Yellow Fungus

[Jakestaken]

So the guy at petco said this is the start of a fungal infection. I trust him, but he said to put neosporin on it and no more baths. Ive been doing this but more are showing up. What should i do? Shes 17 months old. She wont let me touch them, and its very worrying. She also has the one between her side and her thigh, that is grey, and hard yet mushy at the same time. My parents wont let me take her to a vet because they think im over worried, and we dont have the money. What can i do? She has the spots on her feet and im worried they might get bad and make it hard for her to walk.

 

[Jakestaken]

On her belly (around her legs and poop thing) she is also shedding. The shedding skin is very dry too.

 

[Jakestaken]

This worries me the most

 

[Jakestaken]

I got her to sleep so could look at the bottom and its really bad. Ive read that its possibly yellow fungus, and they may live 12 months.?

 

[Crowley]

Def looks like yellow fungus, but I would take her to a vet and get a skin scraping (I think thats what its called?) just to be sure. There are plenty of people on here who have had a lot of success treating their beardies, lengthening their lifespans, and I think in rare cases even curing it. Im sorry this happened to you but dont give up hope just yet.

 

[Jakestaken]

Def looks like yellow fungus, but I would take her to a vet and get a skin scraping (I think thats what its called?) just to be sure. There are plenty of people on here who have had a lot of success treating their beardies, lengthening their lifespans, and I think in rare cases even curing it. Im sorry this happened to you but dont give up hope just yet.

Ok ill get her to a vet, but shes had this since i got her in january when she was 6 months old. She was on sale because of it, and I thought I could save her. I feel like junk because i lover her so much and it feels like i couldnt help her.

 

[Jakestaken]

Ill make sure to spend the possible last weeks of her life being happy. She is sleeping in her bed now.

 

[EllenD]

Oh I'm so sorry, it's definitely Yellow Fungus. Do you know much about Yellow Fungus? I'll be quick and to the point here, because there is only one way to help her, and honestly and truthfully they typically don't do well, although it's more successful when treating an adult.

No more baths, no Neosporin. Yellow Fungus is extremely difficult to treat because it not only grows externally, but also internally. The only treatment known to even give them a chance of survival is a daily oral prescription antifungal medication called Voricozanole in combination with a prescription strength antifungal creme.

Often what happens is people refuse to seek vet care and instead buy an over-the-counter antifungal creme, like Lamisil, and put it on daily. Then either the Lamisil starts to seem like it's helping, or the dragon sheds the areas, and suddenly it looks like it's gone, and stays that way for a week or two...Then BAM it comes back full force, covering the body. This happens because the entire time it is looking better externally it has been aggressively growing internally. Often times they lose entire limbs and tails to it, eyes, etc.

I would stop all baths, as water will only spread it. You can buy an over-the-counter antifungal creme if you want to, but the bottom line is that without long-term, daily, prescription oral antifungal meds (Voricozanole is the only one that seems to have any chance of helping) from an experienced reptile vet, he will not make it, and you have very few if any other options, other than euthanasia. I'm so sorry, but I think it's much better to be truthful and straightforward with you for the sake of the dragon. Especially since your parents think you're "overreacting" and can't afford vet care. Just an FYI, most dragons who survive Yellow Fungus are seeing a certified reptile vet and on the Voricozanole for between 6 months to over a year, that's how tough it is to cure.

I suggest you go into the "Infectious Disease" forum here with your parents, and allow them to read both this post I'm writing and the stories of other people battling Yellow Fungus (also called "Yellow Skin Disease". He does need a skin scraping test to confirm it, but I'm 99.9% sure it's Yellow Fungus that he has, and it's advanced.

Be aware that without starting very aggressive treatment ASAP he could possibly/probably start to lose large chunks of skin/muscle and entire toes/limbs. If this starts then you have to start thinking about whether or not to keep him suffering, for it's extremely painful for them.

I'm extremely sorry this happened to you, I appreciate you wanting to save him, but it was totally unfair of that pet shop employee to only tell you that he had a "fungal infection" and not telling you he actually has "Yellow Fungus" which there is no known cure for and that requires at least many, many months of treatment by a certified reptile vet for them to even stay alive. That's not your fault, and he should be ashamed of himself that he even sold this dragon to anyone, that's actually really upsetting. If the pet shop who had him couldn't afford to treat Yellow Fungus in him then they should have euthanized him.

Also, I guarantee that any reptiles in that pet shop that were anywhere near him or anything he touched also have Yellow Fungus, it is horribly contagious! You need to wash your hands with antibacterial soap before touching him and after touching him, and you also must completely disinfect his tank inside and out and everything in it, including the light fixtures and anything touching or near the tank with very hot water and bleach, or better yet you need to order some F10 Reptile Disinfectant, as it's very hard to kill Yellow Fungus, and if you don't completely disinfect his tank inside and out and everything in it at least once a week he will only keep spreading it all over himself. Use only clean, dry papertowels for his substrate and change them at least once daily. And please make a decision soon about whether or not you can get him started on the oral prescription Voricozanole long-term or whether you need to make a very tough decision, because this will not clear up on its own, it will become extremely difficult to even look at, let alone for him to live with.

Again, this is not your fault, and any pet shop that knowingly sells a dragon who has Yellow Fungus or any other fatal disease that has really no cure (and puts them "on sale" because of it) should be reported and charged the monthly bills for the prescription oral antifungal meds and the Certified Reptile Vet visits.

 

[Jakestaken]

Oh I'm so sorry, it's definitely Yellow Fungus. Do you know much about Yellow Fungus? I'll be quick and to the point here, because there is only one way to help her, and honestly and truthfully they typically don't do well, although it's more successful when treating an adult.

No more baths, no Neosporin. Yellow Fungus is extremely difficult to treat because it not only grows externally, but also internally. The only treatment known to even give them a chance of survival is a daily oral prescription antifungal medication called Voricozanole in combination with a prescription strength antifungal creme.

Often what happens is people refuse to seek vet care and instead buy an over-the-counter antifungal creme, like Lamisil, and put it on daily. Then either the Lamisil starts to seem like it's helping, or the dragon sheds the areas, and suddenly it looks like it's gone, and stays that way for a week or two...Then BAM it comes back full force, covering the body. This happens because the entire time it is looking better externally it has been aggressively growing internally. Often times they lose entire limbs and tails to it, eyes, etc.

I would stop all baths, as water will only spread it. You can buy an over-the-counter antifungal creme if you want to, but the bottom line is that without long-term, daily, prescription oral antifungal meds (Voricozanole is the only one that seems to have any chance of helping) from an experienced reptile vet, he will not make it, and you have very few if any other options, other than euthanasia. I'm so sorry, but I think it's much better to be truthful and straightforward with you for the sake of the dragon. Especially since your parents think you're "overreacting" and can't afford vet care. Just an FYI, most dragons who survive Yellow Fungus are seeing a certified reptile vet and on the Voricozanole for between 6 months to over a year, that's how tough it is to cure.

I suggest you go into the "Infectious Disease" forum here with your parents, and allow them to read both this post I'm writing and the stories of other people battling Yellow Fungus (also called "Yellow Skin Disease". He does need a skin scraping test to confirm it, but I'm 99.9% sure it's Yellow Fungus that he has, and it's advanced.

Be aware that without starting very aggressive treatment ASAP he could possibly/probably start to lose large chunks of skin/muscle and entire toes/limbs. If this starts then you have to start thinking about whether or not to keep him suffering, for it's extremely painful for them.

I'm extremely sorry this happened to you, I appreciate you wanting to save him, but it was totally unfair of that pet shop employee to only tell you that he had a "fungal infection" and not telling you he actually has "Yellow Fungus" which there is no known cure for and that requires at least many, many months of treatment by a certified reptile vet for them to even stay alive. That's not your fault, and he should be ashamed of himself that he even sold this dragon to anyone, that's actually really upsetting. If the pet shop who had him couldn't afford to treat Yellow Fungus in him then they should have euthanized him.

