Lime as a treatment for yellow fungus

[Pwerner]

Has anyone tried the powder form of lime as a treatment for yellow fungus?

 

[kingofnobbys]

please do not do that to your beardie , take him to a vet and get his yf treated properly.

 

[Pwerner]

We have been going to the vet, over and over again. All of the combinations are not working. We are down to a special solution made by the vet to soak in then dry her off and gently powder on. We have been all medical and holistic essential oil directions and this is a very good reptile vet up on all the latest research

 

[EllenD]

Oh no, please do not even attempt that, lime can kill your beardie, and it will without a doubt burn him badly! Where did you hear about using lime?

Yellow fungus is treated successfully only when done by a vet because it grows on the inside and the outside of your beardie at the same time! So no, Lime will not treat it either, even if it wouldn't first kill your beardie! They need to be given a combination of both topical antifungal medication and oral/injectable antifungal medication to successfully get rid of it. Only putting anything on the external patches of fungus will not do anything, it will just grow back because it's spreading inside your beardie as well. And once again, Lime is not only poisonous to your beardie but it's also very, very caustic and will cause severe, horribly painful chemical burns on your beardie!

Please find a certified Reptile vet with experience treating yellow fungus to properly diagnose and start medicating your beardie both internally and externally, and if you cannot afford to take your beardie to a vet for treatment (which typically takes months and months to successfully treat) then you really need to surrender him to a reptile rescue that will get him proper treatment from a certified Reptile vet, or rehome him to someone you know can afford the necessary long-term treatment. SURRENDERING him to a well-respected reptile rescue is the safest thing you can do if you cannot afford to pay for his vet care. If you need help finding a good Reptile rescue I can help you, I am a volunteer at a very good exotics rescue and have connections to reptile rescues all over the country, so if you cannot afford treatment for your beardie, I can certainly make some phone calls to arrange surrendering him to a really good Reptile rescue that will get him professional help that he needs. I know this sucks, but yellow fungus is no joke, and if he does have yellow fungus and doesn't get both external and internal medication and treatments over the span of months he will die, and die painfully. So it's better to surrender him so he can get help than to just let him suffer and die, and obviously it's much better than to try putting dangerous chemicals on him! Please don't listen to people on the internet that are telling you to do things like putting lime on him. It's not a treatment, would absolutely hurt him and make him much worse, and probably kill him. People don't think before they do these things.

 

[CooperDragon]

Have you tried Voriconizole? It's an oral antifungal that has been successful in treating YF. Combine that with a topical treatment such as an anti fungal cream or even a concentrated solution of F10SC (1:125) applied externally multiple times per day may be able to bring the infection under control.

 

[kingofnobbys]

We have been going to the vet, over and over again. All of the combinations are not working. We are down to a special solution made by the vet to soak in then dry her off and gently powder on. We have been all medical and holistic essential oil directions and this is a very good reptile vet up on all the latest research

If your vet is telling you to do this - he's a quack and I doubt he's a REAL VET .... sack him , find another vet who ACTUALLY KNOWS WHAT HE'S TALKING ABOUT, he's essentially doing nothing to treat the condition except bleeding your bank account dry..

Using lime on your beardie is nothing less than extreme cruelty IMO.

 

[Gormagon]

I don't know, lime is a mineral mined in quarries. It is in solid rock form and crushed into rip-rap all the way down to a fine powder. It is highly alkaline in nature and, is used to drop acidic values in fields and, bodies of water. It won't burn anything that I am aware of, I am around it all the time.

Lye on the other hand is a very dangerous cleaner and, very acidic.

Not to be arguemenative but, I think ya'll might be confusing these two items.

 

[Taterbug]

I can't speak to the lime but your best course of action is to work with a good vet. If you feel your vet isn't giving good treatments or that treatments is not working, get a second opinion. I'm skeptical since you mention holistic/essential oils... these are generally not accepted medical treatments for exotic pets but that doesn't mean for sure your vet is a quack.

