• Hello guest! Are you a Bearded Dragon enthusiast? If so we invite you to join our community and see what it has to offer. Our site is specifically designed for you and it's a great place for Beardie enthusiasts to meet online. Once you join you'll be able to post messages, upload pictures of your dragons and enclosures and have a great time with other Bearded Dragon enthusiasts. Sign up today!

Bearded dragon has bump on his underside, not eating

Jasoned

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
IMG_0168.JPG
IMG_0169.JPG
IMG_0170.JPG
Hello, I have a bearded dragon who I believe is somewhere between 6-7 years old. I bought her from a man off of eBay about six years ago, and he never told me when he got her. Recently, I noticed that, while she loves going outside and exploring, she has been inactive when in her vivarium. She also has had a lack of appetite lately and has lost almost 20 grams( she now weighs 278g total). Yesterday, I noticed a small bump on her underside, about an inch below her neck. After inspecting and gently feeling it I realized that it doesn’t seem to hurt her when I touch it and it doesn’t seem to be attached to any bone or organ. In other words, it feels completely restricted to the skin.

I don’t know if this is of consequence, but she has also been keeping her right eye closed a lot lately. I’ve examined it, and can’t find any sign of debris or damage. She does open it when she’s surprised, like when I pick her up, but other than that she keeps it closed. As a last bit of information, she laid her first clutch of infertile eggs about a month ago, if that’s important.

My questions are, what is that bump? Could it just be a skin callous? If it’s something serious that involves surgery, what are the odds that she’d survive surgery? As for the lack of appetite and weight loss, any ideas? Could it be brumation already??? Is it dangerous for her to lose 20 grams(she’s 16 inches long) Finally, should her eye concern me, or is it normal beardie behavior?

I have attached two pictures of the bump as well as one of her closed eye, hope it helps.

Thanks again for any help
 

BeardedHippy

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
672
Location
Scarborough UK
Hi, apparently the eye thing is quite common, most often is a result of bad UV lamps. What kind are you using? some such as reptiglows are bad for beardie eyes, a T5 is recommended.
As for the lump, Im not sure, looks like there is some damaged scale there, possibly from some stuck shed?
 

Jasoned

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
IMG_0175.JPG
I have a 120 v, UVB 10.0 National Geographic bulb that I got about four months ago. It's about 18 inches from the basking site. Don't know if it helps, but I included a picture of the bulb in its socket.
I'm hopeful it might be a shedding problem. If so, I assume it will disappear over time?

Thanks for the advice
 

BeardedHippy

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Messages
672
Location
Scarborough UK
Im no expert, but if I were looking for a solution with the eye thing I would definately start with that bulb. Ive never heard of that make so I cant say for certain, but some of the bulbs sold , supposedly for reptile use are really bad for a beardies eyes. There are some good threads on this sit about UV lighting, I know the tube style T5 lights are the best, I use them so I can attest to that, but maybe not suitable for every setup.
Now ,Im hopng Patsy will chime in about the lump, but its my understanding that as they get older they can shed in small patches at a time, which can get stuck and cause the scales to look messed up. Its not detrimental to their health unless it gets infected, so just keep an eye on as you are doing. If it gets any worse then off to the vets. Otherwise betadine baths and various other remedies can be used. There are other poeple her on this site that will give you better advice on this.
here is an article on UV lights that might help:
http://www.reptilesmagazine.com/An-In-Depth-Look-At-UV-Light-And-Its-Proper-Use-With-Reptiles/
 

Hdrydr31

Bearded Dragon Veteran
Staff member
3 Year Member
1,000+ Post Club
Messages
5,574
View attachment 17248 I have a 120 v, UVB 10.0 National Geographic bulb that I got about four months ago. It's about 18 inches from the basking site. Don't know if it helps, but I included a picture of the bulb in its socket.
I'm hopeful it might be a shedding problem. If so, I assume it will disappear over time?

Thanks for the advice
Yes I would remove that coil bulb as those have been known to cause eye damage.. you want to stick to the long tube style UVB bulbs Reptisun T5 HO 10.0, Arcadia's are also great..
As far as the bump that looks weird not really looking like old shed, maybe a injured area or maybe a little fatty bump at her age..
 

PatsyB

Super Moderator
Staff member
1,000+ Post Club
Beardie Club
Messages
9,390
Location
Chicago
Is this the only spot? How long had it been there? Losing 20g is a lot, he looks a bit dehydrated too. I would schedule a vet check and have him looked at.
 

Jasoned

Bearded Dragon Egg
Messages
3
Yes it's the only spot, it's been there for a little over a week now. I give her weekly baths, should I increase their frequency?
 

PatsyB

Super Moderator
Staff member
1,000+ Post Club
Beardie Club
Messages
9,390
Location
Chicago
Yes it's the only spot, it's been there for a little over a week now. I give her weekly baths, should I increase their frequency?

No, I wouldn't increase baths. Too many baths and not properly drying off could cause bacterial infection, if that's what this is, it could make it worse. Is it an actual bump? It almost looks like stuck shed and a damaged scale. I would have a vet look at it though because yellow fungus isn't necessarily yellow, it's black and crusty. I would have a vet look at it.
 
Top