Fungus (Just finished treatment for Coccidia)

[Superfictious]

So, Esbi just went through a week long treatment for coccidia. Silly me would assume that the medication the vet gave her would be written on the bottle, but it wasn't. I made sure to get coccidia written down, and the parasite they found, (eimeria), but not the medication. I'll hopefully be finding out tomorrow when I go ask about her follow-up fecal. She went through a light shedding while on the medication. Towards the end of the week she got a bit of her appetite back.

Anyway, now her appetite is waning again. She only eats if I force feed her. She's been loving hornworms, and I haven't been able to get her one for the last few days. I'll hopefully be getting some tomorrow, but if she's lost her taste for them too, I'll be really worried.

She got a black spot on her leg. Then I noticed a few on her beard. After a full body check, I found more -- on her belly, on her back leg, the bottom of a foot, etc. At first spot, I figured too much pigment, or a discolored scale. But I think the areas are getting less solid and slowly more blotchy, though they are still rather small and concentrated.

I've ordered Acidophiliz+ and Jump Start tonight. It says it'll be here in 6-10 days (Which is a freakin' long time if she stops wanting hornworms).

My step-mother has given me tea tree oil, which was talked about it other posts about yellow fungus as an early treatment.

Help and suggestions?

 

[Superfictious]

I just got home, and did some tea tree oiling. I'm really thinking fungus now. It's spreading, and some residue comes off when I rubbed it with a q-tip.

Should I still give her baths? And if so, can I add things to water to help?

 

[Superfictious]

>:

 

[Superfictious]

Alright. I have some chicken baby food and gatorade. I also got some witch hazel. Should I use that instead of the tea tree oil?

Anybody know if I should be giving her baths or not?

 

[Superfictious]

I've rubbed the spots with the witch hazel, gotten her to drink some gatorade, and fed her a small bit of this blender concoction I made. It has some waxworms, butterworms, mango, applesauce, chicken baby food, and a small splash of gatorade. I've put most of it in the freezer so I can defrost portions daily to use. She's not eating much of it willingly.

 

[beardie parents]

I wish I could help. Christmas time is a very bad time for a beardie illness. I found something from http://www.reptileuv.com. Click on the second tab on the very top left of the home screen titled 'our products'. When that screen comes up, farther down on the left of the screen is a tab titled 'probiotics'. There is something called Nurtribac df. If you call them, Bob may be able to help you get the Nurtibac df faster and its supposed to be really good for beardies that have been on various medications for parasites or other problems. I, also, suggest you pm drache613 (Tracie) she is one of the best ones on here for this problem.

I do suggest you continue to try to feed him the baby food, chicken, vegetable and the such.

I hope your beardie does better.

 

[Superfictious]

Thanks very much for taking the time to post, and for that site.

I believe that the Acidophiliz+ I ordered is the same type of thing. Probiotic to return the intestinal track to a happy balance of bacteria. I'm wondering if this site would get the product to me quicker, though. (And the shipping isn't as much as the other site...) I think I'll be ordering products off of there in the future.

I got a syringe-full into her, and will hopefully get another one in soon. I'll keep up with that, for sure.
And PM Tracie. I see that recommended a lot.

Thanks for everything.

 

[beardie parents]

The only thing that site I gave you has is the benebac df and the repcal calcium with NO d3 that we recommend on this site and the vitamins they recommend on this site. Go to the site, find the benebac link and click on it and read what it says about the benebac df. It's supposed to be better than the acidolphis +.

 

[Judah'sHuman]

Hello and Merry Christmas

I am very sorry that you have a sick beardie. What are your temps right now? It is reccomended that your temps be just a few deg. higher durring these times. Cool temps normally 75 ish should be 80-85 F and your basking temps 105. Also, you will want to keep from misting the viv and keep all water sources out and only do the baths. Make sure that he is compleatly dry after the baths. Tea tree oil is just as effective as the witch hazel, both are astringents. Can you post some pics so we can see the "Fungus"? It would not hurt to get an anti fungal cream such as lotramine cream (for athleats foot). Wash the area well and then apply the tea tree oil (or witch hazel) and then dab some of the lotramine on the spots.

Hope this helps
Stac

 

[Superfictious]

I read it, and will probably get some if medication is needed in the future, but I can't order anything right now. I haven't been able to link my bank account up with my paypal, and when I ordered from the other site, I was using my Dad's paypal. Thanks though.

The only way I can see getting temps up right now would be to cover the top of the cage with a towel or something similar. I wanted to get a heating pad today, but the shop I go to is closed. I'll be able to pick one up tomorrow. I'm considering wrapping her in a blanket with a hot water bottle for the night.
I don't mist the viv at all, and have taken the water out. 8] Thanks for clearing up the baths. I've been wanting to give her one, for hydration, and to maybe loosen up the gunk on her so I can clean it off better.
I don't have picture taking capabilities right now, but the stuff is black in most parts, and dark green in others.
I'll get some lotramine tomorrow, because everything is still closed. Thanks for telling me about it.

I'll bath her and clean her up now.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Try getting some betadine from the drugstore or look in the pharmacy/supplement area in the grocery stores. It is very cheap. Dilute that into bathwater, just to help clean her.
Then, as suggested, the tea tree oil OR witch hazel, either one, is fine. They are both great to use as astringents, & it does not take much at all. Also, the lotrimen, or lamisil are the best things to use to put on following the baths & astrigent treatments. It is a cream & can be applied a couple of times per day.
The best thing is consistency. Do not miss a day. The fungus is very hard to get rid of so you have to be persistent & you can beat it.
Also, as suggested, using a probiotic will help.
Keep her hydrated as best as you can, daily. Definitely though keep her humidity levels down in her tank as much as you can. Wrapping her in a blankie at night will be great.
As soon as you can, post some pictures so we can take a look at her.

Tracie

 

[Superfictious]

Thank you so much for taking the time to help.

I will grab betadine and lotrimen/lamisil tomorrow before work. Once I get home, I'll be able to so the bath/astringent/cream combo, but before leaving, I'll so a bath/astringent. I'll use the witch hazel I bought, because the tea tree oil belongs to my step mother.
If that's what needs to be done, I won't miss a day, and should be able to do the whole process twice.
I'll start her on the probiotic and jumpstart as soon as they come in. I have a dehumidifier that I run during the day, because it's very noisy, but I'll just start leaving it on all the time. I'm suddenly thankful it's winter -- I'm in Ontario and basically live on a lake, it gets SO humid in the summer!

She's in a blankie right now, which is sitting on another blanket that's wrapped around bottles with hot water in them. Would keeping her a bit warmer than usual at night help her fight this?

I'll have all the medicinal things she needs tomorrow, but I'm worried about her appetite. She hasn't been eating wax or butterworms, and is loosing interest in her salad mix. I'll be getting her hornworms tomorrow too, which she goes absolutely nuts for, so if she's lost a taste for those, I'll be worried. The Jumpstart should be here earliest 31st, latest Jan. 4th.

I'll also do my best to get my hands on a camera tomorrow.

Thanks again, Tracie.

 

[ChamNW]

Super
You've already gotten real good advice on treating the fungus. But let me help you with the repressed appetite. Sometimes jumpstart will work, sometimes not.
You just finished treating for coccidia and you can see what affects the drug treatment had on your dragon. The new alternative to standard drugs is Reptaid which is described on this Forum under ForSale.
It is very possible that your dragon still has some coccidia because depending on the drug it doesn't aways wipe out that very persistant bug in one treatment. But giving your dragon Reptaid will help eliminate any remaining coccidia.
And it will definitely restore your dragon to increased appetite. You will be very surprised to see the difference that Reptaid can make for restoring a dragon's health. And Reptaid will strenthen its immune system back up to full strength very quickly!

Read this very recent post from another forum from a dragon owner:

Im a true believer in this stuff. I had a Cham that wouldn't open his eyes,barely drink much less eat. I was for sure he was done for so I figured I would try this stuff and no joke he has done a complete 180 he eats non stop eyes clear and open and he has been putting on weight I also tried this on one of my lathargic beardeds and he has done the same he is head bobbing running around and eating like a freight train
Feel free to call about my experiences
Brandon 832-659-8225
extremusarboreus.com

Let me know if I can help more...
Elliot
http://www.chameleonsnorthwest.com

 

[Superfictious]

Cham,
I've heard about that stuff, and will definitely keep it in mind, but I can't order online on my own at the moment.
I really need to have a sit down with my bank and figure out why it and my paypal aren't working out.
I've got the site bookmarked though, and may be able to get some in the future.
Thanks for the info.

As an update...
I've had my first outing for the day, to get hornworms. I also got a new tube UVB, to replace the coil bulb she's got now. The new one is a ReptiGlo 15W 10.0 from Exo Terra. I need to get a fixture for it when I buy the betadine and lamisil later today. It'll be hooked up and ready to go for her tomorrow.

Best news of all: She ate two hornworms, and looked like she'd have been interested in a third!
Could she have a taste for them, and be holding out for them? I'm going to grab a few more tomorrow, and a couple of crickets, to see if she still has any interest in them.

She's on a scale in front of me, and is at 389g. She's a yearling with a tail nip, and is at 13". Is this weight acceptable? When I first got her, she was 420g, but she was never handled, and didn't have anything to climb and exercise on in her viv.

I can't get a camera today, but hopefully tomorrow. The spot on her leg is looking better already.

8]

 

[jarett_harrison]

Everyone is giving great advice.
But, the light you bought isnt the right one...
You need either a reptiSUN 10.00 or a reptiGLO 8.0.
You should be able to exchange it.