Will scales come back??

[Jakestaken]

My bearide mushu had a weird black cut on her leg. When i put neosporin on it it made the black and gross scales mushy and fall off. Now she has a non bleeding spot on her leg wjere i can see the actual skin. Will the scales come back? Im very worried and cant afford a vet because im only 14.

 

[Jakestaken]

Also sorry for bad picture quality. My phones pic quality is awful when ita darker, amd thr only way i could get this pic was wjen she was sleeping so it had to be a little dark.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That looks rather painful. How long has your dragon had this spot on her leg?
Is it from a thermal burn possibly? If it's from a burn, the scales might come back, but it will
take a bit of time for full healing.
Continue to use antibiotic ointment on the area, daily. You could even try using raw, unpasteurized honey or manuka honey on the area instead, it is a great agent for skin issues.
I don't think it's yellow fungus, because it doesn't look like it is spreading, is that correct?
I do think if it doesn't clear up though, you should try to seek medical attention from a vet in case
it's a bacterial infection of some type.
Are you using loose of solid substrate?

Tracie

 

[Jakestaken]

Hello,

That looks rather painful. How long has your dragon had this spot on her leg?
Is it from a thermal burn possibly? If it's from a burn, the scales might come back, but it will
take a bit of time for full healing.
Continue to use antibiotic ointment on the area, daily. You could even try using raw, unpasteurized honey or manuka honey on the area instead, it is a great agent for skin issues.
I don't think it's yellow fungus, because it doesn't look like it is spreading, is that correct?
I do think if it doesn't clear up though, you should try to seek medical attention from a vet in case
it's a bacterial infection of some type.
Are you using loose of solid substrate?

Tracie

Hi there. Its not from a burn. She had a spot where the scales were rotted when i got her. I got her when she was 6 months. Putting ointment on it made those scales kind of mushy and the just peeled off. Now that theu are gone will they grow back?

 

[EllenD]

Honestly what Tracie is getting at is that the cause of her scales "rotting" in the first place might be much more serious than you know, and the main issue right now isn't whether the scales will grow back or not, it's why they ended up that way to begin with. It's not your fault, he contracted whatever it was or had the accident that caused it before you got him, but it very well may have been originally caused by a burn from his lights, a bite from another dragon he was housed with, a bite from a cricket left in his tank or a cut from some other accident that became infected, or unfortunately it could be a fungal infection...That's what we need to figure out, because if you treat it the wrong way you could actually make it worse.

Where did you get him? What did the "cut" or "rotted" area look like before the skin sloughed off? It is completely raw now and open down to his very first layers of skin, so that has to be horribly painful for him. What substrate do you have in the bottom of his tank? If it's any loose substrate at all, like sand, gravel, rocks, Coco husk, bark, mulch, walnut shells, etc. you need to remove it immediately and put down clean, dry papertowels that you can replace as they become soiled. But honestly I would take everything out of his tank ASAP anyway and completely disinfect his entire tank inside and out with very hot water and either bleach or F10 disinfectant, along with everything that is inside his tank, all decor, basking platforms, rocks, wood, bowls, everything. If it is a fungal or bacterial infection that he has you need to do this complete disinfecting to keep him from repetitively reinfecting himself. And loose substrates will get stuck to the wound, and they also harbor bacteria and fungi anyway, so if you have them get rid of them...I would take a photo of his entire body and his complete enclosure and lighting and post it for us to see...Does he have any other areas on his skin that look odd?

 

[AHBD]

I agree that raw, unpasteurized honey [ from health food store or beekeeper ] is the best thing for it. Be sure not to have loose insects in the tank if you use it and no loose substrate like sand or wood chips. Those must go ASAP with that type of skin problem.

And again, when did you notice that it started like this ?

 

[Jakestaken]

Honestly what Tracie is getting at is that the cause of her scales "rotting" in the first place might be much more serious than you know, and the main issue right now isn't whether the scales will grow back or not, it's why they ended up that way to begin with. It's not your fault, he contracted whatever it was or had the accident that caused it before you got him, but it very well may have been originally caused by a burn from his lights, a bite from another dragon he was housed with, a bite from a cricket left in his tank or a cut from some other accident that became infected, or unfortunately it could be a fungal infection...That's what we need to figure out, because if you treat it the wrong way you could actually make it worse.

Where did you get him? What did the "cut" or "rotted" area look like before the skin sloughed off? It is completely raw now and open down to his very first layers of skin, so that has to be horribly painful for him. What substrate do you have in the bottom of his tank? If it's any loose substrate at all, like sand, gravel, rocks, Coco husk, bark, mulch, walnut shells, etc. you need to remove it immediately and put down clean, dry papertowels that you can replace as they become soiled. But honestly I would take everything out of his tank ASAP anyway and completely disinfect his entire tank inside and out with very hot water and either bleach or F10 disinfectant, along with everything that is inside his tank, all decor, basking platforms, rocks, wood, bowls, everything. If it is a fungal or bacterial infection that he has you need to do this complete disinfecting to keep him from repetitively reinfecting himself. And loose substrates will get stuck to the wound, and they also harbor bacteria and fungi anyway, so if you have them get rid of them...I would take a photo of his entire body and his complete enclosure and lighting and post it for us to see...Does he have any other areas on his skin that look odd?

It was like a gap in the legs scales that didnt connect. Kod of like an upsode down v. I personally think as long as i treat her to prevemt any infection she should be fine because ive had her for a while now about 6 months and she has been fine, the neosporin almost made it worse honestly. Also the substrate is reptile carpeting so it should be fine. Ive been giving frequent baths and frequent neosporin and keeping the tank clean.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I completely agree that sometimes antibiotic ointments that are petroleum based can make
skin lesions on reptiles worse. Try the raw unpasteurized or manuka honey to see if she
shows any improvement.
I do think though, that if by changing the treatment doesn't improvement I would take her to
a vet for a skin culture. It could possibly be some type of bacterial infection. It doesn't seem
to be yellow fungus though luckily because it hasn't spread.
As suggested, change out any loose substrate to cut down on dirt, debris & bacteria.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[EllenD]

Agreed, she should see an experienced reptile vet for a skin scraping...I know you think she's fine, but the fact is that you stated she got this while with her previous owner, and you've had her for 6 months now, so she's had this for at least 6 months, If not longer, who knows how long she had it while with her previous owner!!! The fact that this has not healed but actually gotten worse in at the very least 6 months, probably longer, is indicative of either a bacterial infection or a fungal infection, maybe not Yellow Fungus (it hasn't spread externally, but a lot of fungal infections, including Yellow Fungus, spread internally as well) but there are many types of fungal infections, bacterial infections, and even viral infections that can cause external lesions that don't heal without proper medications/treatments. 6 months is far too long for a wound or area of external infection to last without clearing up.

The baths you're giving her may actually be making this worse, especially if it is a fungal infection, as moisture can cause it to not only spread, but actually encourage it to not dry out but rather stay as an active infection. A simple Skin-Scraping test done by an experienced reptile vet will determine whether it's a bacterial, fungal, or viral infection and will also indicate what treatment will resolve it. And God forbid it is a fungal infection that can spread internally, like Yellow Fungus, you need to know this, because things you are doing are detrimental to successfully treating a fungal infection like that. If it's a simple bacterial or fungal infection that an antibiotic or antifungal will clear up, it's time to figure this out and get it taken care of, as again 6 months (minimum) is far to long to have this without it resolving, simple wounds, cuts, or burns don't linger for 6 months. And a Skin-Scraping test is inexpensive...