Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Fungal skin infection in pet inland bearded dragon
By Abarca, M L et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2009·Veterinary Mycology Group, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Dermatomycosis in a pet inland bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) caused by a Chrysosporium species related to Nannizziopsis vriesii.
- Species:
- reptile
Plain-English summary
A pet inland bearded dragon developed facial lesions due to a fungal infection caused by a type of fungus related to Nannizziopsis vriesii. The owner noticed the skin problems, and the veterinarian treated the lizard with oral ketoconazole and topical medications, which helped reduce the lesions. Unfortunately, the lizard was lost to follow-up a month later, so it’s unclear if the treatment fully resolved the issue. This case highlights a rare fungal infection in bearded dragons that can occur outside of North America.
People also search for: bearded dragon skin problems · bearded dragon fungal infection treatment · Nannizziopsis vriesii in reptiles
Abstract
A Chrysosporium sp. related to Nannizziopsis vriesii was isolated in pure culture from squames and biopsies of facial lesions in a pet inland bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps) in Spain. The presence in histological sections of morphologically consistent fungal elements strongly incriminates this fungus as the aetiological agent of infection. Lesions regressed following treatment with oral ketoconazole and topical chlorhexidine and terbinafine until the lizard was lost to follow up 1 month later. The ITS-5.8S rRNA gene of the isolate was sequenced and a search on the GenBank database revealed a high match with the sequences of two Chrysosporium sp. strains recently isolated from green iguanas (Iguana iguana) with dermatomycosis, also in Spain. Phylogenetic analysis of the sequences revealed that all these strains are related to N. vriesii. This is the first report of dermatomycoses caused by a Chrysosporium species related to N. vriesii in a bearded dragon outside North America.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19659541/