Lump on Head

[darkcirca]

One of my males was attacked by a female back in the fall. His face has a swelling, which I applied neo-poly-bac to as directed. The swelling eventually turned into a hard mass, which split open and had an "exposed" area like a scab.

He continued to eat, and acted normal, and the lump did not bother him.

With that being said, you could poke the lump and he didn't even react - normally if something hurts him, he will let you know.

The lump was never "attached". It could be moved around inside his head, and you could see the scab portion rotate.

He was having issues with shedding the other day, so today I helped him get the skin around his 'lump' off, but instead I managed to tug out the bottom of the lump, and soon, the entire thing.

This is what came out:

He had a scab over the top that was outside his head.

Now he has this giant flap of skin and hole in his head. I'm letting him be for the rest of the day. I put some Neo-Poly-Bac on it before putting him away.

Anyone has any idea what this could be? It's "solid" but still bendy in a sense. It can also be picked apart.

Due to some recent health problems of my own, I cannot afford to pay Dr.Stahl to see him. I want to see what I can do on my own. I plan to give him a week to see any improvements, and if he starts looking worse, I'll figure out a way of affording the vet.

I have methods of getting my hands some meds as well, if need be.

 

[paintedlizards]

abcess... if you look in my threads you can find a picture and my story of dealing with one. give it a few days and pick out any additional pieces you can find, always apply antibiotic ointment( pain relief free) and wash hands before touching it. Mine compleatly healed.

 

[darkcirca]

Good to hear.

I was debating if the infection somehow calcified or something, as it was a massive swelling when we was first attacked:

Basically I was told to just keep him clean and put neosporin/neo-poly-bac on it then, which I did. It never did go away, and eventually split. He never had any eating problems, and was always friendly..

 

[JordanAng420]

abcess... if you look in my threads you can find a picture and my story of dealing with one. give it a few days and pick out any additional pieces you can find, always apply antibiotic ointment( pain relief free) and wash hands before touching it. Mine compleatly healed.

Good advice. :main_yes: You might want to get yourself some kind of antiseptic solution to use as a flush when you pick out those pieces...otherwise you're just medicating on top of the infection & sealing it in there, which might be why it didn't heal at first. Just call your vets office, and ask them to recommend something.

And AWESOME pictures, BTW. I have a question...do you mind if I save them to use as an example for other veterinary students? Of course I'd give you credit for the photography & everything. They have potential to be such GREAT visual aids

 

[darkcirca]

Good advice. :main_yes: You might want to get yourself some kind of antiseptic solution to use as a flush when you pick out those pieces...otherwise you're just medicating on top of the infection & sealing it in there, which might be why it didn't heal at first. Just call your vets office, and ask them to recommend something.

And AWESOME pictures, BTW. I have a question...do you mind if I save them to use as an example for other veterinary students? Of course I'd give you credit for the photography & everything. They have potential to be such GREAT visual aids

That's fine with me. Sadly I didn't document the lump in his head when it split. It's just another example of what can happen when housing geckos together.

The female has been barred from living with any others now. She did get a rib ripped off her tail from another male after this (and she deserved it).

I'm guessing betadine or novalsan could be used, which I may consider. The vet will likely not give any advice without seeing him. I avoid going in as the last few times ran me $150+ for flushing gecko eyes and MBD with a broken leg. I've got some pictures of that if for some reason you want them.

 

[JordanAng420]

That's fine with me. Sadly I didn't document the lump in his head when it split. It's just another example of what can happen when housing geckos together.

The female has been barred from living with any others now. She did get a rib ripped off her tail from another male after this (and she deserved it).

I'm guessing betadine or novalsan could be used, which I may consider. The vet will likely not give any advice without seeing him. I avoid going in as the last few times ran me $150+ for flushing gecko eyes and MBD with a broken leg. I've got some pictures of that if for some reason you want them.

Thank you very much. Nolvasan is PERFECT!!!
Just make sure you dilute it...until it's a robin's egg blue color...no need to re-visit the vet...save your $, you have all the supplies he would have given you anyway, minus the oral...which he might not need anyway since his appetite is good.

 

[darkcirca]

Yep, I dilute it for cleaning as well, have a nice spray bottle with it. I'll definitely do that tomorrow with him. I'm attempting to let him mellow out some right now, as he is a little irritated.

It's mighty annoying. Once one lizard gets better, someone else comes down with something. It feels like one thing after another, I've got pretty bad luck. I'm lucky enough to live in Northern, VA, so we have Dr. Stahl - but he's the most expensive vet... but there is a reason for that.

 

[darkcirca]

Thought I'd post an update on this little one.

His head still has the skin hole on the outside, but he looks to be getting better. He's still eating, and has not shown any signs of issues. I used neo-poly-bac on it for several days, then switched to neosporin.

I'm keeping the cage as clean as possible, and treating the wound daily. Hopefully it'll close up on its own.