Discuss any remedies you may find with your vet, no on on this board is a vet and while we can give you suggestions based on experiences we have had, we cannot and should not be giving medical advice. Starting up other treatments can make things worse if your vet isn't in the loop.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I don't know, lime is a mineral mined in quarries. It is in solid rock form and crushed into rip-rap all the way down to a fine powder. It is highly alkaline in nature and, is used to drop acidic values in fields and, bodies of water. It won't burn anything that I am aware of, I am around it all the time.

Lye on the other hand is a very dangerous cleaner and, very acidic.

Not to be arguemenative but, I think ya'll might be confusing these two items.

Lime is very alkali , and it will produce chemical burns in contact with moist skin ....

 

[EllenD]

As I have a master's degree in health science I know the difference between "Lime" and "lye", thanks though, lol. Jesus, do some research before correcting me, powdered lime, like you put on your yard, is very basic and will absolutely, without a doubt cause chemical burns when combined with water. Look it up. And please don't post corrections to what people say that are incorrect and could cause pain and suffering to an animal because someone sees you say it's okay.

I'm not trying to be harsh here, but no, putting lime on any Animal is not a medical treatment, it's putting a very basic substance on them and burning them.

Anyone that would put either lime or lye on a living creature is torturous.

 

[Pwerner]

I appreciate all of the non judgmental and open ended posts regarding the question. First and foremost, this was a question posed for input on thoughts that are based on experience. I respect all experience and appreciate the input. I do not appreciate aggressive and rude comments made by one individual posing to know it all. I am using a well known and respected reptile vet, that is one in the forefront of science with numerous patents to the veterinary medical / medicine field and is by no means a quack. IF you had read carefully Ms. E. no where did it say that lime would be wet when applied, it clearly stated a soak then dried and powder applied to dry body. Your speaking as if myself or others are torturing animals is uncalled for and rude. The people on this discussion are caring individuals looking for advice, experience etc to help these animals, not hurt them, hence the reason for a discussion forum, and it not being a veterinary forum, for you yourself with a health science degree are still not a vet nor do you know all of the most recent research. Another mention to a Quack vet for essential oils is also not a comment based on knowledge. Essential oils are used on humans and animals alike especially when other means have not worked. I think I will stick to my vets recommendations considering I can see and check on their credentials that hang on their walls.

 

[Pwerner]

Cooper Dragon: Have you tried Voriconizole? It's an oral antifungal that has been successful in treating YF. Combine that with a topical treatment such as an anti fungal cream or even a concentrated solution of F10SC (1:125) applied externally multiple times per day may be able to bring the infection under control.


YES we have been those routes as well. It was a baby purchased by a person from a local pet store and returned when it appeared, it was vetted and under control and we were asked to please come get and continue treatment and keep the beardie. It never completely went away and the methods you have mentioned have been used, when in fact it appeared to get worse, leading to a final attempt to try to save her and get rid of the junk.

 

[EllenD]

Look, all I am saying, from a strictly scientific and medical standpoint is that hydrated lime has a pH of 12.4, which is absolutely basic enough to cause severe chemical burns which you probably won't see on a scaled lizard like you would on a person. 12.4 is basic enough to really cause pain, and you have no idea what it is doing to your bearded dragon. You cannot possibly be sure that "dusting" your beardie in dry lime (I guess that's what you're doing, as no moisture can be involved if you want to keep the pH of dry lime, which is between 8.0-9.0) is not causing burns, as you cannot be sure that none of that dry lime isn't still on him, under his s ales, etc. when you wet him again. And regardless of the chemical burns, external treatment of yellow fungus alone will typically not eradicate the Infection, only lessen or "seemingly" eradicate the external signs and symptoms. And this is the same issue people have when simply soaking their infected Beardies in Betadine and then applying a topical antifungal medication to yellow fungus, it treats the external Infection but not the internal, and eventually it comes roaring back. And then it turns into the typical battle that lasts for months to years.

