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I hope someone who's been around will help me with this. About a week ago, Xander had some grey, fuzzy spots crop up around the base of his tail. I had successfully treated him with an anti-fungal medication several months ago for similar looking spots. Since it worked before and the infection looked the same, I started him on Tinactin and tried not to worry about it.

Several days later, though, I noticed that the spots were/had been bleeding. They weren't bleeding like an open wound; more like an abraision. Of course, I freaked out and took him to the vet.

Just by looking at the spots, she (vet) came to the same conclusion I did: fungal infection. She gave me a stronger anti-fungal and told me to use it twice a day. If it gets any worse, I'm supposed to go back and have a biopsy and some other tests run to see exactly what it is.

She didn't seem troubled by the fact that it was bleeding, but it bothers me everytime I see it.

I trust my vet 100% - she's very knowlegeable with iguanas and I've never had a problem with her. I wouldn't doubt that she's right, except that she's not 100% sure it's fungal, either.

Maybe he could have rubbed the irritated areas on rough spots in his habitat, causing them to bleed? His activity levels and appetite have not been affected... he's just as alert and hungry as ever.

Has anyone else heard of/seen bleeding fungal infections? Just to put my mind at peace that the diagnosis was correct?
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

Hi Alika,
My iguana Joey had what I thought was a fungus on his tummy. The skin started out yellowish in colour and then started to enlarge in area. I took him to the vet who told me that it was a thermal burn. The yellow area then became bluey purple (almost looked like a bruise)then it peeled and left an area of raw skin. At this point it was very important to keep the area clean...I bathed Joey in diluted betadine solution at least once a day. Eventually it all healed and new scales formed. My iguana had been at a pet sitter and got too close to a basking light. The burn happened in December 2003, and did not show up on his skin until 2 months later. I'll see if I can find a pic to show you.
Kayla

...is worth 1,000 words. Here is the culprit infection, views from the left and from the right side of the tail.

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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

Hi Alika,
Did you say it looked "furry"...that would seem like it would be a fungal infection, but I'm not sure. It doesn't really look like it is in an area that normally could get a thermal burn.
It is good you are taking your iguana to a vet, that's your best option to find the answers.
Good luck and keep us updated.
Kayla

Thanks. He actually went to the vet last week. She's not sure what it is. If he doesn't respond to the Conofite (anti-fungal) she prescribed, we're going to look into a biopsy... which sucks, but hey, anything for the green kid.

We think he's responding to the Conofite. We'll see what happens.
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~Alika~
1.0.0 green iguanas
0.1.0 cockatiels
1.0.0 senegal parrots
0.1.0 blue-fronted amazons
0.0.1 red belly piranha

It sure looks fungal... both in color and the manner of its growth...I've seen fungal problems before with iguanas..though most of what I've seen were much bigger patches...that area on an iguana is very prone to fungal infections.. the base of the tail, sides and legs... due to the passage of fecal material, even if you bathe or soak them frequently... it attracts fungus and bacteria.... Usually it clears up though with proper treatment and it sounds like you're on the perfect road to recovery...though my vet suggested a diluted betadine swab down before I put the cream on them every time I treated it... which seemed to help as well...
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Lucien

1.1 Columbian Redtail Boa (BCI)(Sutekh and Isis)
3.5.3 Leopard geckos (2.0 Blizzards (Caine and Goliath), 0.1 Tangerine Albino (Tequila Sunrise ...Tiki for short), 1.0 Rainwater Albino (Mycah), 0.4 Poss. Het. Albino (Annika, Lace, Rain and Aris) and 2.1 dbl. het blizzard x tang albino (Malice, Malfeas, and Mystic))
0.1 Savannah Monitor (Kiros)
13 rats
2 Dogs (Loki and Storm)
3 cats (Ashe, Sahara and Hercules)
6 Fish (4 Red Danios, 1 Cardinal Fish, and 1 Tiger Barb)
8 Ramshorn snails
"And a Partridge in a Pear Tree!"