This is why you don't house beardies together.. Even adults!

[Floof]

And I really should have known better... So shame on me!

I have been housing my two female Bearded dragons together. They're rescues, and were housed together before I got them. I wasn't able to find a home for them that could do a "rescue" situation right now, so had to keep them. Complicated family stuff and cramped housing situation later, I was unable to split the girls up, so they've been living together in a 75 gallon tank. Up until now, all was well and the girls got along great.

I got back late this morning from a 24 hour camping trip. As in, I left 9 yesterday morning, and got back at 10 or 11 this morning. I got around to beardie chores around 1 pm, which entailed a very thorough cleaning of the girls' enclosures and a nice long soak in the tub. It was now that I noticed an injury on the larger girl's hand, that definitely hadn't been there the morning before.

Apparently, some time in the day I was gone, Blossom "tasted" Buttercup's hand hard enough to make two rough cuts in her longest toe, and bruise both it and the second longest toe. I'm separating them tomorrow (never though it would be a good thing that no one wanted to buy the big, heavy wooden enclosure), no matter how crowded and hot it makes my already overheated bedroom. Buttercup will stay in the tank since it's much easier to keep sterile.

But, I have no idea how to treat the injury. First thing tomorrow morning, I plan on dipping it in hydrogen peroxide to disinfect.. But I'm pretty lost after that. Should I apply some neosporin? Use a bandage? Just leave it alone?

Pictures... The second shows a sideview. As you can see, the nails seem to be filled with blood (?) and the uppermost cut circles around the side of the toe pretty far up.

Thanks in advance. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Rukii]

I had the same thing happen to me, except it was a tail, not a hand. What I learned, is go buy some povidone iodine/betadine. Get a little tupperware/bowl/container, and fill it with some water. Put enough of the betadine in to resemble a light brown weak tea. Dip her hand and let it soak for a while, and don't let her drink it. Once you're done, dry it off and apply some neosporin or antibiotic ointment. Make sure she doesn't lick it though, or that she doesn't get too close to her light; the ointment could get hot.

I'm not sure, but I think I've heard that peroxide is bad for them. Not sure though. I wouldn't risk it.

I hope she feels better! Let me know how she's doing.

 

[Floof]

Thanks for the input. Where can I find Betadine? Would Walgreens carry it?

I don't know where peroxide would be bad, and I've heard of people using it to disinfect wounds on snakes... I guess I'll skip it to be safe until someone who knows one way or the other can respond, though. Better safe than sorry.

Thanks again.

 

[Gail]

Peroxide is bad, it actually kills healthy flesh, you should be able to find betadine at any good pharmacy.

 

[Floof]

Argh. I didn't expect the betadine to cost so much.. Even the generic brand was $12. I didn't have enough to buy the betadine right now, but hopefully I can borrow some money from my dad and get it later today.

Gail-- Is that the only thing that makes peroxide bad? Because I consider that a good thing (destroying cells healthy or not) when it seems the whole wound is a lump of unhealthy flesh right now. It's the same thing that makes it useful on possibly infected wounds in people.

If I do a peroxide rinse, I only intend to do it once, to destroy any infected or otherwise unhealthy flesh in the wound before applying the antiseptic. After that, I understand that using peroxide is bad since it would destroy the healthy, healing flesh.

If I seem to be coming off as trying to ignore your advice, I apologize, because I'm not. I'm just trying to talk out the pros and cons of peroxide so I can approach this in the most effective way possible.

Thanks again for your advice, and I look forward to seeing your input on the peroxide issue.

 

[Gail]

I understand your point on the peroxide but I still wouldn't use it. If it was a big festering wound then it might be a different story.
I doubt one use is going to hurt anything and you should probably do it sooner then later. The longer the wound sits uncleaned the longer germs can get in.
I've always wondered why you can't use regular iodine, I'll have to ask around and see if its safe.

I wouldn't worry too much about the wounds, once cleaned up they should heal pretty quickly. Its good they are getting separated, I rescued a dragon last year who killed his cage mate after 4 years of peacefully living together.

 

[Floof]

I did end up using the peroxide, since it was taking too long for anyone to reply and I was concerned about just leaving it. There wasn't much fizzing, so I have to wonder if the wound has started closing up already... I rinsed off the peroxide after around 30 seconds of letting it sit and applied a generic brand neosporin. I'm sitting with her now, to make sure she doesn't try to eat the neosporin off her foot.

Should I bother with the betadine, if it's already begun closing up? Or is treating it with the betadine later today, despite having already disinfected it and applied neosporin, still a good idea? It does look like it can heal perfectly fine on its own at this point, but I don't want anything to go wrong during the healing process...

Yikes, now there's a scary cohabbing story. Thanks for helping reaffirm my belief that beardies shouldn't be housed together, lol.

 

[Gail]

I have no experience with betadine but since the wound is closing I don't know if it will do much good at this point. If you already had the betadine then I'd say go ahead and use it but I wouldn't buy it just for those small bites.
I suppose its something all dragon owners should have on hand for emergencies and I should get some myself.

 

[Floof]

Okay, great. I'll skip the betadine, then. Thanks for all the advice, Gail.

Betadine definitely sounds like something we should all have on hand. I'll have to remember to get some for the reptile room when I have money again. lol.

 

[beardie parents]

Peroxide is toxic for beardie's skin. You can pm jaspersmom, her name is Sandi and her first beardie had no tail at all because the people that had him first put peroxide on his tail. It basically killed his whole tail. Peroxide will probably kill her foot if you keep using it.

 

[beardie parents]

BTW, betadine will be much better for your girl than the peroxide. To use the betadine, dilute it to the color of weak tea and soak her injured foot in it. Make sure she doesn't drink it. The betadine will help to clean her foot, no matter how bad or good the injury is.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Sorry I did not see this thread until now.
Betadine is the safest alternative. Peroxide is cytotoxic which means it kills all cells, good or bad. This is not a good substance to be given to reptiles especially with thick scales. It is too acidic & can destroy, permanently, the scales on & around the area.

Even though it looks like the wounds are closing, please go ahead & use the antibiotic ointment on those areas to help ward off infection since it was a bite.

Tracie

 

[Floof]

Thanks for the info, beardie parents and Tracie. It's very interesting to hear that Hydrogen Peroxide can cause such permanent damage, and it's certainly good to know.

I was able to buy some generic brand Betadine today (turns out it's only $6.50 at Walmart, half the price of Walgreen's.. geeze), and am heading up to soak her foot in some after posting this. Thanks again for everyone's advice/info.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great that you found some betadine for a decent price at Walmart then. That will be fine. Just focus on keeping the area clean, & hopefully the fingers will not become necrotic.
How is she doing?

Tracie

 

[Floof]

Hi, Tracie,

She's doing great. The lower cut on the first toe appears to have all but completely closed up, and the nail on the second toe is losing some of the redness. The only raw-looking spot left, a spot on the upper cut of the first toe, looks pink, clean, and healthy. She grips just fine with both affected fingers, so I guess it's safe to assume she didn't break any bones or suffer any nerve damage.

Unfortunately, the girls are still together at the moment. It got late yesterday, and no one would help me carry the big enclosure upstairs. I should be able to get someone to help today... If not, I'll have to knock some heads in. For goodness' sake, there's 3 teenagers and 2 grown men in the house who would be more than able to help out... The lazy bums! :roll: