Is this Yellow Fungus?

[milo0]

For about 2 weeks now, Milo hasn't been himself. I changed his cage decorations completely with a new piece of driftwood, which is when I started noticing the change. He refused to go and bask, and would just sulk in the corner on the cool side, or inside his hide. He spent almost 3 days straight just staying in his hide this week until I pulled him out and removed the hide completely. I went to go give him a bath last night when I noticed he had this yellow hue on his belly. Now, he's always had a little bit of gold mixed in with his beard and belly but I don't remember it being this much. I could be just paranoid, or there might be something going on with him. He also has been showing his stress marks more than usual (I thought he was just pissed because I changed his cage around), and his appetite hasn't been well. I have been trying to make him hungry enough to eat his veggies but he continues to refuse. He ate a few of his pellets last night though so it's not like he's not eating at all... but tonight, he wasn't interested in his roaches at all. He's been spoiled with hornworms and silkworms, so I'm unsure if he's just not a fan of roaches anymore, or if he's not feeling well.

Anyways, here's some pics. I don't see any lesions or weird spots on his skin... it's just this weird yellowness. It could just be his markings and natural coloring, but I really am not sure. What are your thoughts? And if no one is sure, would it be harmful to treat him with Lamisil anyways? I just recently took him to the vet and I don't think I can afford another vet appointment unless I 100% have to.

 

[Gail]

It doesn't really look like YF, especially since it seems to be mostly inside the spots. Any chance he is getting ready to shed? Have you tried to give him a god scrub with a soft toothbrush? I've seen tummies go yellow when stained or from a upcoming shed.

Treating him with lamsil won't hurt anything and if it does turn out to be YF, treating it early will really help.

 

[milo0]

It doesn't really look like YF, especially since it seems to be mostly inside the spots. Any chance he is getting ready to shed? Have you tried to give him a god scrub with a soft toothbrush? I've seen tummies go yellow when stained or from a upcoming shed.

Treating him with lamsil won't hurt anything and if it does turn out to be YF, treating it early will really help.

Hey thanks for the quick reply! I'm actually not sure about the shedding at all. I didn't even consider that to be a possibility. He hasn't had a full body shed in months (he's 3 years old so he doesn't shed much anymore) so maybe he's getting ready for a full shed. Now that you mention it, he's been a little fidgety when it comes to handling him the past few days. He will wriggle around a lot more than normal. Plus he's been a little sleepy and not hungry, and I remember now that he rarely ate during his shed in the past. He just became lazy and a little grumpy. Could that explain the stress marks maybe as well?
Wow, I feel dumb for not even thinking that. He shed his tail and legs a few months ago but yeah, as far as body shedding, it has been a while. And as far as the bath goes, I usually scrub him with a toothbrush but haven't recently. I'll run to the store tomorrow and get a baby toothbrush for that. And if it isn't YF, would it be wise to maybe do a Betadine soak instead of Lamisil? I read that using a combo of those two are generally the best ways to treat it, but I want to make sure whichever one I'm using is gentle enough and won't cause him any harm. I hate to treat him for something he may not have, but I'm super paranoid and would never forgive myself if he ended up having it. :/

 

[Gail]

I've not ever treated YF myself but I know betadine and lamisil are safe treatments, I would feel comfortable using either/both on my dragon.

You might pick up a little bottle of baby shampoo and give him a good scrub, wouldn't hurt and it might help loosen up some of the dirt if it is just stain.

I've never had a dragon get stress marks from shedding but its possible. I know my guy turns into a beast when he sheds. He also gets a yellow tint to his tummy and chest before a shed.

 

[milo0]

I've not ever treated YF myself but I know betadine and lamisil are safe treatments, I would feel comfortable using either/both on my dragon.

You might pick up a little bottle of baby shampoo and give him a good scrub, wouldn't hurt and it might help loosen up some of the dirt if it is just stain.

I've never had a dragon get stress marks from shedding but its possible. I know my guy turns into a beast when he sheds. He also gets a yellow tint to his tummy and chest before a shed.

