Yellow Fungus Disease

A gentleman at the University of Wisconsin who is a Doctor and Researcher has committed to apply for funding and grants to study and develop treatment for what is commonly called Yellow Fungus Disease (YFD) a malady that is affecting reptiles and found in bearded dragons more than any species we are aware of at this time.

Research in reptiles is rare, and in the species Pogona almost unheard of. We as owners and breeders of them are very fortunate to have a man of this expertise willing to undertake such a study and find effective treatment and cure. From 5 dragons he has already studied, he has identified the causing fungus in each, a huge step forward in the treatment and cure of it.

YFD is little understood or recognized by the veterinarian or medical communities. Few have experience with it or recognize what it is. Veterinarians are seeing it in isolated cases and many times failing to know what it is, as it does not culture like normal fungi. With the growing popularity of dragons in the United States and owner willingness to seek medical attention now, more cases are being reported and observed, but it is still misdiagnosed and mistreated or the treatments so harsh on reptiles with it internally that the success rate is poor.

He is asking for help in preparing the grant request and this is where we all can pitch and assist. He needs information for writing his grant request. Things we all have seen or know. Below is a list of things that you can help with now.

We need articles or documentation of the growing popularity of bearded dragons.

We need statistic and sources that could give us an estimate of the number of bearded dragons bred and/or sold every year in the US

The Pogona_Diseases list on Yahoo can supply him with some statistic of infected dragons, but we need more if anyone knows of any.

We need any pictures anyone has of dragons with yellow discolorations or lesions and consent for those to be used in grant request and for him to use them in publications. We need medical history logs of any dragons that had yellow skin discoloration or lesions or Written statements from Veterinarian that have experienced this, owner's letter also he needs to be able to assure the committees that review the request that he can obtain animals suffering with this for study and treatment. If you have it in any of your colony, would you be willing to donate or sell animals for study and treatment knowing that this can and will make a difference for all in the future.

Deadline for the pre-proposal is November 3rd for one request, so he needs to get going on this.

In the future, he will need live animals that have this to study and develop treatment. He will also accept animals that had this and did not survive to study, if you have lost any or lose any with these symptoms, please store the body until they are set up to receive them for necropsy. There will be no cost to the owners as they will be donated to medical research.

We can also help him stretch those funding dollars by asking reptile industry suppliers to donate supplies for set ups, lights, furnishings, crickets, pellets. These can be sent directly to the University. These animals will receive good husbandry care and he has a resident that works with him. He and his wife also have bearded dragons as his own pets at home so he is knowledgeable in their care and needs. If you know suppliers or are a supplier please think about donating items to this very worthwhile cause.

We will set up a site that acknowledges all that help contribute to this research and to pool information and ask all owners and breeders that have websites to link to it or put a page on their site regarding this research on theirs also. This is a chance for a community to pull together and let researchers know that we are caring people and appreciate the time and effort they put into helping us take better care of the species we love.

I want to add one quote from a breeder that has been dealing with this as she makes a very good point:

I think it should be made VERY clear to everyone who is or might be exposed to this that it is VERY VERY contagious from lizard to lizard

It is, it can also be passed from human hands to another dragon, furnishings, soil or direct contact with anyone that has it in their colony. We also suspect that it can be passed from an infected mother to the eggs as some hatchling have shown up with it very early with no contact with other dragons

Thank you all for taking the time to read this very lengthy but important article. I for one am very grateful to have someone of his expertise willing to work on this and am willing to help in any way I can. You can email me at cheri@reptilerooms.com