Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, all! I'm a long time lurker who finally has something worth posting.

I took Rizz to the vet today to have some odd yellow spots checked out that she's developed on her back. The vet was stumped, but I told her about this "yellow fungus" stuff that I've read about on the internet. She gave me some nolvason to apply to the lesions daily for a couple weeks to see if that will get rid of them.

But I found out from the fecal that she has coccidia and some sort of worm. Seems like it was oxy-something or other. I was napping when I got the call with the results, so I was a bit on the rummy side.

I've been researching on how to go about attacking coccidia of course. But I just wanted to verify what I've learned with you all and see if anyone has any other advice that might help out.

1) Soak tank in 10% bleach solution. I'm going to keep her in the hamster cage I bought to take her to the vet in. It's plastic, it's smaller than her tank (but large enough for her) and will be easier to disinfect daily. It does have wire grating on the top for air circulation. Not sure how I'll run her UV light, but I'll be able to dangle the heat lamp over the top of it.

2) Paper towel substrate... which I do anyhow.

3) Wash hands before and after handling her.

4) Keep furniture to a minimum. I'm pretty sad that I'm going to have to chuck her driftwood basking log... but I don't want to chance her reinfecting herself since I don't know if you can clean it well enough.

5) Clean up feces immediately (as well as cage).

6) Give her natural yogurt or acidopholus to replenish her intestinal flora since whatever she will be taking will deplete it.

Does that sound about it? Or is there something else I should be doing? I've also read that bleach doesn't kill the coccidia. Should I use or look for something else to disinfect with?

For stats on Rizz, she's 9 months old. Eats crickets daily... as much as she can hold down in a fifteen minute time frame. Salad is always available (I'm lazy and use a spring mix salad mix). Mealworms sporadically. I've read that coccidia can be transmitted via crix. Should I look into a different staple such as silkworms or roaches, butterworms? Oh, but how I would miss the soothing chirping!

She weighed 160 grams and did really good for the vet. Except for when the vet tech flipped her on her back to see if she had yellow spots on her belly. She got pretty ticked and puffed her beard. I laughed of course. And I also give her daily baths in the tub. Swims like a little croc, she does!

We go back to the vet on Monday to get her meds and be shown how to administer it.

Thanks in advance for any advice! Rizz thanks you, too!

Toodles!
Stacy

that if you have enough you can clean her tank with. Or use the bleach solution, others also recommend ammonia water. then if you can, seal the tank in plastic bags, tape shut and put somewhere hot like a garage or screen room. The higher heat and lack of air kills many bacteria and parasites.

Also be sure to keep the dragon well hydrated during treatment, you seem to have all the other bases covered well.

One thing, if you notice the spots on her back getting worse when treating with albon, call you Vet right away and discuss this with him. If it is fungal, it will get worse when the animal is treated with antibiotics and Albon is an antibiotic.

PS: nolvasan will not kill the the fungus on the dragon if it is deep, it will kill off surface fungus and debrief the skin to get to the other fungus.

I will ask the vet Monday if there is any chance of getting a large quantity of nolvasan to disinfect the tanks with.

I bought a couple mostly clear rubbermaid storage boxes... I'm setting her glass tank aside until she is better. Seems like a lot of people recommended ammonia water, and that bleach sometimes doesn't kill it. So I went with the ammonia. Pretty near killed myself with it. Had to run outside with the two tanks, trying not to slop or breathe.

Thanks for the heads up about the lack of air and heat. I ran right outside and taped garbage bags on her eating and travelling tanks. It's so hot here at the moment, that heat shouldn't be an issue.

I will definitely keep an eye on the yellow spots. Maybe I'll take a reference pic with the digital camera so I can monitor it and not have to guess "is it getting worse". Hopefully I can keep her hydrated. She's not a good drinker... but I do make sure to have veggies with her and she does take her baths. Every time she poos now so I can make sure there isn't feces on her.

Thanks again for your help! That was great advice!

Stacy

please post it here or email me a copy of it. Most people have pics of their kids on their computers, I have more fungus pictures than any other Gawds, I just realized that!

Rizz wasn't a very cooperative model... she wanted to jump down and run on the floor. But I managed to get a couple shots that show the yellow spots pretty good.