Also, I guarantee that any reptiles in that pet shop that were anywhere near him or anything he touched also have Yellow Fungus, it is horribly contagious! You need to wash your hands with antibacterial soap before touching him and after touching him, and you also must completely disinfect his tank inside and out and everything in it, including the light fixtures and anything touching or near the tank with very hot water and bleach, or better yet you need to order some F10 Reptile Disinfectant, as it's very hard to kill Yellow Fungus, and if you don't completely disinfect his tank inside and out and everything in it at least once a week he will only keep spreading it all over himself. Use only clean, dry papertowels for his substrate and change them at least once daily. And please make a decision soon about whether or not you can get him started on the oral prescription Voricozanole long-term or whether you need to make a very tough decision, because this will not clear up on its own, it will become extremely difficult to even look at, let alone for him to live with.

Again, this is not your fault, and any pet shop that knowingly sells a dragon who has Yellow Fungus or any other fatal disease that has really no cure (and puts them "on sale" because of it) should be reported and charged the monthly bills for the prescription oral antifungal meds and the Certified Reptile Vet visits.

Ok, thank you guys so much for the help. Tbh i think the guy had no idea what he was talking about because he took a while. When you say to euthanize her what does that mean? (Sorry for the stupid question)

 

[EllenD]

By the way, again, please stop the Neosporin immediately and only put Antifungal cremes on the lesions/patches of Yellow Fungus...that pet shop owner or employee really did you and that poor dragon no favors, first by selling him to anyone in the first place "on sale" knowing that he had a deadly disease that takes months to years of treatment to even have a shot at getting rid of it, and also by telling you to put an Antibiotic on it...ANTIBIOTICS WILL CAUSE FUNGAL INFECTIONS TO GET WORSE AND WORSE AND SPREAD, SO WILL WATER....Water feeds fungal infections, well moisture does, so no more baths, and I won't go into why right now but Antibiotics also cause fungal infections to spread and get worse.

So if you're going to put anything on it you need to only use over-the-counter Antifungal cremes, such as Lamisil, Lotrimin, or any of the women's yeast infection cremes like Monistat or the generic equivalents. I'll stress again, this is not going to cure the Yellow Fungus in any way, as the Yellow Fungus is growing internally the entire time you're applying the topical cremes, so the only way to even have a small chance of getting rid of the Yellow Fungus is to go to a Certified Reptile Vet and get him put on a long-term course of oral Voricozanole and use topical, prescription Antifungal meds in conjunction with the prescription oral Antifungal. Usually the dragon will need to be on the oral Voricozanole for a few months at a time and then take a month off from taking it because it's very hard on their kidneys, then they'll need to be on it again for another 3 or 4 months at a time, then another month off, and so on.

So no topical or oral Antibiotics at all. If you're going to try to use anything on your own it needs to only be a topical Antifungal creme, but if the lesions start to appear to get better or go away this is not an indication that you are getting rid of the Yellow Fungus, it may appear to be better for even a few weeks due to topical only treatment, then out of no where his entire body will be ravished by the Yellow Fungus lesions, because the entire time he looked better externally the Yellow Fungus was continually growing and spreading internally.

You can also buy a bottle of Hibiclens at any Walmart or Drugstore, you'll find it next to the Iodine and the rubbing alcohol, it comes in a teal colored bottle. It's a pink colored liquid that all hospital operating rooms now use to scrub-in to surgery with instead of the iodine they used to use (Betadine), because the Hibiclens kills EVERYTHING including bacteria, fungi, parasites, protozoa, etc. You can actually just squirt a tiny amount of the Hibiclens on a clean, sterile cotton ball and then dab the undiluted Hibiclens on each lesion/patch of external Yellow Fungus. Let the Hibiclens dry on each lesion, and then apply the topical antifungal creme to each lesion and rub it in, like Lamisil or Lotrimin.

The Hibiclens not only kills all microbes (Betadine does not kill most fungi or protozoa) but it also forms a protective barrier on the skin after drying that last for up to 24 hours. So apply it once a day early in the morning to each lesion, and apply a very small amount of the Lamisil or other Antifungal creme once in the morning after the Hibiclens dries and then again in the afternoon/early evening. AGAIN, THE HIBICLENS WILL NOT CURE THE YELLOW FUNGUS, BUT IT WILL KEEP THE ALREADY OPEN LESIONS FROM BECOMING INFECTED WITH ANYTHING ELSE, AND IT WILL ALSO HELP TO KEEP THE YELLOW FUNGUS LESIONS FROM SPREADING AND INFECTING OTHER AREAS IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE LAMISIL. UNFORTUNATELY THEY WILL ONLY KEEP COMING BACK AND GETTING WORSE WITHOUT HIM BEING PUT ON THE PRESCRIPTION ORAL ANTIFUNGAL MEDICATION VORICOZANOLE ASAP.
(There are other prescription oral Antifungal meds that have been given to dragons with Yellow Fungus to try to combat the internal growth and spreading of the fungus, but I only know of the Voriconzanole as being the only oral med that has actually totally gotten rid of Yellow Fungus in Bearded Dragons after a very long-term treatment with it).

 

[EllenD]

Oh, I'm sorry...when I said you may need to make the hard decision to "Euthanize" her, I meant you may need to have her put to sleep humanely. Yellow Fungus in Bearded Dragons has no definitive "cure", meaning there is not one treatment that even a Certified Reptile Vet can give her that will cure her completely.

The only thing that vets can do to try to "cure" a Dragon of Yellow Fungus, or get rid of it completely, is to put them on a combination of both a prescription, oral Antifungal medication, that's the Voricozanole, and they usually must be on this for months and months to over a year, and then also using a combination of topical treatments, like antiseptics and prescription-strength Antifungal cremes. But all of these are only attempts at getting rid of the Yellow Fungus, they don't work for all Dragons that have Yellow Fungus.

That's why I said that I wanted to be completely honest with you and just tell you straight what you're dealing with, as well as what you need to prepare yourself for. Most Dragons that are put on the Voricozanole long-term will show some improvement, but more often than not the Yellow Fungus just keeps coming back, and eventually it gets out of control because it stops responding to the prescription medications. That's why most Dragons die from Yellow Fungus, because it's hiding inside of them, under their skin, and it's extremely difficult to get rid of all of the internal Yellow Fungus, even after months and months of them taking the medications.

There are a few cases of successful treatment of Yellow Fungus in the Infectious Disease forum here, that's why I told you to go into that forum and read the few success stories to find out what worked for them. I know there was just recently a guy who had started treating his young dragon for Yellow Fungus about a year and a half ago, and she was on the oral Voricozanole for I believe 3 months at a time, then took a month off where he did only topical prescription treatments, then she would go back on the oral Voricozanole for another 3 months, and so on. And he announced a few months ago that she hadn't shown any signs of having Yellow Fungus for a month or two. So he was one of the few who successfully treated his dragon for Yellow Fungus (so far anyway, it hasn't come back as far as I know), but it took a year and a half of going to the vet for treatment...it's just a horrible disease...

The reason that a lot of people do make the extremely difficult decision to Euthanize their Bearded Dragons who have Yellow Fungus is because once the disease gets out of control (usually this happens if they don't get their dragon to a Certified Reptile Vet and get them started on the oral Antifungal meds) it starts to actually take over and consume entire sections of their bodies, and will cause entire limbs to be overtaken...it's a horrible, ugly, nasty, extremely painful disease. I don't want to go into detail as to the cases I've seen, but I'll just say that putting a Dragon to sleep humanely to end their suffering once the Yellow Fungus gets to that stage where their limbs are taken over with it, that's the only humane decision you can make..

I really suggest that you sit down with your parents in front of a computer and Google "Yellow Fungus Disease in Bearded Dragons", or just go to the "Infectious Disease" section of our forum here, and read about what all is involved in even attempting to treat Yellow Fungus. It's going to take some money every month to get the prescriptions and pay for the vet visits, plus the topical antiseptics and Antifungal cremes. So you really need to sit down and talk to your parent about it, let them read my posts and the posts that others have already made, and maybe that way they will understand the gravity of the situation. I'd be happy to speak to them through a Private Message myself if they wish, whatever we can do to help you and them.

 

[Jakestaken]

Oh, I'm sorry...when I said you may need to make the hard decision to "Euthanize" her, I meant you may need to have her put to sleep humanely. Yellow Fungus in Bearded Dragons has no definitive "cure", meaning there is not one treatment that even a Certified Reptile Vet can give her that will cure her completely.

