Possible yellow fungus?? UPDATE

[Sharpy]

Zippy belongs to my friend. She has had her about 8 months & is approximately 1 year old.
She has a reptiglo t8 10.0 UV tube & basking temps 95. Cool side temp 78.

She has always had a yellow patch that we thought was her markings but every time she sheds the patch has grown a bit bigger.
Zippy eats very well, there is no change in her behaviour & she is very active. There is nothing to suggest she is unwell.

We can't get her an appointment with reptile vet til next week. Hoping for some reassurance in the mean time.

 

[DaisyDragon123]

Taken from an article published in Reptiles Magazine by Dr. Kevin Wright.

"Treatments a veterinarian would likely recommend

Voriconazole is an oral antifungal drug that has shown promise but there are few truly long-term (>24 mo) success stories at present. Oral combination treatments of terbinafine and itraconazole, or oral treatment with either alone, have not proved effective long-term. Skin lesions should be treated with povidone iodine once or twice daily. Topical treatment with antifungal drugs such as terbinafine, miconazole, or itraconazole, have not proven effective."

There is an extremely high probability that the experiences of those who have treated successfully with only Monistat or Lamisil did not have YF to begin with but something benign. You will see this mentioned as treatment many times and that is why I have the article highlighted.

Here is the link to the whole article, which describes the early stages and has some pictures of various lizards with it.

http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/Reptile-Health/Disease-Management/CANV-in-Reptiles/

You need to see a reptile vet to confirm whether or not he has YF. You should have your dragon tested immediately and begin treatment if positive. Home treatments do not work for YF. The earlier treated, the better in terms of longevity.

 

[Sharpy]

Thanks for reply. She is going to vet but they couldn't see her before next week. Her owner is very distressed so I thought I would see what you guys thought.

Kay

 

[AHBD]

I think it does look like Y.F
Those are good links posted by Daisy. The Lamisil can be helpful even if it happens to be some other type of fungal infection, several posters have used antifungal creams and have seen the patches disappear. Whether or not this is Y.F. can only be determined by an experienced vet but it doesn't hurt to use the creams right away.

 

[Sharpy]

Thanks AHBD will get her some until vet sees her.

Kay

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome Kay. I truly hope it isn't Y.F, be sure that the vet does a skin scraping to test for it. Don't use any cream the day before or the day of the vet visit, just so the skin is in it's true state. Here is another short article on Y.F. It is a very sad disease.
https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=3&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj4v-HjstrNAhUs4oMKHbYgCWUQFggsMAI&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.everythingreptile.org%2Fyellow-fungus.html&usg=AFQjCNG1EZ4lNkqCRo0bjEH-3xEHhTeszg&sig2=78_Cmw-JNezkbewhg6QXOA

 

[Sharpy]

Thankyou. I'm going to bully the vet in morning & try to get her seen sooner. Will let you know how we get on.

Kay

 

[Sharpy]

Hi
We managed to get Zippy into a reptile specialist today ( guy only see's reptiles)
He says he thinks it is a fungus but not yellow fungus. He took a swab & Zippys owner will get results in about a week. Until results are back he won't prescribe meds as he says the are very hard on system & will only prescribe what's necessary.
Just minimalise bathing and monitor her & if any changes in mean time to take her back.
So for now keeping fingers crossed.
Will keep you posted.
Thanks

Kay

 

[AHBD]

That's good that you took her to an expert....and hopefully it will be a less severe type of fungus [ or maybe not fungal at all ] and not Y.F

 

[Sharpy]

Hi
The swab results are back. The vet said there is no sign of fungal infection at this time but they will be doing more tests on the swab over the next 28 days to see if anything grows. Although ecoli was present no treatment needed.
Zippys owner will continue using lamisil for time being.

Kay

 

[AHBD]

So far so good Kay. Hopefully it will turn out to be something harmless.

 

[Sharpy]

Hi
Sad news the vet rang Thursday the swab culture the had in the lab has grown an agressive form of yellow fungus. Although it doesn't appear to have spread any further yet.
They couriered out antibiotics & Zippy is going to be on them for the next 6 to 8 weeks.
ZIPPY IS NOT MINE!! I have told her owner to get some probiotics. 3 days in & there is no change in Zippys behaviour. She's alert, active & eating everything in sight. No Blackbeard.
So now its fingers crossed. We know she probably won't be cured but hope it gives her good life quality for a bit longer.

Kay

 

[AHBD]

Sharpy, I'm really sorry to hear that news, I suspected that was it. Sadly, there is no real cure, but please have your friend read the link I posted up above....antibiotics can not help Y.F at all and can make it worse by destroying not only bad but also the GOOD bacteria that keeps an animal strong. This is a snippet from the one article.

" When misdiagnosed and without biopsy a vet would order antibiotic believing it to be a bacterial infection . In some studies the antibiotics are shown to have contributed to making the fungal infection worse."

So antibiotics are not the right treatment.

Betadine watered down 1 part to 10 [ water] should be applied to the area, after it dries apply Lamisil cream. That can keep it at bay [ but not cure it ] and keep it from spreading.

 

[CooperDragon]

If it was determined to be YF, I would ask your vet about Voriconizole. Diamondback Drugs in Arizona can formulate it. A month or two on that has proven to be quite effective in some cases and it's definitely worth a try in my opinion. Your vet can call in a prescription and have them ship it directly to you.

 

[Sharpy]

Thanks guys I will definitely pass all information on.
I can't remember the name of antibiotics but it is for CANV fungal infections in cats! Which I did question my friend about but she says I made her go to a reptile specialist so he's got to know What he's doing.
She's already told me if Zippy gets too sick on antibiotics she wants me to take her as she won't cope & I've spent a lifetime looking after sick/ injured animals.

Kay