Is this shedding or an injury?

[Zee]

HI,

I'm fairly new here & this is my second week w/ my beardie. He is approximately 7inches long, eats live feed twice per day & is offered veggies & munches on them. I noticed this red, scaleless area around his knee yesterday & am kind of worried. Is this a wound?

*I forgot to point out that he was very agitated last night. He would puff up his body & his beard when I came close.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....I really can't see anything that looks sore on his knee. Maybe the angle and lighting.....if you could get a close up it would help but from that pic he looks fine. It's great that he's eating well, too !

 

[Zee]

Here's a close up image of the area I am referring to, looking at it now I realize it's more on his thigh than his knee. You can't really tell in the picture but looking at it up close it was very red & looked almost raw. This morning it looked ok, no longer red but the scales look smooth--different from the ones surrounding the rest of the leg. Also, in the first picture you can see how he is puffed up, he is NOT that wide on a regular basis.

Thank you for your help. I'm so worried that he might have gotten hurt somehow.

 

[AHBD]

I can see a slight difference in the color there, it's not showing too much in the pic but I'm sure that you must see something there. Is he housed alone ? If he's with another dragon it would be good to separate them just in case he was bitten. Is there a heating element that he can get close to ? Can you post a full pic of his tank ?

At any rate, it doesn't look serious at all but if you'd like to put something on it that can help if that is sore you can use raw unpasteurized honey [ an excellent antimicrobial ] or a dab of Neosporin. If you use honey just be sure there are no crickets hiding in the tank that would come out after lights are off and might bite at the spot. But he should be O.K even if he's feeling a bit of a sting there right now.

 

[Zee]

No he's by himself, I only have one beardie. I checked for burrowing crickets & found nothing. Also, the next day the skin had grown back just fine, if a little lighter in shade, I was just worried because I didn't think that shedding would make it look raw & smooth (like a healing wound). I am probably being completely melodramatic.

Behavior wise he is eating & I noticed this morning that he is shedding skin on his head so maybe it was just him shedding? He looks bigger, I still need to get a scale to track his growth but he definitely has gained some girth & length.

Here's a picture of his set up, I have some strong bubls & a stand coming in since his tank is just a little too cold for him, I think. He never moves from the highest point under the basking light.

Thank you so much for putting up w/ me! :notworthy: :notworthy: