Yeast Infection In Beardies???

[Dhsquire]

My 8 month old girl has recently completely lost her appetite, become really lethargic, started camping out on the cool side of her enclosure, lost 10 grams, and has partially had her mouth open..this has gone on for about a week...

She weighs 306 grams, Her temps are spot on (100-110), she's housed (alone) in a 40g breeder, she has a 10.0 reptisun UVB tube light, eats lots of crickets and some greens (still picky), gets calcium 7 x a week and a multivitamin 1x a week.. I soak her just about every other night and I was using sanitized play sand for substrate..

I have been having to force feed her a mixture of chicken, butternut squash, apples, and green been baby food mixed with her supplements and carnivore care .. and have also been giving her a probiotic (NutribacDF) to try to help boost her appetite .. but nothing..

I was able to take her to my herp vet today, suspecting a respiratory infection since her mouth has been slightly open, she has also been making a few popping noises and wheezing a bit..which is odd since it usually never gets under 76 at night and is quite hot during the day..

she checked her out, said her lungs sound wonderful, she had no blockage of any kind, no overabundce of mucus, anything.. .so she did a mouth swab and found that Little Bit has a yeast infection.. which seemed odd to me, I've never heard of a bearded dragon getting a yeast infection in the mouth..
she said it could be causing her to have a sore throat and just be irritating in general, hence the loss of appetite....

she gave me an anti-fungal to treat her with, so hopefully it will start working soon, I also picked up some a/d canine/feline prescription food.. full of protien and fat, lots of vitamins ( it's designed for terminal animals who wont eat on their own) so I'm also feeding her that now..

I was looking into reptaid, since it's supposedly an anti-fungal, baytril-like, all purpous type herbal remedy for all sorts of ailments.. any thoughts on that?

is Bee pollen good for her respiratory tract?

All of this aside, I was wondering if there is anything else I should do for her? I've added an under tank heater on the cool side since she refuses to bask, and completely sanitized her enclosure again and now have her on newspaper.. all of her bowls, basking rocks etc have been thouroughly sanitized...

was this something that she could have gotten from her feeders? or a husbandry problem??

I'd appreciate any feedback. I would certainly like to avoid this happening again..
Lauren

 

[pscaulkins]

Yeast infections are usually associated with antibiotic treatment. Has your beardie had any antibiotics lately or even a few months ago?

 

[Dhsquire]

Actually yes, she had a de-worming treatment a few months ago...I didnt even think of that..

thank you

would bee pollen hurt her if she didnt have a respiratory problem? I was thinking of giving her some because she had a little dried up mucus in her nose, even though the vet said it was just yeast??

just trying to help her in any way I can

thanks again

 

[pscaulkins]

I have used bee pollen when my two lost their appetites when they were younger. Won't hurt her.

 

[KairaandTaz08]

Sorry to jump in here...I know pscaulkins has you covered and much more experience than me...but I was wondering what antifungal she was put on? It sounds like you already know this, but most oral antifungals are extremely harsh on their systems. Have you tried Critical Care instead of Carnivore Care? It maybe a little bit better for her, or at least IMO. Also, the antifungals are harsh on their livers/kidneys, so even though the green beans babyfood would usually be good, green beans are high in oxalates which bind to calcium. I'd use more squash babyfood than any of the other greens/veggies (along with the critical care or carnivore care...they are both good). Papaya babyfood (if you can find some) is a little better than apples, also. Have you noticed any discoloration externally? You may also want to try giving her some watered down Gatorade or Pedialyte (sp?). That will help keep her hydrated and with a few of the other problems oral antifungals can cause.
There are more supplements you could try, but if she's doing better and eating (even though it's through a syringe) than they may not be needed. If you want more ideas, you can PM me, but I agree with pscaulkins on the antibiotics being the cause and the bee pollen being a good thing to try.
Good luck & I hope she starts feeling better ,
Abi

 

[Dhsquire]

Thanks for the reply, I was hoping someone would give me some suggestions on what to do

I told the vet I wanted an anti-fungal that would be less harsh on her system, so she put her on Itraconazole
she took .5 cc once a day for three days, she's off for six.. then repeat..
I've been soaking her everyday, and I've been mixing pedialite with her food..
what are your thoughts on a/d prescription food from the vet, I've been mixing that with squash baby food and pureed collard and turnip greens... she seems to like it, just has NO appetite.. it's worrying me, I still havent seen her eat on her own, she just doesnt seem interested in the least. I've been giving her probiotics to help, and lots of fluids.. I'm just starting to freak out a little...
she has no change in color, doesnt physically look stressed other than her being lethargic and on the cold side..
it usually doesnt take too long to kill a yeast infection, so I'm wondering why she isnt starting to improve..

thanks for the tip about the green beans and apples.. I'll use the squash and search for the papaya.
Thank you so much!