What to expect from healing open wounds?

[onthefritz]

So, I took my rescue boy to the vet two weeks ago for what turned out to be a type of staph infection from the poor husbandry that he had (well, didnt have) before he was rescued a little over a month ago. He had numerous open abscesses on his beard that had to be opened and cleaned while we were at the vet.

He's been on antibiotics for two weeks now and although his sores seem better and his months of stuck shed has improved greatly, its still very obvious that he still has some healing to do on his beard.

The other night a big scab fell off of one of the sores. It exposed a nice and smooth pink spot of skin underneath but there are no scales there at all. It wasn't slimy looking and didn't bleed nor has it rescabbed. Is this pretty normal for healing things like this on a beardie? He is my first so I'm not really sure how their scales work after trauma like that.

I have called the vet to give him an update but he was at lunch and the suspense is killing me so I figured that I would ask some of you.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....all wounds heal differently, especially according to the extent of damage sustained. Pink skin is probably a good sign. One thing you might put on it that can actually help the healing process is raw honey. It contains amino acids + proteins and helps with tissue granulation. How is he doing, is he active and is he eating ?

 

[onthefritz]

How is he doing, is he active and is he eating ?

He seems to be acting normal. He runs and explores when I get him out to to play and seems to still enjoy being loved on before he goes to bed. He also had a bad tremble when I first brought him home from being malnourished but that has since improved to almost nothing.

His appetite has changed though. With that said, he is still very skinny from his previous situation. When he was initially rescued by a local breeder, he was taken to a so-so herp vet and given a nolvasan wash and then de-wormed twice. After 3-4 weeks he started nibbling at a few roaches and horned worms each day but wasn't exactly eating like a normal adult male would. I decided to go ahead and pick him up knowing that he wasn't 100% because my herp vet is fantastic and I thought that we needed a better evaluation of his situation since what the first vet prescribed didn't seem to be working.

After being on the antibiotics for a day he started eating like a horse all of a sudden. He was easily slamming 8-10 supers and 8-10 med-lg dubia each day for about a week. In the past week though, he has slowed down a lot. He'll eat about 3-5 supers and maybe 3-5 roaches. He does still seem to be very interested in his horned worms though and will easily eat 3-4 mediums if I offer them.

He hasn't touched his greens since he's been here but the vet told me that because he's so skinny at this point that I should just give him whatever he wants to eat and then sort out the pickiness later.

 

[AHBD]

That's great that his appetite is so strong. Sounds like everything is going as well as can be expected, in his condition some dragons wouldn't even eat so that's a real plus.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is terrific he is recovering so well.
I am happy to hear he is eating also, that is wonderful. As mentioned, they do heal differently but it sounds like he is on the mend. The unpasteurized honey should help immensely.
You can post some pictures when you get a chance.

Tracie

 

[onthefritz]

You can post some pictures when you get a chance.

Ive tried to post them a few times but I dont know how lol.

I did notice this morning that he has what looks like a new(ish) abscess on his chin. You can see a small bump in the pictures of when he was first rescued over a month ago but the bump is much larger now and looks like it is trying to open. Could this be from the antibiotics pulling it to the surface to drain? I think the rest of his sores look much smaller and dry than before... just concerned about what is about to happen with this new bump. I guess that could be why his appetite as decreased if that spot is sore?

Im still waiting to hear back from our vet to see what he wants to do next. Hopefully he just needs some time but I am prepared to take him back in as well. He's such a sweet boy, I'm just ready for him to be better.

UPDATE: he has an appointment today at 3:40 to check out his progress and the new bump on his chin.

 

[onthefritz]

Dr.Harbin was pleased with his progress yesterday but wanted to go ahead and get him on a stronger antibiotics via injection for 5 days to finish the job since the first round didnt quite do it. He also added a steroid to his antibiotics to help increase his appetite. Its been a slow process but Dr.Harbin was still pretty optimistic that Hoggle will make a full recovery with some time!

here is a picture of his wounds after his first vet visit on 3/9 (left) and what they looked like on 3/24 (right)

 

[AHBD]

Yes, that is definite progress and looks SO much better. Good for you both !