And after fighting with trying to program the HTML to put both images in one post I give up! I'm using the img url! Darn it!

Here's a shot to give perspective on how large the spots are on her:

I answered you on the pogona_diseases list on Yahoo, but for the benefit of others following this that do not have access to that list I am pasting the answer here also:

Yes, it does have the look of some of the fungus we have seen, of course there is no way to tell except by a culture (that is hard to get to culture) or treating it like it is a fungus and seeing if it kills the fungus.

The nolvasan is good for debriefing the scale/skin, but it will not kill it if it is a fungal infection. Yes, if it is a fungal dermal problem, the albon is going to make is worse, any antibiotics will. I can definitely tell you the location is one of the most often ones we see on dragons that have got a fungal infection from a "producer". A producer being the dragon that the fungus originated in internally. It then is passed to other dragons by contact or what people call dragon stacking. IF it is fungal, this is good as chances are she does not have it internally, but has had it for a long time. We also have seen dragons that seem to get it from soil, especially in certain areas and they can also pass that to others, again...... if it is fungal, good as it is not internal. There is now high success rates of treatment with only the external fungal infections....... it's when it is internal that the success rate is not that good.

As far as the black light, we have seen skin conditions like this that react to fungal treatment and not show up on it, Yet show up on soil the dragon had been kept in.

I am not a vet and can only suggest things that we have seen that work on some dragons. If this was my dragon this is what I would do.

I would hold on treating for coccidia for a week and treat the area with Lamisil crème, after using the nolvasan. If it is fungal, your going to see some scale loss from the nolvasan and you will also see the area start to darken from the lamisil in that week. If you see neither than it is not fungal and your dealing with some other bacterial or viral infection and it needs treated accordingly with antibiotics as does the coccidia.

After that week if its reacting to the lamisil, I would continue treating until it is gone, then treat for coccidia along with probiotics. IF you see no change in it that week, then I would treat for coccidia internally, along with probiotics and treat antibiotics topically also the area that is discolored.

Please note, long term coccidia we have seen cause a yellow coloring of the scale/skins also, dragons express many internal parasites and illnesses as a yellow discoloration on the scale/skin and in time with proper parasite treatment or other successful illness treatment, it will return to normal... it does take awhile.

Again, we are not medical professional and don't claim that you should use our advice over a knowledge medical professional, but suggest you print it out, take it and discuss with your Veterinarian as another option available.

Best to you and Rizz and please let us know how she progresses.

Thanks, Cheri! My worst fears are realized, but now I know that I'm probably facing the yellow fungus demon. I'll definitely print your posting out and give it to the vet. I'll run out and buy some Lamisil today and start medicating with it as well as continue with my strict cleaning routine.

BTW, I read the Pogona Diseases board first and I saw your reply. I was going, wait a minute? Is this the same Cheri over on Kingsnake? *laugh*

Thanks so much for your in depth reply. You rule!

Stacy

Okay, here's the other shot!

Enjoy the "fungus"... or whatever they are pics!

Thank-you for the pics. I've never seen the fungus so now I at least have an idea what it looks like. Good luck to you and yours. Keep us posted on progress.
Take care,
Karen

I really appreciate it. Because this is all a bit scary!

Stacy

Karen, there are several fungal pictures on dragons in various locations and stages on an article we wrote about it on our site, if you would like to look it is listed below.

There is also a yahoo list group called Pogona_diseases under photos that a bank of photos are kept on
Yellow Fungus - Possible Cause and Effects

hey Spayne, did you find out what the yellow spots were? Is it a fungus? After seeing the pics you posted, I think one of my bd might have the same spots, just smaller. Well, she's going to the vet on Monday or Tuesday, please keep us posted on any update. Thanks Rico

I never did find out what the yellow spots are. The vet I took Rizz to on Friday has never seen anything like it before. I told her a bit about what I've learned on the internet about yellow fungus. Even though I don't know if that's what it is. I hope not! Because what CheriS said is true, the antibiotics for the coccidia could make the spots worse if they are indeed a fungus.

Good luck at the vet! We'll be thinking good thoughts for you!

Stacy