Yellow Fungus? Rescued Beardie today and need opinions.

[greathouseFarm]

Hi everyone,

I stumbled on this ad rehoming this female (CRaigslist) because he said he couldn't take care of her anymore. Judging from how skinny she was in the picture I ran out to get her. He said she was in full shed but I think it's more than that. There's a very dark black spot on her right side that just doesn't match the other side. And orange scales here and there... but something just doesn't seem right so I looked it up. Below is a link to my flikr where I posted many pictures.
What a pretty girl right! Her face doesn't look like the same dragon. I want to make sure I do right by her so if everyone can take a moment to see the pictures and tell me what they think it is... We greatly appreciate it!

Also can I use human asidopholis (sp?) like you get at GNC to add probiotic to the treatment course? The rest of the treatment Nolvasan baths and Lamasil, seem pretty straight forward for a mom who has battled ringworm! Thank you everyone - my son and I are glad to be part of the BD community!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beebeelb/sets/72157622249634869/

 

[jortiz9758]

Wow...that poor beardie looks dehydrated and emaciated. I am not going to make any suggestions except for giving her a nice warm bath for now. I will let someone with more experience with beardies in that condition answer. Good luck with her. :|

 

[greathouseFarm]

Yeah I hear you! She actually kind of stank! I gave her a nice long bath the second we got home and she swam around like a fish! So she must have had baths but maybe just not often enough. She even drank in the bath & has been eating like any other Beardie I know. She hate Kale & Crickets, I offered her a meal worm but she didn't take it but that was when we first got here. So there's a lot to be optimistic about. I will go get her some Pheonix worms tomorrow and feel that treating her for the fungus can't hurt anything. I hope my awesome LPS has that Nolvasan. Am I doing the right thing? I have lots of experience with marine fish and have saved many from the brink by acting fast and proactively. Do I have this right or the probiotics can only help right? (Soy Yogurt) I read somewhere... It does seem that the combination therapy can't make her worse but please correct me if I am wrong! Thank you...

 

[greathouseFarm]

Okay so I did find some good images and info page on "Yellow Fungus" here
http://www.reptilerooms.com/index.php?categoryid=17&p142_id=115&p142_dis=3&p142_template=Simple

I am convinced that this is what I am dealing with. I just hope that's all it is. So I contacted my LPS (reptiles unlimited) who usually has everything in stock but they don't have the Nolvasan. They do have septiderm (antiseptic bath) I think it's made from Tea Tree and other natural ingredients. I can order it online but I feel like I need to start the treatment now. Doesn't make sense to put Lamasil on if it's not getting to the actual fungus. Any suggestions?

 

[greathouseFarm]

I am sorry to bump this but I haven't gotten any feedback yet. I have been reading everything I can about this fungus and alot of these stories don;t have happy endings I really was hoping someone with some experience could look at her pictures and help me. I went ahead and started the topical treatment today because I didn't want to do nothing. There is still alot of dead skin so I am not sure how much of the medicine is getting to the fungus if it is even there. I would be glad to try and get better pictures etc... I also found some red mites on her skin when I was doing the treatment. Don't think they will survive though and I found only a few. She is still eating great! But any help on this road would make me feel better!

 

[Trogdor_1]

Hello.
Good for you for taking in a beardie in need! She certainly looks like she could use some help. She doesn't, however, appear to have yellow fungus. Judging by the pictures you posted, it seems like she is having a problems with a retained shed. Good, long baths should help with the problem. Rehydrating her is the best way to help her shed off the old skin.
Is there any way to have her checked by a vet to be sure? In the mean time, I would be careful about washing your hands between handling her and your other dragon. Keep them far away from each other incase she is carrying other parasites as well (not just yellow fungus).
How is her appetite? How are her bowel movements? Is she active?

 

[greathouseFarm]

Thanks for Chiming in here!

I have never heard of a retained shed although it sounds self explainatory. Do you know the causes of it? I googled and didn't find much on it. The thing that first drew my attention though was that really dark black spot on her right side. It looks exactly like the picture on the link I posted above of the active dying off stage. (lower right neck pic) I am going to get a better shot of her spots and post it up soon as my battery charges. The texture of her overall skin seems to be off as well. Like almost spongy. What's so hard is that I don't know her true colors are so I have no idea what I'm looking for. She is eating and active and taking two baths a day now. She poops within seconds of the bath & seems to really like the water. I have her quarantined! As a fish girl I know the importance of loosing your whole crew to a pathogen. And we have HandSani pumps all around. Right now I am the only one handling her also. I have been trying to avoid the vet because he charges so much just to take a look and he is the only herp guy in my area. Than he looks at you like your crazy if you don't buy what he says from him! I have vet reserve money for all my pets but since she is eating and happy overall I think we will make it through this. She does also have the red mites, should I be doing anything extra for that? I am excited to see what she really looks like when she is healthy! Ugly duckling maybe a beautiful swan!

 

[greathouseFarm]

Hi I know there are people with more urgent problems but I just wanted to show updated pics and closer pics of the black spot etc... For anyone who can take a look... Thanks!

http://www.flickr.com/photos/beebeelb

 

[Pravius]

One of my babies is going through something very similar and I do not think that this is yellow fungus. Was your guy on antibiotics recently? I am curious because my little one was just recently on Antibiotics due to an upper respiratory infection (I know it sounds like bad husbandry but I just got her 3 weeks ago from a show and as far as I am concerned got ripped

Anyway have you tried bathing in a betadine solution? Betadine solution is like an iodine antiseptic and will pretty much kill anything bad on your guy. It cannot hurt to also treat with either an Antifungal topical cream or a Antibiotic cream... depending on what it is.

I thought I would just put a few tips in with what has helped me so far with one of my little girls.

 

[greathouseFarm]

No I just rescued her yesterday and I say rescued because I answered an ad and purchased ($60) her from a man who said she was a "healthy" 2 yr old female. (15" 205g) I couldn't bare to not buy her because I knew I could help her. So he claims she never saw a vet but from I read this fungus is contageous so I can't be sure that she doesn't have it. But I am going to continue the treatments like you said it can't hurt. I didn't find Nolvasan but I found Hibiclens for humans which is Chlorhexidine Gloconate 4% at RiteAid for $10 bucks and I have diluted it 4/1 to be on the safe side. I also picked up the Lamasil spray and some Soy yogurt should be on the way soon. Will the Chlorhexadine baths kill the mites as well? Also does anyone have a gentle feeding regimine to fatten her up without overloading her system? Thank you everyone!

 

[Pravius]

Chlorhexadine I believe has a heavy concentrate on killing bacteria. I would imagine though that if betadine kills mites this would too if she had them.

Truthfully I use the Flukers Reptaid in assisting with fattning up malnourished dragons. I have found that it does help in that and has a ton of protein in it as well which will help with building muscle.

If she is eating I would feed her normally and maybe throw in a few pinkies or wax worms, be careful not to go too crazy though because they can cause fatty liver disease. But what you are looking for for her primarily looks to be protein and you can get that from crickets, roaches, and other food sources like chicken baby food ect. I would advise against hand feeding too much (this is just my opinion) if they do not need it as I have found that they tend to depend on this and will often become dependent on it... and is much harder to get them to eat on their own again after hand feeding, this is of course unless she is not eating then I would hand feed.

 

[greathouseFarm]

Great tip! I will look for the Fluekers. I have been mixing in some wax worms for her but she is actually very active and even waving her arm at my boy from 5 ft away through glass reflections. So I have just been offering her the variety I would any dragon. I thought that pinky's were for full adults? Her head is pretty big though. How would I know if she is big enough?

 

[Pravius]

Well like anything you want to make sure that it is no larger then the width of the space between their eyes, how old is she... I am sorry I did not see if you posted an age on her.

 

[greathouseFarm]

He told me she was two but she is 15" or so and 200g. I don't think pinkies come that small but I will check. I'm off to the LPS to see about that or the Fluekers and some Benebac or something. You would think that Soy Yogurt would be easy to find but the only thing I found was Soy Fruit Yogurt and I thought the fruit could be anti productive. Thanks to everyone - I will see how this goes and someday maybe post some before & after pictures!

 

[Trogdor_1]

The black spots that she has look like they could be burns. But I still believe the bulk of her skin problems are simply due to retained shed. It basically means that the shedding skin dried out and stayed attached to her, rather than flaking away. It is usually due to dehydration.
As for the mites, I think chlorehex will help. However, treating mites is tough. I would look for a mite spray from a pet store or online. Every day you have to not only treat her, but empty and treat her enclosure and ornaments, too. Use very few ornaments for now and only non porous surfaces (save logs and such for when she is mite free).
For fattening her up, I strongly suggest not using pinkies. They are an awful impaction risk and can seriously hinder the digestive track, even in a healthy dragon. I recommend lots of salad daily. Also, use superworms, silkworms, butterworms, and hornworms rather than crickets. They have very good protein levels. And the silks, butters, and horns have no chitin on them, so they are super easy to digest. Just be warned, silks take some addition care and hornworms grow FAST (but adult dragons can handle full grown hornworms). Check out mulberryfarms.com for very good worms and info on how to care for them.
And of course, a good UV source (reptisun 10.0 tube or MVB) and proper calcium and vitamin supplements will go a long way. Never underestimate the power of good, basic care.