Large black spots under chin (PICS)

[RichGarner]

Hey all. Ed has had these spots for almost six months now and we are getting worried. At first we thought it was a bruise that would come off in shedding. But he has not shed his head in a while.

More photos:
https://plus.google.com/photos/102413899651072323330/albums/5662298383111067041

He has a glass cage and looks out our office window all day long. He done not rub up against anything. We sometimes put him on a small heating pad (on low) during really cold nights.

The problem is that I lost my job recently and we don't have ANY money for vet visits. I can't even afford my own pain killers and I need those to function.

Hoping this is an easy thing to care for at home.

 

[Loganator]

Hi Rich,
I do not have the experience that many others on this site do, but here's a bump for you. Hopefully someone will be along soon to offer suggestions.

Are sure the heating pad is not too hot? Could those be little burned areas from resting his head on the too hot pad? I have never used a heating pad for this very reason, sometimes it is too hard to control the temp and your beardie could get a burn.

I will keep Ed, you & your family in my prayers, though.

 

[RichGarner]

When we use the pad, we have a blanket over the pad and lay him on the blanket. It is warm to the touch, but I cannot see how this would burn him.

Hi Rich,
I do not have the experience that many others on this site do, but here's a bump for you. Hopefully someone will be along soon to offer suggestions.

Are sure the heating pad is not too hot? Could those be little burned areas from resting his head on the too hot pad? I have never used a heating pad for this very reason, sometimes it is too hard to control the temp and your beardie could get a burn.

I will keep Ed, you & your family in my prayers, though.

 

[Loganator]

Yeah, and if it were burns, you would think his tummy would be burned too. I have seen other pics of black spots like that and some of the suggestions were internal bleeding, some type of fungus, bad shed, etc. But I really do not have enough experience to make an assumption. Someone should be along soon to help.

 

[pogvitt]

If he has had these spots for 6 months and is eating, pooping, and doing well, I wouldn't be too concerned. Just keep an eye on him to see if the spots get bigger or if he loses his appetite.

 

[RichGarner]

He doesn't eat very well. But he's never eaten well except when he was very young.

He ONLY eats works or crickets if they are out of a can and ONLY if you hold them up to his face. If we place them in his dish or on a rock in front of him, he will ignore them.

He has very little interest in veggies or fruit. Occasionally he will eat a leaf or slice of apple... but this is maybe twice or thrice a week.

Other than diet, he seems happy and energetic. He regularly gets out of his cage and roams around (always supervised) and he is very happy when we play with him.

We are still worried.

 

[Beardednoob]

This is what I thought by looking at the picture.

At first we thought it was a bruise

I have had a dragon I had to open his mouth to feed, sometimes he got marks that looked almost identical to this but, they always quickly faded in about 10 minutes.

 

[fresnowitte]

Good morning and welcome to the site Rich!

I have 2 thoughts neither of which are serious :wink: .... though I'm sure I could easily be wrong. :lol:

My first thought is...
I think it has something to do with the color pigmentation of the bright yellow beardies and a shed coming on...this is why. I have a bright neon yellow beardie (PVT Blaze) that gets these type of marks all the time. These spots seem to appear only on his beard area long before the skin begins to show any other signs of a shed. Just before the skin begins to change these spots will actually be white when he black beards. Your Ed seems to have some white looking skin on his chin too...

Though I also was looking close at the right side dark spot on Ed, but I just can not really tell with those pic's whether it may also look bruised. The location of his dark spots almost look like he is head bobbing and banging his chin on something, huh? That's what I thought about Blaze the first time this happened with him...if you could try to get another pic showing that side closer I would take another look for you...thought I'm still leaning at my first thought. :wink:

I'm going to see if I can find a pic of Blaze with his spots....

 

[Sekhautet]

Got your email and hopped on to help, if I can.

Has he had any trauma, any injuries to the area? Does it feel mushy? Infections can absess under the skin and not show up until they get bad.

It doesn't look like a burn to me. There is no blistering and skin peeling like I have seen pics of.

What type of substrate do you have him on? I am taking mine off peat at the moment. My vet just attended a conference and learned that in geckos it is not to be used because of the high acidity. It can cause skin irritation. Perhaps, he is irritated by something in his tank. If you are not sure of the source, you could do a sterile hospital situation with just shelf liner or paper towels or newspaper and a basking rock. Take everything else out and watch him for a month.

Do the scales feel normal? If so, then this wouldn't be it, but sometimes when their scales die off, they do feel brittle because blood circulation is lost.

My vet has mentioned beardies getting age spots, but these seem really big for that.

My other thought is a fungal infection. Has your beardie been exposed to soil of any type in his tank or outside?

My other thought is a possible interaction with something you use to clean your house, deodorizers, something to clean his tank. Reptiles are tricky about these things. Check everything, even if it is not something he comes in direct contact. If you can smell it by his cage, he can get sick. Lysol products are really horrible for birds and reptiles. And some organics as well that contain Thymol. They are also bad for people and cats and dogs too.

I would take him to the vet, if he were my guy. Just to be sure. It does look darker in the middle, like a possible infection or something going on and spreading, but it could also be the other things I've mentioned.

I hope this helped some and didn't confuse you. These are the things I would be asking my vet about, if this were my guy. Good luck!