The only thing that vets can do to try to "cure" a Dragon of Yellow Fungus, or get rid of it completely, is to put them on a combination of both a prescription, oral Antifungal medication, that's the Voricozanole, and they usually must be on this for months and months to over a year, and then also using a combination of topical treatments, like antiseptics and prescription-strength Antifungal cremes. But all of these are only attempts at getting rid of the Yellow Fungus, they don't work for all Dragons that have Yellow Fungus.

That's why I said that I wanted to be completely honest with you and just tell you straight what you're dealing with, as well as what you need to prepare yourself for. Most Dragons that are put on the Voricozanole long-term will show some improvement, but more often than not the Yellow Fungus just keeps coming back, and eventually it gets out of control because it stops responding to the prescription medications. That's why most Dragons die from Yellow Fungus, because it's hiding inside of them, under their skin, and it's extremely difficult to get rid of all of the internal Yellow Fungus, even after months and months of them taking the medications.

There are a few cases of successful treatment of Yellow Fungus in the Infectious Disease forum here, that's why I told you to go into that forum and read the few success stories to find out what worked for them. I know there was just recently a guy who had started treating his young dragon for Yellow Fungus about a year and a half ago, and she was on the oral Voricozanole for I believe 3 months at a time, then took a month off where he did only topical prescription treatments, then she would go back on the oral Voricozanole for another 3 months, and so on. And he announced a few months ago that she hadn't shown any signs of having Yellow Fungus for a month or two. So he was one of the few who successfully treated his dragon for Yellow Fungus (so far anyway, it hasn't come back as far as I know), but it took a year and a half of going to the vet for treatment...it's just a horrible disease...

The reason that a lot of people do make the extremely difficult decision to Euthanize their Bearded Dragons who have Yellow Fungus is because once the disease gets out of control (usually this happens if they don't get their dragon to a Certified Reptile Vet and get them started on the oral Antifungal meds) it starts to actually take over and consume entire sections of their bodies, and will cause entire limbs to be overtaken...it's a horrible, ugly, nasty, extremely painful disease. I don't want to go into detail as to the cases I've seen, but I'll just say that putting a Dragon to sleep humanely to end their suffering once the Yellow Fungus gets to that stage where their limbs are taken over with it, that's the only humane decision you can make..

I really suggest that you sit down with your parents in front of a computer and Google "Yellow Fungus Disease in Bearded Dragons", or just go to the "Infectious Disease" section of our forum here, and read about what all is involved in even attempting to treat Yellow Fungus. It's going to take some money every month to get the prescriptions and pay for the vet visits, plus the topical antiseptics and Antifungal cremes. So you really need to sit down and talk to your parent about it, let them read my posts and the posts that others have already made, and maybe that way they will understand the gravity of the situation. I'd be happy to speak to them through a Private Message myself if they wish, whatever we can do to help you and them.

Ok thats what i thought. I feel terrible, but im stopping all treatment. Shes suffering and i want to put her out of her misery. Its too late. Shes sleeping and has constant stress marks. It is a terrible choice to have to make but it is what is best for her.

 

[AHBD]

I'm so very sorry....Y.F. is a terrible disease, my heart just breaks when I see these threads. I know your heart is broken, my sincere sympathy to you.

 

[EllenD]

I'm so very, very sorry, I was not aware of how badly she was suffering from the disease, though judging from the photos it does look as though it is very wide-spread. This is in no way your fault, please don't blame yourself, you are to be commended for wanting to try to help her and get her away from that awful pet store owner who knew exactly what was going on with her and still chose to not get her any professional veterinary help but to rather "Put her On-Sale" and tell you that she had "some kind of fungal infection" and to simply "Put Neosporin on it"...that guy should be charged with animal abuse, neglect, and cruelty, as well as Theft by Deception for selling her to you. I'd seriously be on the phone with that guy and not only getting any money that you spent on her or supplies for her back, but also having him pay to have her humanely euthanized at a vet's office.

Which brings me to asking you, you are going to take her to a proper veterinary office and have her put to sleep humanely, aren't you? You cannot simply let that horrible Yellow Fungus take over her body and just wait for her to die. Whether she would did of starvation or dehydration, which is horribly painful and will take a very long time to happen, or she dies by being over-taken by the Yellow Fungus, you can't just wait for her to die, she will suffer horribly. You can take her to any veterinary office to have her humanely euthanized, it doesn't have to be a Reptile Specialist. You may be able to even find a vet who with euthanize her for free, in fact I'd be willing to bet on it. You need to talk to your parents about having this done if that's the choice you are making.

