Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi,

If I'm sounding like its an emergency it is. I have seen that one other time, its kind of like hes bleeding internally.

It gets worse real fast. I was taking care of one that looked just like that, actually worse.

It was my friends, who left for college. She said before she sent him to me, she had him to the Vet, because he had some bloody spots(seemed to be under the skin, but would begin to bleed on the skin also, all over his stomach and sides.

The vet said it was some sort of blood infection.

The spots by the time he was sent to me seemed dried, almost brownish, like scab/crust, but within a week, they seemed to not only look like big redish brown bruises, under the skin, but they actually were bleeding on the outside as well, again.

The strangest and scareiest thing I have ever seen.

I kept him away from ALL my other lizards as I did not know really what he had.
Anyway it was terrible, I felt so badly. I tried briefly to soak him, and covered his body with the neoporin, kept him on paper towels.

But the poor guy, did not make it. I was almost glad that he died, it looked so strange, (his bloody body). And he looked so sad.

Even though my friend said she was told a blood infection. I have to wonder.

* My thought, even though it may be totally wrong, I wondered if he was infested with Hookworms and was bleeding internally. SLOWLY.

I would have had him checked for them. And if you go ask your Vet about them.

Gosh I sure hope Houston will be alright, Please take him, and let us know how he does.

So sorry for getting you upset, but when I saw the pic, it was idenical to the one I was sent to care for.
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PHEve / Eve

thanks, I'll call the vet tomorrow to see if they will even look at lizards. I know they don't do rabbits (how dumb is that?)

He has been having this since the first time I posted on here before Christmas. (remember he wasn't eating, we changed his lighting) It has spread since Christmas but I don't think that it has lately. It's under his jaw too. Would worms cause a problem under his jaw. He's still not gaining weight but he's pretty active. It took awhile to get him to hold still for the picture. Since he was active, I just kept thinking that it would clear up.

I'll call the vet, if they don't see lizards then I will call my cousin out of town. She's a vet and probably doesn't do lizards either but I'm sure she can looks something up for me and order some medicine if she can get it.

I'll try to keep you updated after I find out if anyone can help me there.

thanks again!

Yes, the one I cared for also had it under the jaw/throat area, the same places I see on your pic, except LARGER areas were spoted and bleeding.

They will expand, and cover more area soon.

Is what I'm telling you the way it seems? Like hes bleeding internally, onto the outer surface?

When I look at your pic, it looks IDENICAL to what Squig,(Kristins) guy had, that she sent to me.

It got to a point, he did not want to be touched or picked up, if you did , even to try and help he would get a bit wild-ish and bang into the sides of tank. If he did, it would make those places bleed.

Whatever it is, its NASTY!

I bring up the hookworms, only because, when thinking about WHAT would do this, I know it can kill kittens and puppies, if they have them bad enough, causes internal bleeding. SO..... Why not a lizard, ya know !

I'm sure you will get some answers, that was only my SUSPICION!

Wash your hands well after holding him, I also was careful about his water dishes and things in his tank.

AND especially other animals. Just be careful!

Hoping for the best
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PHEve / Eve

I called the vet. The receptionist "thinks" that one of the vets may treat lizards. She set me up and appointment for 2:30, but will call me first to let me know for sure if they take lizards. Apparently, she hasn't seen any come in.

Do you think that it's too late to treat him?

I think HE looks BETTER than the guy I'm telling you about, so lets just HOPE he can be cured
Say some critter prayers !

Lets just find out what the heck they think it is!
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PHEve / Eve

I'll be sure to let you know what the vet says, if he'll see him. I'm going to change the appointment to the same time as my DD dance clss since I have to drive into town anyway.

are hook worms screened in normal fecal tests?
who knows eve, you may be on the verge of a collared lizard break through, you should try to publish something
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vonnie
***There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it. Mary Wilson Little ***

This when they see it. It is the strangest thing, like they have no sores nothing just a browish tain on their skin, that looks like its spreading underneath.
But evenually begins to SEEP through onto the outside.

And also spreads all over them near the end. If just ONE collared can get help in time, than thats what will make me HAPPY!
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PHEve / Eve

Ok, I'm sure this makes me a bad mom but I'm not taking him to the vet. The doctor said that I would have to pay $25.00 but she's not really familiar with lizards and doesn't know if she would be able to help him or not. I just don't feel that I should waste $25.00 for her to tell me that she doesn't know anything about lizards. It sounds like you guys here know more than she will know. Now, if she would have said that she knows about lizards then I would have willing paid the $25.00.

I'm calling my cousin that is a vet out of town and asking her about it. I will email her a picture. If she doesn't know maybe someone else in the office will know about it. If nothing else she can ship me some dewormer or something.

Sorry, I know that you were hoping for a diagnosis. Hopefully, my cousin can give me one by looking at the picture.

There is a skin condition found in many desert species when humidity levels are too high. It is called vesicular dermatitis.
Usually by lowering the amount of moisture, the condition will clear up. If left untreated it can lead to another condition called septicemia, which is very serious. It is not necessary to have water always available for collareds. It is often best to place water in for a 24 hour period and then remove for several days then repeat this process. Remember, these lizards receive most of their moisture requirements from the insects that they consume. I Hope this helps you out.

while i don't think the lizards need their own pool, they definitely get moisture from other things than the bugs. in the wild a certain amount of moisture is retained in the ground and in the crevices of their rocks. granted it is just a micro-climate but they do utilize it. i dampen part of the sand under my lizards' hide/sleep rocks and more often than not, they choose to sleep in the damp sand. i am not disagreeing with what you say, i just don't want people to think they have no access to moisture at all in the wild. it's all about moderation
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vonnie
***There is no pleasure in having nothing to do; the fun is in having lots to do and not doing it. Mary Wilson Little ***

I'm finding this thread a little hard to follow but I will try to reply what I think may be helpfull.

First of all, internet forums are not the place to go when your pet is sick. Take it to a veterinarian. There is more than one. Find one that does see reptiles regularly. Call around, perhaps ask your vet who they refer reptile cases too. Two good sites are www.arav.com and herpvetconnect.

Secondly, while the above post may be correct that this is a humidity issue and correcting husbandry is a large part of the cure, from what has been said, it seems that much more care will also be needed; thus a vet visit is necessary. I understand that $25 seems like a lot, but be prepared to spend several times this when all is said and done.

As far as parasites go, it is hard to tell from the discription given. Many parasites can be detected with a skin scraping or via a fecal analyses. Is this animal wild caught? If so then parasites will be more of a problem, especially if husbandry needs improvement, which it likely does. I say this because 80% of all herp medical problems are husbandry related.

Blood poisoning is a loose term, but what your doctor may be referring to is septicimia; where an infection or injury has deteriorated to the point where bacteria has begun to spread throughout the body via the bloodstream. This is a concern whether it is currently the problem or not, because anything spread over that much of the skin poses serious risk of infection.

Finally, am I correct that this problem has been festering since Christmas? What in the world are you waiting for? Something is making your lizard sick and it is not going to go away on it's own. The earlier treatment begins the better the prognosis is for a positive outcome.

Good luck with your lizard, I wish it well

"First of all, internet forums are not the place to go when your pet is sick. Take it to a veterinarian. There is more than one. Find one that does see reptiles regularly. Call around, perhaps ask your vet who they refer reptile cases too. Two good sites are www.arav.com and herpvetconnect."

First of all, this forum has saved my lizard's life, so I do think this is a place that I can trust. Second concerning vets, we don't have one that treats lizards that isn't less than an hour and 1/2 away.

"Secondly, while the above post may be correct that this is a humidity issue and correcting husbandry is a large part of the cure, from what has been said, it seems that much more care will also be needed; thus a vet visit is necessary. I understand that $25 seems like a lot, but be prepared to spend several times this when all is said and done."

It's not a humidity issue and the cage is very clean. As stated in one of my posts. His bedding is paper towels. He was on the Walnut shells less than 2 weeks.

"Is this animal wild caught? If so then parasites will be more of a problem, especially if husbandry needs improvement, which it likely does. I say this because 80% of all herp medical problems are husbandry related."

No, he's not wild caught. He was purchased from a pet store. Someone on here did say that they don't always treat for parasites just because they are from a pet store.

"Blood poisoning is a loose term, but what your doctor may be referring to is septicimia; where an infection or injury has deteriorated to the point where bacteria has begun to spread throughout the body via the bloodstream. This is a concern whether it is currently the problem or not, because anything spread over that much of the skin poses serious risk of infection."

I have no idea what you're talking about. I didn't say anything about blood poisoning, must have been another poster.

"Finally, am I correct that this problem has been festering since Christmas? What in the world are you waiting for? Something is making your lizard sick and it is not going to go away on it's own. The earlier treatment begins the better the prognosis is for a positive outcome."

Yes, since Christmas. Originally, we thought it was burns from his heat rock and thought that it would go away when he shed. I have 6 children and bringing them to the doctor is enough. If there was a local vet that would treat lizards. I would have brought him a long time ago. And yes, $25 for a vet to look at him and tell me, I have no idea what's wrong with him because I don't do lizards is too much money.

Thanks for sharing but you really didn't help me with my problem.