Yellow Fungus?

[onceblue]

So I took my beardie in from a family member who couldn't keep him. He's from a pet shop (Petsmart, I believe). He's been in great health since I got him, good appetite, shedding, poop looks good, etc. Well this weekend he shed his lower half so today I was giving him a good look-over and noticed this:

It looks like yellow fungus to my uneducated eyes, but since he recently shed that part of his body, is it possible that it's related to that? I'm going to call the nearest herp vet tomorrow to see if I can get an appointment soon, but I wanted to post it here and get some feedback. My understanding of YF is that it can be controlled but the outlook isn't good. Is that accurate?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Yes, that does look suspicious I agree. It just looks like a thick yellowish shed but that is what yellow fungus tends to look like. Perhaps it is just shed, but it would be good to get that tested.
In some cases, you can get rid of it completely if caught early! If it goes undiagnosed/treated then it is extremely hard to get rid of or control & the outcome is usually not good.
You can start by being proactive & getting some anti-fungal cream to put on it daily & start giving some probiotics such as non dairy soy yogurt or non dairy acidophiliz to help balance out the system.
When do you think you may be able to get him to a vet?

Tracie

 

[onceblue]

Thanks so much for the quick reply. I just picked up some betadine, lamisil, and soy yogurt so I'm getting him started on those today. I'm calling the vet first thing tomorrow. I have off from work so i can bring him tomorrow if there are any openings. If not, I should be able to take off Thursday or Friday, so hopefully I can get him seen this week.

Any tips on cleaning his viv if it is yellow fungus? Frequency and what to use? He has slate tile in there right now, but slate can be porous, so would it be better to go with paper towel temporarily? I don't want him to reinfect himself if that's what it is.

I'm really hoping it's just shed. The skin underneath looks okay. But the rest of it looks unhealthy...

ETA: Also, how much yogurt should I aim for him to eat and how frequently? He licked a little off my finger and then licked a bit off his nose but then stopped. He's getting used to me but he's still a little skiddish and prolonged activities (like bathing or hand feeding him more than just a few bugs) can stress him out a little. How much should I aim to feed him?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Great you started him on the yogurt & lamisil, too. Hopefully it is just a thick shed & that is all.
For cleaning, the best is a steamer but if you don't have a steamer, you can use a diluted bleach solution to disinfect. You can use cardboard items for basking platforms, etc along with paper towels so you can throw it away & put new in. Or you can use newspaper, too.
If he doesn't have yellow fungus then you can use regular basking items.
If you can only get him to take a little bit of the yogurt, that is ok. He is small & still getting used to you so just do the best you can.
Let us know how he is doing & if you are able to get into the vets.

Tracie

 

[onceblue]

Thank you for the info. I am going to do a big cleaning later today.

I wasn't able to get a vet appointment for today, but we have an appointment on Saturday morning. He ate less today than he usually does - usually he eats around 30-40 dubia for breakfast but today he only ate around 13. I think he may be a little stressed from all the extra handling, though. I also feed in a separate container which has never been a problem before but I'm thinking about feeding him in his viv now to see if it'll make him feel more comfortable since the extra attention seems to be throwing him off. I just need to figure out how to keep the dubia from hiding between the tiles...

That area on his body looked a little extra crusty/dried out today and less like a shed. I was going to take a picture but he wasn't really cooperating and I decided not to force it since I'm having to pester him enough with the cream and such. I'll keep up with the yogurt and lamisil and let you know if anything changes.

 

[onceblue]

I also figured out how to get him to eat a little more yogurt. I dipped a couple of butterworms in it. He ate them right up. Just a tip in case anyone is wondering the same...

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is certainly plausible he is stressed from overhandling & being fussed over with the cream, etc.
At least you did figure out how to get more yogurt into him, from on the worms. So he likes it ok then for the most part?
I am glad he still ate & hopefully his appetite will pick up again soon. Let us know how he is doing.
I really hope it turns out not to be yellow fungus though!

Tracie

 

[onceblue]

Thank you for the continued encouragement and support!

He does seem to like the yogurt okay, it didn't put him off the butterworms, at least! But he does love butterworms a lot so that probably helps.

He ate more this morning, around 20 roaches. I fed him in his viv on a dish so that I didn't have to take him out and bother him some more, and I think that helped. Still not as many as he usually eats but at least it's more.

I'm a little nervous about taking him to the vet, it'll be a long car ride (1 hour) and I know it'll stress him out a lot. I'm also a little worried about it being on Saturday and not sooner, too. But I'm going to keep doing everything I can until then.

 

[timtr520]

Hey guys,
My bearded dragon (Smaug) also have yellow fungus and it's on her beard. I've been using Voriconazole for awhile since 7/27 and I still see yellow on her beard. I read the items you guys mentioned but I'm not aware of what they look like. Please can you provide a picture or a link of a good anti-fungal cream that you guys used? And also Betadine? I'm sorry, there's a lot of different kind of products out there and I'm not sure which is recommend.

Thank you!

 

[onceblue]

Here you go:

I got mine from a local grocery store (Kroger) in the pharmacy section. I also found the soy (non-dairy) yogurt there in the organic section. They have generic versions of the products for cheaper, but I went with the brand name to be safe.

The glass dish you see on the left is what I bathe him in. He's still small, so he fits pretty well, and because it's clear, I can easily get the betadine color right (it needs to look like weak tea, from what I read).

 

[timtr520]

Thanks for the respond! I really appreciated. Is there a cream that you need to apply after bathing the beardie with Betadine? Btw my Smaug is 1yr and 6 months. I read a site which this person also have experienced treating YF for his bear die. It's kind of old but it gives you good understanding.

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/yellowfungus.html

 

[onceblue]

The Lamisil (on the right in the picture) is the cream that I apply after bathing him in the diluted betadine. I dry him off completely first, then rub in the cream.

Thanks for sharing the link. It's heartening to hear about beardies that are able to live well despite the infection. I think it's the scariest health affliction for bearded dragons because it's so contagious and can be so damaging/painful for the dragon.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great news he didn't seem to mind it being on the butterworms. LOL
How often are you bathing him? Since water tends to spread fungus if too frequent, limit the baths somewhat. Get the skin clean, then apply the cream 1-2 times daily. Bathe just enough to rinse off & get the stickiness off when needed.
That is terrific he ate so many roaches today. Keeping him in his tank & feeding in the bin probably did help out for him since he has been stressed somewhat.
Saturday will be here soon! Too bad it's such a long drive but he should be fine.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie

 

[onceblue]

I was bathing every other day at first but I picked it up a little since I started applying the cream and starting doing it every day — but only for a few minutes, and on every other day just his bottom half instead of a deeper bath (he's more comfortable when he gets to hang onto me or the side of the dish while he's bathing, and I wanted to make sure he didn't drink the water). I'll start limiting it though — I didn't realize about the water potentially spreading it, but that makes sense.

He ate almost fifty dubia for dinner today! So his appetite is back on par, and he seems to like being fed in his viv since he gets to go back and forth from the basking spot to the dish during the ten minute period. And he was very calm while I was handling him today (except when I put the cream on, he still isn't crazy about that) so that was really nice, he seems like he's adjusting to all of it now.

Thanks again for all the help and advice. I'll definitely update after I see the vet on Saturday!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, that will be fine then. At least he is tolerant of his baths & getting his cream too. LOL Poor thing. Does he drink in the water/bath very much? I am sure it can get annoying getting the cream on often but at least he is doing pretty well.
Wow his appetite really did pick up! That is great, that is quite a bit of food for him then. If he prefers to eat like that then you can continue that for awhile since he is doing so well with it right now.
I hope things go well at the vets. Keep us posted on your little one.

Tracie