I understand that you do not have the money to attempt to treat the Yellow Fungus, and it likely wouldn't help anyway as it looks like she's in pretty advanced stages of the disease, but please do the right thing here and get her to a vet to be humanely euthanized. I don't think you realize how long it may take for her to actually pass away, it could even take a month or months for that to happen, and you cannot starve her to death or die of dehydration, because that will be just as painful as her dying from the Yellow Fungus would be...and without going into detail with you, you definitely do not want to just wait for the Yellow Fungus to kill her, I have seen what it does to dragons, as have many of the members here, and she would suffer greatly and so would you from having to watch what that disease would do to her.

So please, start calling around to all of the veterinary offices that you can, explain the entire situation to them, how that pet shop owner knew she had Yellow Fungus and still decided to sell her "On Sale" and simply tell you she had a fungal infection and to treat it with an Antibiotic creme...if you let veterinarians know that she's suffering I guarantee that you will find one that will be willing to humanely put her to sleep so to prevent a prolonged suffering. Or if I were you I'd get to that pet shop and let that guy have it, and insist that he pay for her to be humanely euthanized, but do not just give her back to him if he says that he'll take her to be put to sleep, that guy is likely to just sell her again to another caring person who would think they could possibly help her.

 

[Jakestaken]

I'm so very, very sorry, I was not aware of how badly she was suffering from the disease, though judging from the photm8aos it does look as though it is very wide-spread. This is in no way your fault, please don't blame yourself, you are to be commended for wanting to try to help her and get her away from that awful pet store owner who knew exactly what was going on with her and still chose to not get her any professional veterinary help but to rather "Put her On-Sale" and tell you that she had "some kind of fungal infection" and to simply "Put Neosporin on it"...that guy should be charged with animal abuse, neglect, and cruelty, as well as Theft by Deception for selling her to you. I'd seriously be on the phone with that guy and not only getting any money that you spent on her or supplies for her back, but also having him pay to have her humanely euthanized at a vet's office.

Which brings me to asking you, you are going to take her to a proper veterinary office and have her put to sleep humanely, aren't you? You cannot simply let that horrible Yellow Fungus take over her body and just wait for her to die. Whether she would did of starvation or dehydration, which is horribly painful and will take a very long time to happen, or she dies by being over-taken by the Yellow Fungus, you can't just wait for her to die, she will suffer horribly. You can take her to any veterinary office to have her humanely euthanized, it doesn't have to be a Reptile Specialist. You may be able to even find a vet who with euthanize her for free, in fact I'd be willing to bet on it. You need to talk to your parents about having this done if that's the choice you are making.

I understand that you do not have the money to attempt to treat the Yellow Fungus, and it likely wouldn't help anyway as it looks like she's in pretty advanced stages of the disease, but please do the right thing here and get her to a vet to be humanely euthanized. I don't think you realize how long it may take for her to actually pass away, it could even take a month or months for that to happen, and you cannot starve her to death or die of dehydration, because that will be just as painful as her dying from the Yellow Fungus would be...and without going into detail with you, you definitely do not want to just wait for the Yellow Fungus to kill her, I have seen what it does to dragons, as have many of the members here, and she would suffer greatly and so would you from having to watch what that disease would do to her.

So please, start calling around to all of the veterinary offices that you can, explain the entire situation to them, how that pet shop owner knew she had Yellow Fungus and still decided to sell her "On Sale" and simply tell you she had a fungal infection and to treat it with an Antibiotic creme...if you let veterinarians know that she's suffering I guarantee that you will find one that will be willing to humanely put her to sleep so to prevent a prolonged suffering. Or if I were you I'd get to that pet shop and let that guy have it, and insist that he pay for her to be humanely euthanized, but do not just give her back to him if he says that he'll take her to be put to sleep, that guy is likely to just sell her again to another caring person who would think they could possibly help her.

Taking her to a vet today. Ill keep you updated. I talked to soneone who knew the guy personally and they said he acts like he knows things that he doesn't