Reptile & Amphibian Forums

to start im a vet tech and know more about herps then the 7 DVM's i work with, they will be the first to tell you this!

i have a beardie who had a small abcess by her eye, i cleaned and drained it, put her on AB's and it went away. last night i saw that she had one by the same eye but under it not in front, i thought "ok ill clean it up on my day off" today i get a call from home that her eye is swollen shut, but she still ate fine, well when i got home i saw she has that abcess, another lower on her lip, and one on her foot, the other 2 were not there last night. just wondering if anyone else has seen something like this and can share what was done. im going to treat this like the last one, but its just odd that she has had this pop up. her cage mate and the other 3 dragons in the room are abcess free (i cant say "fine" they are rescues who all have issues, like amputated legs and such)

thanks for any leads!!
-----
hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!
here for good
1.0.0 canadian homosapien
2.0.0 dogs
0.2.0 cats
1.2.0 boas
1.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 albino corn
2.0.0 western hognose
1.0.0 russian tort.
1.0.0 vield cam
1.0.0 sav monitor
0.0.1 nile monitor
1.2.0 beardies
3.1.0 leos
0.0.1 pygmy hedgehogs
0.1.1 parrots
(and some fish and stuff)

_____

signature file edited, contact an admin. 11/1/05

since you're a vet, cant you check if the abcesses are cancerous?
that and infections that may be causing them?

First, separate her from her cage mate. Abcesses can be injuries from bites from other dragons that are getting infected. Two, do some bloodwork to find out just how severe the infection is. Three, take her to a vet who is familiar with bearded dragons and reptile ailments. Consistant growth of abcesses indicate something is causing infections in her body. I remember reading about a green iguana who kept developing abcesses in a reptile annual (the 2004 one I think). Unfortunately I can't remember what turned out to be the actual cause of the abcesses, but they had alot of trouble pinpointing it, mostly due to the lack of medical information about the care of iguanas.
-----
PHLdyPayne

ok, i said i was a vet tech, as in i have a degree in veterinary technology, not a DVM. (im not sure if i want the student loans)
i took her to work today and there is really no bacteria in the samples i took from the sites, so they are just a bunch of inflamation. i am going to use a low dose of AB's but im going to clean it well in case its something fungal. she is separate from her cage mate now, though the olny time id ever think he would bite is if he was "in the mood" she is much more dominant them him. bloodwork and rads are the next step if this is not improving or get worse.
ill try to look for the iggy info tomorrow, and do more on line searching.
thanks for the help, ill keep you posted!
-----
hanging out under heat lights burns up my brain cells!!
here for good
1.0.0 canadian homosapien
2.0.0 dogs
0.2.0 cats
1.2.0 boas
1.1.0 ball pythons
0.0.1 albino corn
2.0.0 western hognose
1.0.0 russian tort.
1.0.0 vield cam
1.0.0 sav monitor
0.0.1 nile monitor
1.2.0 beardies
3.1.0 leos
0.0.1 pygmy hedgehogs
0.1.1 parrots
(and some fish and stuff)

_____

signature file edited, contact an admin. 11/1/05