Posted by:
CheriS
at Sat Jul 3 08:40:55 2004 [ Email Message ] [ Show All Posts by CheriS ]
Poor Scamp, sounds like he has gone through some rough times, but there are solutions for it.
The yellow could be related to the medication, his eating being affected certainly is and that happens often with bearded dragons when they have been treated with Albon. Albon is a good medication, it is effective in killing what is really one of the harder to control parasites in them and it can be used safely with some support.
What you are describing in him we have seen and done studies on for 3 years now in bearded dragons. It could be one of two things and there are things you can do this weekend that are safe, will not harm him and may control or stop the problem.
The fisrt is: Albon also effects the other natural gut fauna killing it off and that can allow candida yeast to bloom in their digestive tract, candida yeast is a cause of stomatitis, and that usually shows up in the mouth area first. Adding a probiotic to his diet right now will counter that....there is one made especially for lizards by PET AUTHORITY called Acidophiliz , you can find it at most PetSmart store or online at www.reptilesupply.com , if all else fails to locate some, you can use human grade probiotics as long as they are dairy free, you can find them in most health food stores.
The other is: Albon tends to dehydrate dragons and when it is given it goes throughout their system to destory the coccidia, coccidia lives in the linning of the intestines and they can migrate to the liver and bile duct, where they can partial or totally plug up the duct. This will cause a back up of bile and the only way the dragon can express that from their system is by a jaundice showing up in the skin/scales. Again this usually is first noticed around the mouth area and also the tongue and inner mouth will have a yellow discoloration. Upping his hydration with soaks, and fluids by dropper will help him also flush not only the meds, but the liver also. If he will not drink water, you can give him some diluted gatorade or pedialyte... but make it real diluted, as the sugar can also feed the yeast.
For his mouth, you can get some Nolvasan ( carried at Farm, Cattle or feed stores) and with a q-tip put some on the affected areas (make sure you dilute it as per the directions) that will debrief the area and it will shed, usually removing any fungus or bacteria on the surface. Nolvasan is what most vets use to debrief wounds and can be used in their mouth, even internal mouth wounds are debriefed with it.
I would not use the antifungal meds on him yet. That is usually a more advance treatment for cases that are further along than what he is and really should be used under a vets advice. We have never known the antifungal creams to harm them, just something that may not be needed at this point and if it is needed later on, the vet really needs to access if it is a fungal diesease and advanced enough that you may also need oral antifungal meds with it.
Scamp is early enough I think just general care with probiotics and hydration will help if not solve the problem.
Here is the original article I did on Yellow fungus disease and what I beleive Veronica that has the beautifuldragon.com site used to treat her dragon that had this.
Also, keep his foods soft and simple right now, less taxing on the liver while he recovers. We have seen dragons stop eating for only a few day after treatment to several weeks, but just bear with him right now, he should bounce back and eat on his own fine... the meds and also the die off of coccidia along with other good bacteria makes him think that he is not hungry as the digestion is not working properly yet
Yellow Fungus: Possible Cause & Effects
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www.reptilerooms.com
[ Hide Replies ]
- My poor Scamp... - xxkittypryde, Fri Jul 2 17:58:14 2004
 RE: My poor Scamp... - CheriS, Sat Jul 3 08:40:55 2004
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