Yellow fungus? Baby bearded dragon

[Sjnewland82]

New beardie owner here. We got two babies last weekend. I had done research on habitats, food, etc. but had no idea about yellow fungus. I'm afraid this baby (Daphne) has it. Full disclosure, I was missinformed at first and had the dial thermometers that stick on the wall. One fell off and Daphne got stuck to the sticky side. I FREAKED out. But my husband was calm and grabbed the bottle of olive oil and we were able to free her effortlessly. I noticed the yellow when checking her out after we freed her from the stickiness. At first I thought it was an injury from her trying to get unstuck on her own. But two days later it looked worse, not like it was "healing". When I started to look up possible reasons for it I came across a number of yellow fungus threads. She has the yellowing around her vent, along with some crusting over it. She also has a dark spot over her left shoulder. It was kind of brownish at first (again noticed after she got stuck), but now seems to be darker, almost black. I'm pretty sure a vet visit is going to be happening in our very near future. But do those of you more experienced/knowledgable think this is yellow fungus? I have started "treatment" just incase (short iodine baths, antifungal cream). Any ideas/suggestions are appreciated! I do have a hot and cool side along with the basking platform. Using a mercury vapor bulb for heat/uvb. Also have an under tank heater for night time heat. Substrate is ceramic tile (has some texture so they have grip).

http://s1108.photobucket.com/user/sjnewland82/media/Mobile%20Uploads/image_zpstxfv7d2o.jpeg.html?filters%5Buser%5D=144779848&filters%5Brecent%5D=1&sort=1&o=0

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. She's a cutie . Unfortunately that does look like yellow fungus. Can you take her back to where you got her and see if they'll pay the vet bill? Also if you are housing the other with her you must separate as yellow fungus is very contagious. You can use antifungal cream , but you definitely need to take her to the vet so they can test it to make sure that is what it is and give you the proper meds. Infact a herp specialist is what I'd take her to.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I agree, it does look like yellow fungus. I highly recommend separating them also, as it is very contagious & you don't want your other one to contract it.
The store should definitely offer to pay for any treatment for you. He will need some aggressive treatment so it doesn't get out of control & take over.

Let us know how things go at the store.

Tracie

 

[Sjnewland82]

I called the vet this morning and got an apt for Wednesday. I also emailed the breeder we got her from asking if they would help out either with vet bills, exchange, or at the very least refund our money so we can put that towards treatments. I really don't want to "exchange" her as we all have already fallen in love with her. But if they have a vet team that can work with her to give her a better chance at survival, then I would do it. Everything I have read on YF seems pretty terrible. Are there any instances of any reptiles beating this thing??? I saw the beardie on beautiful dragons that lived 7 years. Also, I don't have another tank to use right now. I have a 40 gallon long tank. Could I completely clean that and then use a plexiglas in the middle to divide it into two tanks and then use some aquarium sealant to seal it in place so that it's actually two complete setups? I am assuming because it's a fungus that it has spores. how far do those spores travel? I guess my question is between diving the bigger tank and trying to get another tank and setup. If the spores can travel and I have the other tank in the same room, wouldn't it be hard to keep the spores out of that tank as well? And what about handling? I know they said it shouldn't cause problems in humans unless someone is immune compromised. I was wondering more for the reason of possibly spreading spores. My daughter is 5 and LOVES to hold these guys. She'll sit on the couch playing a game and they they just sit on her shoulders or her head?

 

[CooperDragon]

They can beat it. It's a rough infection though. You need to be very careful about sanitation/cleaning as mentioned. Having a small steam cleaner may be helpful. I have a 1000w steam cleaner I picked up at Big Lots for about $45 and it's great for sanitizing furniture and the tank. I believe F10SC is also effective in cleaning it out. As far as treatment goes, there have recently been some very good results using Voriconizole which is formulated by a drug company in Arizona called Diamondback Drugs. If your vet confirms a fungal infection via skin testing, then they can submit a prescription to Diamondback and have the meds shipped directly to you (usually within a few days) if they deem that is the proper course of treatment. In the meantime, I'd keep up with the topical treatments and avoid baths which can spread the fungus.

 

[Sjnewland82]

Should I not do the iodine baths at all? Or still do short iodine baths but no regular baths? Is the risk of the moisture spreading the fungus not worth the iodine baths?

 

[CooperDragon]

Betadine may be effective against fungus so short baths in that should be OK. I was more referring to plain water baths. I'd instead offer water via dropper or oral syringe.

 

[Sjnewland82]

Got an email back from the breeder. They are willing to exchange if I take it to their store, which is two hours away. She seemed more hurt/upset about the fact I said she had to have contracted it prior to my purchase than about the health and wellbeing of the bearded dragon! I was very careful not to "blame" them as I was just meaning it in a sense that they should watch their other animals. I'm thinking I would rather see what the vet says first. If this girl is more concerned about how she is viewed vs the health of her animals, I am not so sure I want to send this baby back there! As far as the skin testing, is that something they look at in the office like under a microscope or is it something that generally gets sent out to a lab for testing?

 

[CooperDragon]

If you're attached to her then I'd just bite the bullet and take care of her on your own if you feel the breeder isn't looking out for her best interest. It's worth it to provide care to a sick baby and will make you even more attached. It's a serious condition but if you have an experienced reptile vet she stands a decent chance of fighting it. I think the skin testing depends on the capability of the vet's lab. Some of them can handle that kind of testing but others will send it away and you'll get results in a few days.

 

[Sjnewland82]

Unfortunately Daphne passed away in the night. I think she became impacted due to the fungus over her vent. It had made a hard crusty spot. Many times over the day yesterday she seemed like she was trying to poop but nothing ever came out. I know the baths are bad in a YF situation, but I did give her a warm bath and tried to massage her tummy and scrape away a small bit off the vent, but I was not successful at getting any off. I don't know if that is the reason or not. But either way, she unfortunately is no long with us ? Thank you for your support over the last few days.

 

[destiny1998]

Sorry for your loss

 

[AHBD]

I'm so sorry about your little Daphne....it's so sad to lose a baby like that. As a caring person you were ready to give er a chance, so good for you. My sympathy to you and your family.