infection i think. what can i do NOW?

[outrank17]

Ok. The vet was not a beardie expert, but he was an iguana expert. That was as best as I could get in this small town of Nacogdoches, TX. After class I might try to make some calls back home to the Houston area to see if any vet there is a beardie expert so that I can take Jean there.... MAYBE.

His toes haven't been like that since I've got him. However, his mouth has always been a bit off center. When the feet started getting bad, I thought it was retained shed or something... obviously, I waited way too long. If it is yellow fungus, what instructions would you give to me in order to treat it?

And also, with yellow fungus this bad, will it be hard for Jean to make progress? I just want Jean to get well. I don't care if he loses all his digits and everything, he's my one and only beardie.

 

[outrank17]

Also, Jean hasn't eaten a thing for the past three or four days, and it is obviously worrying me. He is still alert and everything, not really lethargic or anything. But he hasn't touched crix, worms, or greens. Could part of this be do too the meds? And if so, do I need to attempt force feeding or apple sauce or something crazy? I'm kinda worried that since it's starting to cool down outside and everything, he may begin to brumate and I won't know whats wrong.

I thank you couple of people (and whoever else on here that is) who are helping me. I know y'all are very, very knowledgeable and can help Jean.

 

[vickson420]

Wow That does look bad.I am not sure that its yellow fungus but it definately could be.No way to know for sure without a skin culture as Tracie said however the treatment for it is as follows and I dont think it would hurt to give it a shot.
This needs to be done daily:
You will need to get;Lamisil(otc at most pharmacy for athletes foot),either tee tree oil or witch hazel,betadine solution.
You want to soak him/her in a solution of water with a few drops of betadine solution(should look like a weak tea), to help disinfect. Then, either tea tree oil, or witch hazel should be used as an astringent to keep it clean. Then apply the lamisil treatment. This must be done on a daily basis.Also I recommend getting a probiotic like acidophilliz,benebac,soy yogurt or reptiaid to help with the possible internal repercussions.
One thing I want to stress please DO NOT USE peroxide.That will do major damage.Again the best thing to do is to go to a vet but start this right away anyway.Yellow fungus is extremely difficult to treat and is very contagious so do not allow any other BD in contact with him.

 

[outrank17]

Ok thanks! I'll be able to get on that tomorrow. About the skin culture and everything, I'm not sure when I'll be able to, unless vets are opened on the weekends (I don't know if the vet here does skin cultures).

1. In the chance that it is yellow fungus, what are the chances Jean will pull through?
2. When should I get concerned about Jean's not eating and weight loss, and what can I do about that?

 

[vickson420]

Ok thanks! I'll be able to get on that tomorrow. About the skin culture and everything, I'm not sure when I'll be able to, unless vets are opened on the weekends (I don't know if the vet here does skin cultures).

1. In the chance that it is yellow fungus, what are the chances Jean will pull through?
2. When should I get concerned about Jean's not eating and weight loss, and what can I do about that?

I would get jean on a baby food slurry diet now.He probably isnt eating because of the meds he was given.The antibiotics are tough on them.Also giving him the probitoics will help calm his tummy.Now as for the feeding you want to go get a veggie baby food and a chicken babyfood and mix them with a little water to thin it out and add a pinch of calcium then put it un the microwave for a few sec to warm it up.He may lick it off a spon or the tip of his nose but if he doesnt then you will need to get a neddless plastic syringe and feed it to him.Another thing you can try to see if you can jump his appetite is a product
called repta aid critical care formula.You can buy it at most pet stores.

Yellow fungus is very hard to cure but it can be done and also affects them internally as well so your going to have to be very methodical on his treatments.Also I forgot to mention its best to switch his substrate to something you can dispose of daily like papertowels to avoid reinfection.Keep us posted.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I just wondered how things were going for you today? I really do think a culture should be done, just to rule out any type of fungus for sure. It should take 5-7 days for culture.
When you begin to see his hipbones, the fatpads on top of his head have shrunken down & the base of his tail is losing mass, then you need to worry!
Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

 

[outrank17]

Hello,

I just wondered how things were going for you today? I really do think a culture should be done, just to rule out any type of fungus for sure. It should take 5-7 days for culture.
When you begin to see his hipbones, the fatpads on top of his head have shrunken down & the base of his tail is losing mass, then you need to worry!
Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

Jean is doing about as good as possible for a lizard with hurting orange toes on icky meds. His eyes seem to be a bit more droopy than usual, but he is always basking with his head up in the light. I hate giving him his meds, but it's kind of cute. As soon as I put the liquid in his mouth and put him down, he starts shaking his head like crazy as if to get the horrid taste off his taste buds. I'll try to contact the vet tomorrow and see if he can do a culture; but if he can't for some reason, I may have to go to Houston next week or something. Do y'all think I should consider stopping the antibiotic I'm using?

 

[K9KidsLove]

Hi...No, don't stop the antibiotics til you have a culture or bloodwork done.
Did you get some ReptiAid from a petstore? I mix it with some babyfood chicken and green beans and syringe it to him. Start with a couple of cc's and add a little more each day if he will eat it. If s/he likes the babyfood, put a tiny bit of it in the syringe when you give him the antibiotics so it doesn't taste so bad. If he is throwing his head, he is probably losing some of it out of his mouth.
Good luck
Patsy

 

[outrank17]

Ok, a small update. In 40 minutes I'm going to the vet to get a culture done, and then they'll send it in to whoever inspects it. Also, I went to Walmart and got the things I needed to get to treat yellow fungus (I got witch hazel because I didn't see tree oil; also got the equate version of lamisil--I assume that's ok). I didn't see soy yogurt at walmart, so I got some stuff that had "probiotic" on it. Jean ate a couple pieces of greens today. That's not alot, but hey, it's progress.

Question: Are repta aid critical care formula and reptiaid the same thing? The pet store here doesn't have either, but tomorrow I'll make a drive to the next town's Petsmart to get some.

 

[vickson420]

Ok, a small update. In 40 minutes I'm going to the vet to get a culture done, and then they'll send it in to whoever inspects it. Also, I went to Walmart and got the things I needed to get to treat yellow fungus (I got witch hazel because I didn't see tree oil; also got the equate version of lamisil--I assume that's ok). I didn't see soy yogurt at walmart, so I got some stuff that had "probiotic" on it. Jean ate a couple pieces of greens today. That's not alot, but hey, it's progress.

Question: Are repta aid critical care formula and reptiaid the same thing? The pet store here doesn't have either, but tomorrow I'll make a drive to the next town's Petsmart to get some.

Hi
Thats good news thats your getting the culture done.Dont give him that probiotic yogurt because its dairy and it will make him worse what you need is SOY yogurt.Stoneyfield farms makes a god one called yosoy most markets carry it but if you cant find it then get some acidophilliz from the pet store its a very good probiotic as well.Yes the repta aid is what some refer to as reptiaid its fine.The equate is fine so long as the ingredients are the same.Keep us posted.

Vicky

 

[outrank17]

Dont give him that probiotic yogurt because its dairy and it will make him worse what you need is SOY yogurt.

Ok, thanks. I guess I'll have several things of yogurt for my breakfast then. I'll pick some of that soy up then. My girlfriend is coming back here tomorrow and I asked her to get some reptiaid from the Petsmart in houston. I just fed Jean 1 ML of chicken veggie baby food. 25% of that I probably had to clean off from around his lips... he's a very messy dragon.

I told the vet to swab his back foot as well as his front foot (he mainly just wanted to swab a front foot I think), and so I think he got both feet in the culture. But would it really matter? If his back feet have yellow fungus, would they show up on the front feet as well?

 

[vickson420]

Dont give him that probiotic yogurt because its dairy and it will make him worse what you need is SOY yogurt.

Ok, thanks. I guess I'll have several things of yogurt for my breakfast then. I'll pick some of that soy up then. My girlfriend is coming back here tomorrow and I asked her to get some reptiaid from the Petsmart in houston. I just fed Jean 1 ML of chicken veggie baby food. 25% of that I probably had to clean off from around his lips... he's a very messy dragon.

I told the vet to swab his back foot as well as his front foot (he mainly just wanted to swab a front foot I think), and so I think he got both feet in the culture. But would it really matter? If his back feet have yellow fungus, would they show up on the front feet as well?

Yes they can be messy cant they

Well its good that you got both done but chances are both are the same problem.Did he have anything else to say.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Good you got a skin culture done. I am anxious to know what the ailment is. It is most likely the same ailment on front & back feet.
I would not medicate right now, until you find out exactly what you are medicating for.
I hope he is hanging in there for you. Please keep us posted on him.


Tracie

 

[outrank17]

How much babyfood should I feed Jean a day? He's 13 inches head to tail and about 7-8 months.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

A good feeding rule to follow is approximately .5 ml's of food per 50 grams or 1ml of food per 100 grams. If you feel he needs a bit more, you can bump it up just a little bit. He could use a bit extra so you can go to 2 ml's of food for him, safely no problem. Just divide it up into a few feedings.
How is he doing today?

Tracie