Need Honest Advice

[RobertsKitty]

Ikran has been sick since the day I got him in September. I have been fighting what we think (could be) yellow fungus since day one. I have not been able to take him to a vet because all the vets within a 2 hour radius have very dodgy reviews. I am a college student and I am broke a lot of the time so risking $70 bucks down payment just to make an appointment that may or may not lead anywhere seems fairly out of the question. I feel overwhelmed and over my head and I am not sure what I should do. I would be afraid to give him to anyone without extreme screening to make sure they would take good care of him but at the same time there is no one interested in a sick animal when 'healthy' ones are free on craigslist. I don't know if he is ever going to get better. I feel like I am taking 1 step forward and 2 steps back in his treatment. He seems to be 'stable' now but showing no signs of getting better or worse. He made it to 200 grams and topped off. He still eats well but doesn't seem to gain any weight.

I just don't know what I can do. When he came to me, he had a bad bite on his leg that might have caused an infection that spread across his legs, tail, and stomach. It has never gotten any worse than a yellow tinge that gets light or dark depending who knows.

Here are some pictures. The last picture shows the scar where he was bit:

And here is my pretty boy:

Edit: I contacted the only creditable vet in my area and the appointment and culture will be $200 and the meds will pile in on top of that. I make $200 every 2 weeks so I have no idea how I will begin to afford that. I am going to talk to my fiance so I will see what I can do.

 

[pogvitt]

To me, that looks like it could possibly just be some skin ready to shed. If you are worried that it is not, you could try treating the area with betadine (just swab some on the affected area). Also, try to keep the humidity low and maintain good basking temperatures. If he keeps eating well, active, and pooping, you could just wait and see before taking him to the vet.

 

[MrD]

im sorry about ikran, it does look like yellow fungus. i know vet bills are very expensive especially for college students, im in same boat too. it would be best to save $ and get him to vet asap. you need to do what the other post says and clean his poop right after he goes. and disinfect his terrarium atleast once a week, preferable 2x a week. BDs are not cheap pets and requirer yearly vet check ups to make sure they are healthy. so you need to save up $200 in the next two months or i would recomend rehoming ikran. there are many people here that can rehad him and take proper care of him. hope ikran gets better and you do the right thing for him.