What does this look like to you guys?

[Cori]

So Squirt has been doing really good. Active, eating and being a normal baby. Today as I was feeding him I noticed a weird bump on his back. Any chance this is just him about to start a weird shed?

He hasn't shown any signs of shedding yet and he has gained weight. Its the white spot right in the middle on his left side

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[Canicke]

could be. tail and hind legs look a bit light too

 

[Eavlynn]

It could be shed, though it's hard to tell from the photo. Awkward size and location for shedding at his age, but not outside the realm of possibility. His tail and rear right leg are going to shed soon. Little Squirt is growing up I'm so glad he's doing well.

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[Hdrydr31]

Is it an actual bump? or is it just a different color?

 

[Cori]

I was so happy with his progress till I saw this bump. Looks like his skin bubbled up. Light pressing made it seem semi solid but it's hard to tell when he's so little, as is the bump. I'll try to take better pictures tomorrow

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[Cori]

There's fluid in the bump. Started to ooze a little

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[Eavlynn]

There's fluid in the bump. Started to ooze a little

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No more guessing games, little Squirt needs a vet appt. A vet can figure out what it is, test the fluid, and prescribe the proper medication. With everything he's been through, and potentially an already weakened immune system, I'd get him scheduled as soon as you're able.

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[Cori]

Squirt ended up having an abcess. The vet said it could be been a freak incident, could've been the last of his infection leaving his body or it's another sign of the adenovirus.

So the abscess got opened and cleaned, then they gave him an antibiotic shot and sent him home. I have to soak his open wound in betadine everyday till it heals.

The vet kept saying how good he looked and how well he tolerated everything cause he read the first vets discharge papers so he expected him to be in really bad shape. So that was my proud mommy moment.

The only downside to this story is that abcesses could be a common occurence related to the adenovirus. So cross your fingers this is a one time thing

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[Eavlynn]

I'm so glad your little guy got some good news! It sounds like he's on the mend
Did Squirt test positive for ADV?

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[Cori]

We didn't test him. The vet was saying a lot of beardies, specially from big breeders can have it but don't always show symptoms or if they do have it now they can get over it

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[Eavlynn]

We didn't test him. The vet was saying a lot of beardies, specially from big breeders can have it but don't always show symptoms or if they do have it now they can get over it

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I was under the impression that ADV was an incurable illness, then again, I thought the same of CANV until recently. I'll have to pick my vet's brain on the subject when I see him again on the 27th. ADV is one thing that I haven't dealt with personally, as of yet.

I'd get Squirt tested once he's bigger. If he is a carrier, and it's able to be passed to your other beardies, it's better to know and act accordingly, so as not to pass it on and deal with issues later. Until then, I'd keep his cute little self quarantined to avoid any potential transmission.

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[Cori]

I guess I mean he can live with ADV happily without showing symptoms, so it's like he doesn't have it.

He's so tiny compared to my girls I don't think he'll ever catch up with them. He's still so much smaller than all the ones at the store that came in with him. At this point he's food to them. Elmo is 500 grams and Squirt is 7. I don't plan on any of my reptiles meeting one another. Too many risks. So between handling any animal in the house hands are always washed

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[Eavlynn]

Hopefully he doesn't have it at all. Asymptomatic carriers run a small risk of becoming symptomatic in the event that their immune system becomes compromised.

I'm sure he'll start to put on some size soon. He's probably always going to be on the smaller end of the spectrum. He's kind of in the same situation as my little dude, Chance. At his age, he should be close to 12 to 14 inches, but he's a whopping 7. Squirt is so dinky and adorable that my heart just melts every time I see a photo of him

Hand washing is a great practice. I also have color coded feeding tongs, eye droppers and water bottles for each of my dragons. Since CANV was brought into my rescue, I'm obsessed with preventing transmission of anything to anyone. You just never know what a new animal might be carrying.

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[PatsyB]

Lots of bearded dragons carry the ADV virus without issue and most big breeders don't test their beardies for ADV. I just recently had a discussion with a breeder that someone claimed to have gotten an ADV positive dragon from. If you go to Dashiu dragons page, there is a disclaimer that says that their dragons can possibly be positive for it, they don't test for it but if you want to test your dragon when you get it and it comes up positive, you can return it. The breeder I talked to didn't have a disclaimer like this nor did he test his dragons.

ADV isn't a death sentence, but if diagnosed properly it can be managed with medicines and supplements. If caught early enough, the better the treatment is going to work. There is a special lab that tests for ADV called the PATS lab, I think they are in AZ. It takes a few weeks to get the results back but it's a good test. There are also FB groups that are dedicated to ADV dragons but they are real serious and you have to make sure your dragon is positive.

I have a friend with 2 ADV positive dragons and they have been this way for over a year. She spends all her time on them, and in fact just cancelled a trip because the people she expected to care for them backed out. It's lots of vet visits, medicines, fecal tests for parasites because you need to stay on top of that, vitamins and different supplements, slurries being syringe fed daily. Through all of this they are the sweetest boys ever. I'm telling you all of this because if you even suspect ADV you need to do the test and not just guess that is what it is. He can only have a healthy long life if you know what treatments you need to give him.