Let's be real for a second, if we could. No science, no medicine, no education, but just some common sense for a minute, okay? Because honestly this is actually the more important issue with this post, to me anyway:

So someone thinks their beardie, who they love dearly, has Yellow Fungus. They compare their beardie to photos online, and they cannot afford or are unwilling to take their pet to a proper Herp Vet, or any vet for that matter. So they come on here and search for "Yellow Fungus" and they read the hundreds of posts recommending Betadine soaks, applying antifungal creams, etc. So they do all of the normal treatments and they help for a while, maybe their Beardies even appear cured of the fungus, but because they have gotten their pet no oral or injectable medications in combination to the external treatments, the yellow fungus just keeps coming back. Then one day while they are desperately searching for an answer because their beardie is dying and they're panicking, they see your post title that says "Lime As a Treatment For Yellow Fungus"...What do you think they're going to do? Do you think they're going to do a ton more research on the topic? Read this entire thread and realize that not only is this treatment unproven and at the least needs to be combined with an oral or injectable medication as well to be effective, but do you think they will really understand that you're not soaking your beardie in a solution of lime? Or making a cream or paste of lime to rub onto their Beardies? There's no instructions provided here as to what exactly you're procedures are, no warnings provided about what might happen if they apply wet lime to their Beardies, etc. I guarantee you that they'll see the phrase "Lime as a treatment for yellow fungus" and "recommended by my Reptile vet" and off some teenager goes to their garage to grab some of the lime their parents put on their lawns, and sure as I'm writing this they'll mix it in water and either soak their beardie's entire body in it or they'll make a paste of it and lather it on all of their beardie's external lesions.

This is where I'm coming from. I don't think that I was at all wrong in what I said sir. I was not rude, I didn't swear or use strong language, I said "Please don't apply lime to your beardie" and "It's torturous to do so". And I counted at least 2 other members that said exactly the same thing that did originally, and well regarded and knowledgeable members at that. And it's true, if you were to apply wet lime to any living creature and either leave it on them or soak them in it, that would be nothing less than "Torturous". Period.

I don't at all think you're an animal abuser or whatever it was that you said, I never said anything like that. I know very well that you're trying to cure your beardie of a nasty fungi that is incredibly difficult to eradicate. But posting this thread with that title and actually arguing that it could not be potentially harmful or torturous to bearded dragons and saying it is "recommended by your Reptile vet" is not telling the entire story that needs to be told to the many desperate beardie owners that have a lizard with yellow fungus, and the that come on here, panicking, trying everything they can to cure their beloved Beardies that have yellow fungus. You need to tell both sides to this story in order to be responsible, because I guarantee that someone has most likely already read this post and lathered their sick beardie up in wet lime and has caused horrible chemical burns to their pet. 12.4 is very basic and certainly high enough to cause a lot of pain.

As someone else stated, I find it very difficult to believe that any reputable vet that cares about their medical license would actually recommend using this as a legitimate treatment for yellow fungus. There are no scientific studies, no data on the long-term effects or the efficacy for that matter, and the minute a vet told their paying patients to do this and the patients got confused and used wet lime on their lizard and caused horrible chemical burns or worse, that vet would certainly be sued and at the very least be investigated by the licensing board. I think that's where everyone who has questioned your vet is coming from.

Try to understand both sides of this and the great responsibility you take on by endorsing a treatment that is absolutely "torturous" if the person attempting it makes what I'd say is frankly a very easy and understandable mistake to make. Adding moisture to lime powder. It's that simple a mistake that has disasterous outcomes.

As I said in my email to you, applying hydrochloric acid to external Yellow Fungus lesions would probably eradicate the external Infection as well. Does that mean we should do it?

 

[Gormagon]

First of all, I didn't condone the treatment! All a said was it was my belief that the two had been confused, (lye and, lime). So please read before you crawl on me. I deal with agricultural lime not quicklime or hydrated lime.

 

[Gormagon]

I will also add, that talking down to people and, jumping on them because they might not agree or, question you is not very becoming. You are no better than anyone else on this "discussion" forum.
I have seen a lot of condescending remarks made in the last few months and, it bothers me to see this.