New rescue is in bad shape - possible yellow fungus

[FLZooMom]

So, I really need to stop perusing the FB groups for things to buy because this is the second time I've found a bearded dragon in bad shape that needed rescue. I traded a dog crate for Priscilla (our name for her).

Edit: She's 3 years old, 16.5 inches long, and weighs 230 grams.

Here are the pictures that alerted me to the fact that she needed rescue:

When I got to the house they had put her outside in her tank so the sun could beat on her through the glass because supposedly they weren't home. There was a heat rock in there, her food bowl had an apple cut into quarters with the skin still on and when I picked it up to dump it there was an ant's nest living under the food bowl. The inside of the bowl was beyond disgusting.

Anyway, I got her home and put her straight into the bath and took a soft toothbrush to try to get her clean. I emptied the bath twice and she's still not clean. What I'm concerned about are these sores and bumps on her.

The rest of her issues I can fix. She's missing toes and the tip of her tail, she's extremely dehydrated, she's very malnourished, her nails are ridiculously long, she's stained from living on dirt. However, she's friendly and seems to like being held. Of course that could have been because she was tired.

So, what do you all think the skin problems are? Yellow fungus? Something else?

Thanks, everyone.

 

[GiseleC]

that poor dragon!!! i'm not experienced enough to give any advice but i just wanted to say that you did an amazing thing taking in that poor dragon! you no doubt have just saved her life, even if she is in horrible shape. i don't understand how some people can be so cruel and heartless to such loving and intelligent creatures!
you were meant to find her.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....I agree with Gisele, poor thing needs a good home + some TLC. I don't think that's Y.fungus.....just some type of wound/lesion from her neglect. it might be something fungal but doesn't look like Y.F at all. I would suggest using raw honey on those spots [ from health food store, beekeeper or online Manuka honey ]....it's a wonderful antimicrobial and doesn't allow bacteria to grow, plus the amino acids in it help promote tissue growth while keeping the area sterile.

Hopefully you can get her to good health....poor thing didn't deserve to live like that, but she'll have a chance at a decent life now.

 

[FLZooMom]

Thanks, GiseleC. I run an animal rescue and it never fails to amaze me the way people treat their pets.

Thanks, AHBD. You've eased my mind considerably. I always have raw honey on hand because it's so easy to come by here so I'll put some on that area after she dries completely from her bath. I got some more dirt off of her and one of the bumps came off partially. Yesterday when the one came off it was healthy looking scale underneath it, so that's encouraging.

She hasn't eaten today, but has just spent all day basking under her heat lamp and I have a Reptisun 10.0 HO light for her so I expect she'll perk up soon. I can't get her to drink either, whether in her bath or by dripping on her nose. And forget trying to get her to open her mouth if she doesn't want to. She completely ignored the greens I gave her but I'll give her some more tomorrow with some butternut squash grated on it so it's nice and bright. I know it's a lot of change, but hopefully her appetite will perk up.

This is how she's been sitting all day, minus the time she spent in the bath.

 

[AHBD]

Poor little Priscilla....she looks soooo dehydrated + tired. Do you know how long she was out in the sun in the glass tank ? That could have taken a toll on her. Hopefully she wasn't overheated too long. Let her rest tomorrow even if she's still yucky, maybe skip the bath and just offer water on her snout along with some baby food or pureed food. Good that you have honey on hand, too. Hopefully she hasn't been damaged too much.

 

[Drache613]

Hello Barbra,

Poor dear, she is in bad shape, but nothing that you can't fix though.
I agree, I don't think it looks like yellow fungus, either. Was she housed with another dragon possibly? It is some type of injury that is slightly infected. The unpasteurized honey or manuka honey will help tremendously.
At least she had a bath & is basking now! Let us know how she is doing. Has she eaten anything?

Tracie

 

[FLZooMom]

Near as I can tell she was outside for at least a few hours, but honestly it might have been all day. The lady I got her from isn't communicating with me anymore but based on our messages through the day I get the idea it might have been longer than the few hours between the time we were confirming things and when I got there.

She's really dehydrated. To the point that her skin is hard on her head and there's no elasticity to it on her back. It's terrible.

I'll let her rest tomorrow, though. It's difficult because I want to DO something to make her better.

 

[FLZooMom]

She hasn't eaten, Tracie. Right now she's only interested in basking. If you look at the way her light was hanging in her tank before I got her there's no way she could have spent any time under it because the temps would have been far too high. I'm guessing 150+ degrees or higher. So, she probably didn't ever get warm enough.

She wasn't housed with another beardie, but like I said she had a nasty ant colony in her tank under her food bowl. Maybe she got bitten and because of all the dirt it got infected. I don't know.

Thanks to you I have everything I need to get her healthy again!

 

[GiseleC]

When one of my dragons wasn't eating I gave him sweet potato baby food mixed with water and vitamin/calcium and he LOVED sweet potato! It was actually really adorable to watch him eat it from a dropper ha-ha. Try different kinds of food and leave some on her about for a few mins, sometime if I just put some on and backed off he would start to lick it off and realize it tasted good
Poor girl I have a feeling she will recover nicely though, she's been through so much she's a fighter for sure, she's probably confused that someone so nice and caring would take her in after living with such monsters.time will help

 

[FLZooMom]

Sweet potato and butternut squash baby food is what I use for my other rescue, Stimpy. In Priscilla's case she's just not interested. I put some on her nose, dribbled water on her nose, everything and she's not opening it. Nope, uh uh, not gonna do it.

 

[AHBD]

Priscilla is in pretty bad shape, so may not be interested in anything at all. You might try getting her mouth open this way....get a piece of cardboard that is thin, like from the top of a cereal box. Get a syringe with the food in it. Wedge the cardboard very gently in her mouth and wiggle until she opens. Some people use a credit card or playing card but the cardboard is softer. Once you can just crack her mouth open use the syringe to get a mixture of baby food + water in there. Just a bit so you can see that she swallows it, you don't want her to choke.

In her condition she needs fluids ASAP, so if nothing works in the next day or so it might be best to get her to an experienced reptile vet....although that's stressful itself...to at least get some fluids in her. I'm afraid that she doesn't have much time left really and not sure that a vet could even pull her through but I know you'll try your best !

 

[FLZooMom]

OK, I used the cereal box trick to open her mouth and gave her some Acidophiluz and 10ml of baby food and water. I'm hoping the probiotics stimulate her appetite. She still didn't want to open her mouth and it was a fight each time, but she did swallow. The fighting me makes me hopeful.

Do you think I should do this more than once a day?

 

[AHBD]

O.K, that's a good sign ! As long as you see her swallow you might try it twice a day. Mix it all together so you only have to do it once. The baby food + water are most important now just a pinch of the supplements. You might add a bit of chicken baby food as well. See how she takes it. Keep up the good work....she may be touch + go but she would surely have died soon, maybe within days if you hadn't taken her.

 

[FLZooMom]

I can do that. Thankfully, because of Stimpy I have all of this stuff on hand. Do you think I should add a little bit of Pedialyte?

I did put some food in her tank just in case, and so she gets used to seeing real food. Hopefully, it'll pique her interest and she'll decide to taste it.

 

[AHBD]

A few drops of Pedialyte is fine but since reptiles are different than mammals it's not all that necessary. If you have it it's O.K but don't buy it especially and use more water than Pedialyte.