve the pores/glands and wake him up ASAP. The doctor had 3 backup plans depending on what she saw in his pore. Incisions were in none of them, so clearly the situation was severe.
I’ve been handling everything as aseptically as possible. He’s not allowed out of his tank unless I can thoroughly sanitize the area beforehand. I stopped free feeding. I scrub all of his equipment daily.
I think he’s in more pain than the doctor anticipated. She had him on 3 days of meloxicam, but now he’s not moving around at all. He’s eating a little (some solid food now too), but just sits up on his rock all day long and doesn’t move ever. I put on some sensory videos (he likes dancing fruit) for mental stimulation and he seems to have energy when I soak him. I’m going to speak with his doctor today about it; I worry the pain will slow his healing.
Look at these before and after of his teeth though!!

 

[AHBD]

Wow, great job on the teeth cleaning, really went from brown to white ! Like Tracie I've been thinking about him too and I feel so bad that he's going through so much. What a good natured little guy.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh poor guy, I hope he starts to feel better. That sounds like it would be painful for him. Hopefully all of
the infection clears up.
His teeth look greatly improved, awesome job! Persistence has paid off.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie