Infected scales, possibly bacterial or fungal infection, dont know what to do :(

[AHHHHHHH]

I have two beardies (they're caged together which I know isn't recommended but I didn't know that at the time I put them together and now whenever I try separating them they don't move or eat so I just keep them together since they aren't hurting or bothering each other at all).
My male dragon has been having alot of skin issues recently, it first started a few months ago and I was going to bring him to the vet but then after awhile it went away and got better so I ended up not. However the issue has reappeared recently and I tried doing everything the same as last time but it's just getting worse. I thought it was just stuck shed and I would always just soak him and if it was something that came off easily I would try to help him with it. During the past month or two, some of these areas of stuck shed started to pile up because he would get upset if I ever tried to help him get it off, so I left the shed alone thinking it would eventually fall off on its own. The largest issue area is on his rear leg on the knee, his shed kept building up here and eventually fell off leaving a large open wound here. Some of the scales around it look infected and the lower half of his foot hasn't been shedding properly at all now, and whenever I peel the top layer of shed off the scales underneath seem very weak. Other sores have popped up on him since the leg issue, one on the side of his face near his ear hole, one on the bottom of his foot, one on his side and one on his front arm. These areas aren't as raw as his leg but they have scales that are piling up and then finally falling off and revealing raw skin. All these areas are much darker than the rest of him. He has patches on his skin that are more yellow than the rest of him but I'm not sure whether or not these spots are from old scales being a little dirty, his coloring or if it's indicative of something like yellow fungus. I've read alot about the possibilities and I'm fairly certain that he either has a fungal or bacterial issue. I would love to bring him to the vet and have tried booking him an appointment but I'm very limited to where I can go given there aren't many herp vets in my area and every place I have called is booked solid for the foreseeable future. Are there are any home tests to figure out what the issue is? I don't know what else to do because I got him from a Petco store and he was already in fairly bad condition (underweight, missing a toe) so it's not like I could contact a breeder for any help either.
I've also noticed he's been losing a bit of weight lately, even though he eats greens consistently, squash occasionally and gets crickets every other day or every three days (three times a week typically)
I'm really worried about him but I can't bring him to a vet due to the back up (plus ive heard some questionable things about beardies and vets), and am hoping there's something I can do at home for him, he has the same amount of energy as always and still has an appetite. I have attached some pictures of the problem areas

Thank you to anyone who can help me

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Those areas do look like fungal issues to me. Are you sure that there aren't any bites on him inflicted by the other
one that have gotten infected? Even if not, I would highly recommend separating them for now due to the problems
that fungus can cause. It is easily spread so you don't want your other one to get the same infected areas.
They do tend to become a bit stressed with relocation changes, etc but will eventually get used to the changes.
Do you have any raw, unpasteurized honey that you could start putting on those areas since they are raw?
The main thing at the moment, is to keep the areas clean as much as possible.

Tracie

 

[AHHHHHHH]

Hello,

Those areas do look like fungal issues to me. Are you sure that there aren't any bites on him inflicted by the other
one that have gotten infected? Even if not, I would highly recommend separating them for now due to the problems
that fungus can cause. It is easily spread so you don't want your other one to get the same infected areas.
They do tend to become a bit stressed with relocation changes, etc but will eventually get used to the changes.
Do you have any raw, unpasteurized honey that you could start putting on those areas since they are raw?
The main thing at the moment, is to keep the areas clean as much as possible.

Tracie

Thank you for your response, I was hoping it wouldn't be a fungal issue, I've heard they're alot harder to treat than bacterial, I'm going to go ahead and order the Lamisil cream(I think that's what it was) and I'll get some honey, is that something I can get from the grocery store?
So I've always kept their cage as clean as possible so I don't think even in the case my other is biting him, it could have gotten infected. As far as the possibility of biting at all, he does try mating with her occasionally, but I haven't seen anything get so nasty that she's biting him, typically they interact great together and share basking spaces and food with no evidence of power struggles between the two.
Separating them is a difficult task due to space, I have them set up in a 120 gallon, and my room is small. I have another 40 gallon tank but it's occupied by my baby uromastyx, who just got adjusted to being home in general and it would really be a shame to uproot both my female dragon and the uro and put her In a smaller tank, that honestly I don't have space for. I know it's probably awful of me not to move them around at this point but truly believe they wouldn't benefit from it much more than they would have it stress them out.
On that note I'm going to monitor my female dragon as much as the male, I'll maybe use the cream on her too as a preemptive measure?
The honey is supposed to be sticky, is there anyway I can wrap up his leg after applying honey? I don't want him getting it on things and trying to eat it and things getting worse, maybe one of those wrap around cloths? I'm sure a bandaid could make it worse due to being very sticky.
I'm going to assume it's definetly a fungal infection, since it does definetly compare closer to that from what I've seen doing my own research on this, is there any issues that can arise from treating it like a fungal instead of bacterial? I know about the oral meds being harsh on their systems so I'm probably going to try to stay off of those especially since he's lost a little weight.
I really appreciate your help though, I'm going to start with the honey and whatever else I can do in the mean time

 

[AHHHHHHH]

How late in the infection would you consider this to be and would it possibly be beneficial to put him on oral medications? I know it's not always ideal but I'm scared that it's too late to treat with just topicals. If so what would the correct dosage be?

 

[KarrieRee]

You want raw unpasteurized honey you can find it in the organic foods in the health food section at the grocery store and I would get them separated ASAP-- please advise her AHBD
@AHBD
@CooperDragon

 

[AHBD]

Use honey as recommended and don't wrap it, just keep the enclosure clean, no loose substrate. Never pick the scales off, big mistake that always causes more problems. Dragons should be separated, they may seem to sulk but that dragon is already skinny so he needs his own place to live alone, can you divide the tank ?

 

[AHHHHHHH]

I can divide the tank, it'll take some work but it should be possible, I could also put him in a 20 gallon tank for the time being if that would be any better, make things easier to keep clean and so he wouldn't have too much room to hurt himself in anymore and he could be more closely monitored. Which would be better?
Also I'm going to start the Lamisil and betadine along with raw honey. In what order should I apply these and how often?

 

[AHBD]

That's good, it's probably best to divide the tank so he still has a decent amount of room, 20 gallon is too small. At this point I'd just use the honey because the wounds are not like fungal, even if they were, the raw, unpasteurized honey would be the best thing. It protects + heals the wounds while promoting tissue granulation.

 

[AHHHHHHH]

Oh, Tracie had said it looked like a fungal infection. I was unable to get honey tonight as I had a late shift at work but I'm going to pick some up tmr. I have some "repti shedding aid", is that something I could spray on him to help him out? I'm going to try to find something to use as a divider for the two within the next day

 

[KarrieRee]

Oh, Tracie had said it looked like a fungal infection. I was unable to get honey tonight as I had a late shift at work but I'm going to pick some up tmr. I have some "repti shedding aid", is that something I could spray on him to help him out? I'm going to try to find something to use as a divider for the two within the next day

Use a piece of cardboard- it needs to be done ASAP-- I have been told shedding aid does not work

 

[AHBD]

Shed aid is not for wounds at all, just wait until you get the honey. Remember, it must be raw unpasteurized.

 

[AHHHHHHH]

I don't have any cardboard around my house, I also don't really know how to keep anything fixed between them, I just put some honey on him for the first time, he wasn't a fan and just wanted to eat it. I'll keep up with the honey, but how often should I be doing that? Also is there anything else I can use help him out? How long before I see results with the honey so that i can twll whether or not its working? Ps I did get the unpasteurized raw honey

 

[AHBD]

Can you post a pic of the large set up ? I did mean to add that the raw hind leg looks like it has some swelling, probably infection and your dragon will most likely needs antibiotics. Good to hear that you got the honey for him though. Just be patient, there's no way to tell how long a variety of wounds will take to heal. The raw area on the leg looks the worst, the other areas not quite so bad and should take much less time.

 

[AHHHHHHH]

I don't have a great picture of it right now, I just got to work but I'll leave one now and post up a better one later if you'd like. What antibiotics would you recommend/where would I be able to get them? Im gonna do the honey twice a day and rinse him off before each time in a little bath. If you wanted to know: the hammock and rock they're sitting on are both directly under a basking lamp- they're both able to get onto the hammock I've made sure. The entire tank has a uvb strip bulb across it and they also have a ceramic heater next to the basking bulb. The left side of the tank is in the 100° area and the right side is typically around 80°. The humidity ranges from 20-40% (probably dependant upon the weather). They have the two water dished because my female likes to swim for some reason, so I keep the large one for her and the small one for them to sip out of, yoshi (the male) stays away from the large bowl but I'm wondering if I should take it out that he doesn't contaminate the water. I spot clean the tank everyday when I see any mess.

 

[AHBD]

That's a very nice set up for one beardie, nicely done. For a separate enclosure you could consider a very large [ about 50 gallon ] plastic tote from Walmart or Home Depot and just rig some lights over the top. As for water bowls, definitely take them out. They can become loaded with bacteria and keep his wounds infected. Apply the honey 1-2 X a day but don't wash it off every day unless it gets dirty. Even then it will still protect his wounds. Antibiotics should only be dispensed by a vet but you can contact Reptile Supplies by Bug-De-Lite