MayMayMayhem
New Member
Hello all. I noticed skin lesions on Sunny, my baby sulcata, which after reading through the forum I am now concerned may be another case of Austwickia chelonae.
Background-- I noticed the bumps on October 13th. First two pics were taken Oct 14th which is when I first took him to my reptile vet for examination. Vet did a culture swab (aerobic and anaerobic) on 10/18 which was delayed in the mail and inviable by the time the lab got it. The original spots on the neck and shoulder disappeared but there was an additional spot on the other side of his neck that developed during the wait Second swab taken 10/26 from this location. I did not get a picture of that but it has since disappeared and as of yesterday Sunny developed the two protruding flaps of skin on both sides of his neck as shown in the last two pictures.
I will update with culture results when I receive them this afternoon but I am concerned that if this is indeed Austwickia that it will not show up on a swab test based on reading posts by @mastershake noting that the area beneath the lesion should be biopsied.
Sunny is roughly 4 months old, purchased at a reptile expo in late July. He is temporarily housed in a 20L aquarium while awaiting arrival of his 4' PVC enclosure which I have just received. Substrate is a mix of coco bark and Cypress mulch atop coco coir, humidity is regularly 70-80% and above 90% in his hide, misted daily. Ambient temp is 83-85 down to 79-80 on the cool side and hovers around 95 in his basking area. I have a PowerSun mercury 100w bulb for basking/UVB on a 12hr timer and when weather was more permitting had been taking him out to bask and graze in the yard for 30 min 2-3 times a week. Additional heat provided by a CHE plus a side-mounted UTH next to his hide.
He is soaked in a warm bath every day for 20 minutes absolute minimum, usually 30-45, and I use an electrolyte solution in the bath 2x per week.
He eats voraciously, excluding the day I first noticed the bumps and a few days after. His eating and activity has since returned to normal. Diet is a variety of grasses/weeds with Mazuri LS and other greens and plants-- dandelion, clover, broad and narrow leaf plantain, nasturtium, mallow, rose of Sharon, mulberry leaves, calendula, echinacea, endive, arugula, collard greens. Food is dusted with shaved cuttle bone and reptivite 2-3 times per week on alternate days and whole cuttle bone is available daily and nibbled on.
Last weight was appx 81g at 2.75".
He is bright eyed, alert, active, and comes when called--- all normal (seemingly) since the initial malaise when the spots appeared.
I don't want to get lulled into a false sense of security if this is in fact Austwickia and isn't showing on the tests. Any guidance is appreciated.
Background-- I noticed the bumps on October 13th. First two pics were taken Oct 14th which is when I first took him to my reptile vet for examination. Vet did a culture swab (aerobic and anaerobic) on 10/18 which was delayed in the mail and inviable by the time the lab got it. The original spots on the neck and shoulder disappeared but there was an additional spot on the other side of his neck that developed during the wait Second swab taken 10/26 from this location. I did not get a picture of that but it has since disappeared and as of yesterday Sunny developed the two protruding flaps of skin on both sides of his neck as shown in the last two pictures.
I will update with culture results when I receive them this afternoon but I am concerned that if this is indeed Austwickia that it will not show up on a swab test based on reading posts by @mastershake noting that the area beneath the lesion should be biopsied.
Sunny is roughly 4 months old, purchased at a reptile expo in late July. He is temporarily housed in a 20L aquarium while awaiting arrival of his 4' PVC enclosure which I have just received. Substrate is a mix of coco bark and Cypress mulch atop coco coir, humidity is regularly 70-80% and above 90% in his hide, misted daily. Ambient temp is 83-85 down to 79-80 on the cool side and hovers around 95 in his basking area. I have a PowerSun mercury 100w bulb for basking/UVB on a 12hr timer and when weather was more permitting had been taking him out to bask and graze in the yard for 30 min 2-3 times a week. Additional heat provided by a CHE plus a side-mounted UTH next to his hide.
He is soaked in a warm bath every day for 20 minutes absolute minimum, usually 30-45, and I use an electrolyte solution in the bath 2x per week.
He eats voraciously, excluding the day I first noticed the bumps and a few days after. His eating and activity has since returned to normal. Diet is a variety of grasses/weeds with Mazuri LS and other greens and plants-- dandelion, clover, broad and narrow leaf plantain, nasturtium, mallow, rose of Sharon, mulberry leaves, calendula, echinacea, endive, arugula, collard greens. Food is dusted with shaved cuttle bone and reptivite 2-3 times per week on alternate days and whole cuttle bone is available daily and nibbled on.
Last weight was appx 81g at 2.75".
He is bright eyed, alert, active, and comes when called--- all normal (seemingly) since the initial malaise when the spots appeared.
I don't want to get lulled into a false sense of security if this is in fact Austwickia and isn't showing on the tests. Any guidance is appreciated.