My bearded dragon scrapped his chin on the rocks in his tank one day, it became a scab pretty much a day after. This was probably a month ago. :? it has complicated the shed around it too. He was mid shed when he scratched it, approximately how long will it take for the scab to go away and new scales to grow back? Any way i can help him out? im going to look into getting unpasteurized honey for the scab and aloe for the skin. No close vet that can help me.
i will post pics when i get the chance i just have some questions about applying the honey and aloe
Is it okay if both are ingested? the scab is on around his mouth and chin so he may ingest some
Should i take the honey off? there arent ever any left over crickets in the terrarium
What happens when the honey dries up?
He really hates it when i touch anywhere around that area, any way to make applying easier?
and how long am i allowed to leave it on for?
Both are safe to ingest but the aloe would need to be pure, no added ingredients. Honey is good in and out of the body, so it's actually good for him. It doesn't dry out but just stays slightly sticky so keep him on a solid substrate so nothing sticks to it. It can easily wash off in the bath if you soak him, so you can apply it with a Q-tip but be careful he doesn't bite it since they like the taste. You can re-apply every other day even if you don't wash him . Honey is safe + it never goes bad.
Ive been putting both the honey and aloe gel (straight from a plant) on but he absolutely hates it and freaks out and rubs his chin and beard and face even more! from him rubbing it hes made the scab and shed worse and it doesn't seem like anythings helping. I'm super worried, his appetite hasn't changed at all but the irritation has started to get at the rim of his mouth too. His beard was shedding and i think hes messed it up a bit too from the rubbing, its always black underneath. His beard is usually never black unless he is very angry. it looks like the scales just completely changed. i really need advice on what to do next, im in a very small town and dont really trust the vet, i heard he isnt licensed to do reptiles but does anyways. How long does it usually take for scales to regrow?
That's very odd, and too bad that he won't stop rubbing it. If it was anywhere else besides his mouth you could put a bandaid around it for protection but as it is he just keeps making it worse. You might give the vet a try since it's not improving.
Did you use raw unpasteurized honey ? It's not the same as grocery store honey.
And it doesn't appear that the scales are missing, just irritated + rubbed raw.
does anyone know why the scales are coming in black? i took a close look at them and theres still a bit of yellow but it looks like the black is mold and is taking over, i know its probably not mold im just using it to compare to how it looks
Scabs are always dark, that's what it would be. Poor guy just keeps irritating it because it would be itchy + he keeps rubbing it and it can't heal properly. The raw honey should help but if he keeps opening the wound it can't get a chance to heal.
i can do that when i get home but as for the black scales his beard isnt scabbed or anything the shed is growing in weird though and the scales are blackish, could it be from older age? hes only 3 so i feel like the age isnt an issue, but ive just noticed yesterday that even some of the white scales on his chest are getting darker
Yes, post pics of it when you can [ and the beard from the side as well as the front ] A blackish beard is normal for an adult male, esp a young adult that's in breeding season. Different types of stress can cause a black beard as well.
We are getting a vet appt. asap but everythings just going downhill so fast the inside of his mouth is getting scratched up and raw from him rubbing and because of that he just recently stopped eating and is being less energetic from not eating and having energy and his chin is really bad and he scratched up the one side of his face
heres the honey i bought
thats what his beard looks like, its never looked like this before
and heres his face where he scratched it all up :'( the shiny substance is honey
Does anyone have any advice on how to get him something to eat? i dont want him to starve himself!!
Dragons travel easily. You may have to look outside of your area for a qualified reptile vet. I make a 5 hour round trip for mine. If he is now not eating, and his face looks really bad, you need to see if you can't get someone to see him today but definitely before the holiday weekend if you are in the US. At this point you have tried the home remedies and the possibility that something more serious is going on needs to be looked into.