Oh that's interesting! Maybe the yellowness I see then is just because he might be beginning to shed. And that's good to know that both of those meds are both safe. I think I'll pick up some Betadine later and a little toothbrush for scrubbing to see if that helps. It definitely can't hurt. I noticed that when he was in the shower tonight, I still saw the yellow spots but they seemed a little less vivid. I could be wrong though since it was a little dark, but I might have panicked for nothing. I'm going to check him out tonight once he's asleep because his belly tends to be pure white at night, so it'll be a little easier to see if the yellow is still there. He tends to change colors a lot too (he will turn pure gold when happy/bath time, orange/gold when outside, and brown when he's pissed haha. They're like little chameleons.

Thanks for your reply again. I'll update when I check his belly out later tonight and maybe will get some better pics.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there......your boy Milo just has a yellow belly developing, it's not Y.F. Years ago I had some high yellow dragons and on some of them the belly was more yellow than that, on others it was mostly in the rosettes [ circles ] But that's definitely just color, and it may also be a shed coming on but it's not Y.F. And him not eating and hiding is probably related to the driftwood change, some dragons just get upset for a while when their tank gets re-done in any way . I'm sure he'll be fine.

 

[milo0]

Hi there......your boy Milo just has a yellow belly developing, it's not Y.F. Years ago I had some high yellow dragons and on some of them the belly was more yellow than that, on others it was mostly in the rosettes [ circles ] But that's definitely just color, and it may also be a shed coming on but it's not Y.F. And him not eating and hiding is probably related to the driftwood change, some dragons just get upset for a while when their tank gets re-done in any way . I'm sure he'll be fine.

Phew, both of you guys have reassured me then! I was panicking so much when I saw it. I hold him all the time and it's never been that noticeably yellow. He has yellow and orange in his beard, but never that much on his belly. He's actually a lot more white today and less stressed now that I moved his cage back to his normal set up. I now have a $40 piece of driftwood just lying around, but hey. He's happier without it lol.

In that case, I may hold off on any kind of meds or special baths. I like the baby shampoo idea though so I'm definitely gonna try that out with a toothbrush. As far as the yellowness goes, is there a certain amount of time when you (and Gail) have noticed before they begin the shedding process? His skin hasn't turned into that grey color yet, but I'm wondering if his major yearly shed is coming on. He's getting showered almost every night and soaked once a week, so he'll be prepared for the shed if/when it happens. And I'll be keeping an eye to make sure he doesn't get worse or anything. He seems a lot happier today though with his old set up, so hopefully I can get him to eat some roaches tonight!

 

[milo0]

Well, Milo's belly is becoming more ashy grey (along with the yellow still) so I believe he's getting ready to shed. I did find a small piece of shedding in his cage but am not sure where it came from since his skin hasn't started shedding yet. He still remains quite stressed and moody though. I put his cage back to the way he likes it, but he still has his stress spots and is very dark most of the day. He lightens up when he's with me, but if he's in the cage, he's not happy. I'm unsure if this is just the stress of shedding taking it's toll on him or what. I'm not too worried though. He ate some waxworms for me last night after going 2 weeks on a veggie and roach strike. This brat would rather starve himself then eat the food I give him. He perked up so much and turned nice and bright. He even MOVED to go and get the worm, which is very rare. He likes me to put the food right up to his face otherwise.

Anyways, hopefully he will begin the shed process soon and get it over with. I hate to see him upset like this.He just becomes kind of depressed, tired, and not well-looking. But we'll see. I think it's going to start soon since his belly is that light, ashy grey.

 

[milo0]

Also, here's another picture of his belly. Much clearer pic, but there's not too much difference. I believe it's gotten more grey/dull looking, but still remains yellow. I did see his foot is about to shed though, so I'm thinking he will definitely go through a major shed soon.

That would definitely explain his behavior. He's been more lethargic and sleepy, and spent nearly 3 days in his hide last week just sleeping and resting. He also has been eating very little which I know is common. But yeah, I'll keep posting updates. If I don't see any changes with his belly in the next week, should I begin to worry and maybe consider taking him in? I can't seem to find a reliable reptile vet anywhere in my area (I've been to 3 now) so I'm hesitate on taking him if it's not needed. And when I say lethargic, I really just mean he's just very tired. Like I said before, he INSTANTLY perked up at the sight of those wax worms and even jumped in the air to get one. He absolutely loves them haha. He's eating little, but he still is pooping normally a few times a week, and I plan on giving him a nice bath tomorrow. I'm thinking of either using baby shampoo to give him a good scrub, or I might try and make a nice aloe vera bath for him. I sometimes will use it now and then just to help moisture his skin since he's a leatherback, so I'm wondering if I can mix the gel part of the plant in with his bath. We'll see. Either way, he's going to be beauti-fied tomorrow.

 

[AHBD]

His belly is fine....I've seen many and owned some [ including leatherbacks] with the exact same yellow tinge, it is definitely his color. He does not have Y.F ! As for any concern about shedding, there really is nothing at all to worry about, they shed in uneven patches as adults....in 20 years of beardie ownership I have never had a beardie have a health problem due to a seemingly [ to us ] overdue shed....it happens when it's ready ! Relax + enjoy him.

And yes, some do become picky + addicted to certain foods, holding out for fave foods much to our dismay....they can be stubborn, just like some people [ kids in general]

As for his hiding, it can be related to moodiness, but be sure that your lighting + temps. are all good. Other than that it's probably just a phase.

 

[milo0]

Okay I'll stop over-worrying then. :wink: Yeah, his temps all check out good, and I just recently replaced his reptisun 10.0 UVB so I know that's good. However, yesterday I gave him some blueberries and he ate like, 5 entire blueberries! That's a huge thing for him, seeing he rarely eats anything unless it's worms haha. Shortly after, he went back into his hide and was still in it this evening, going in and out of sleep. I decided to remove it to kind of encourage him to bask a little since I got him to eat a blueberry and a couple bites of sweet potato today. I'm wondering if removing the hide for a while would be best for him. The cool side is in the mid 70's so he won't overheat without it. I'm not sure. I know when they shed, they do sleep more to maintain energy and all, but I don't like the fact that he's not getting any UV when he's in the hide. >.< He really loves it, but removing it may be best for him.

And I scrubbed him down good with a toothbrush the other night. He's a pretty clean little dragon so not much dirt came off, but I'm sure it helped even if I can't see it. :mrgreen: He, on the other hand, didn't enjoy it one bit... but he's gotta be a clean beardie. Still no shedding on the belly, but yeah I think I'm past the yellow fungus scare. He might just be going through a phase, like you said. He's acting like he wants to brumate, but he already did so in December/ January and plus... it's summer here. I think he might be confused as to what season it is lol.

 

[AHBD]

It's actually a good idea to keep the hide out, it will encourage more normal behavior and basking.

 

[milo0]

It's actually a good idea to keep the hide out, it will encourage more normal behavior and basking.

Well, that's what I thought too, but today he went over to the cool side and still stayed there. ._. I'm wondering if the temperatures are just too hot for him maybe, because he never spends any time really on the main basking spot. I mean, his cage is up against the wall and it's currently close to hitting triple digits in this part of Texas, so maybe he's just feeling the need to cool down more often. He likes to sit where it's about 90-95F, and then will make his way over to the cool side. I only see him basking when I put him up there after giving him a bath, but he'll spend 5 minutes max there. It still temps out to about 105F, sometimes rising to 108F. I haven't seen it gone higher than that. He's had this same set up for about 2 years and hasn't really changed much, but he never goes to the cool side this much unless he's getting ready to brumate.

Now, I'm probably just being overly paranoid again, but would it be wise to maybe taking in a stool sample to make sure everything's alright? He hasn't been tested since he was about 5 months old, because there was never a need to get him tested since then. His poop has been completely normal despite him not acting normal, but I'm just trying to figure out his behavior. So far, his foot is still the only thing currently shedding, so I'm confused why he's being a little dramatic. I could understand his weird behavior if he's going through a full shed, but... one foot... -_- I don't know, I just hate when he doesn't bask. It always makes me worry.

I like how I've gone from freaking out over Yellow Fungus, to now a whole new list of things to worry about lol.

 

[Gail]

Try lowering the temp down to were he prefers it. Even my juvie won't bask if its above 100. When we had a heat wave, my guy was crabby as heck and spent time hiding or at least staying away from the basking area.
It got to the point I had to open the doors and shut of the light to help release the excess heat. He was miserable.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I completely agree, it isn't yellow fungus, thank goodness. It is just normal pigmentation & coloring on his little belly.
They normally don't like it over 100 ambient temperatures when under their basking temperatures. If they can't cool off they will usually hide or retreat elsewhere to try & find a cooler area.
Also many do start slowing down mid year to get ready for brumation so that isn't out of the realm of possibilities, either.

Tracie