Centeral west Bearded Dragon head injury

Question
Hi.I wonder if you could give me advice please .I live in Australia in the Centeral West(Counrty) I was on my ride on mower today and I ran over a Small Bearded dragon he/she is about 4 inches long perhaps a bit bigger only a baby really.I saw he was bleeding I picked him up with my leather gloves on as to not pass on a human smell to him and washed him inder tepid water to see where the would was he has a small gash on the top of his head kind of behind the right eye as you look down on him.I put him in a small fish tank with wood clippings and put a normal light in on it to warm him up as its only just turned to spring here.I placed some water in there with him and gave him a rock and a terracotta pot to go into .Hes head is still weeping a bit but not bleeding as such .He can move but prefersto be still he walked into the terracotta pot tonight to get under cover I presume .What can I do to help him is there any human creams like antiseptic cream I could use on him ? I want to release him asap as he is wild and I do not believe in caging these Native animals .He has not eaten or had a drink I suspect he is perhaps in shock as anything would be after having a ride on mower run them over and he's wound of course and he is not use to being in a captivity as well I suspect .He seems to be slepping atm hes eyes are shut and the cube fish tank is warm .I know a normal light is not the right thing to use but again Iam very isolated (a farmer so Iam use to thinking on my feet) .He is so cute and I feel guilty and just want to help him .Again he has a head injury he is a small lizard .Anything I can do to help him I was thinking of letting him go tomorrow and seeing how he goes on his own but I dont want him to be at the mercy of other animals of prey and I dont want his injusy to get worse .As a farmer you would think I would just put him out of his misery but he is a native to Australia and I have a soft spot for anything Native that and the fact I was responsible for his injury.Thankyou for your time. Regards Stuart Jones

Answer
Hi Stuart, Your farmer's instinct and intuition for what he needs is serving you and him well I would say. A little quiet isolation, rest and heat is often all animals need to recover in these situations. That combination works well here in the spring when young birds often fly into windows and end up in a mild, dazed shock. From your description of the way he is moving around it doesn't sound like he has sustained a brain injury. A dab of topicial antibiotic ointment can be applied to the wound. The stress of captivity will start to take an effect soon and undo your good deed so I would try to release him in a sheltered area in the daytime as soon as possible. He will be at the fate of predators but as a wild young bearded that would be his fate regardless of the mower incident. You are giving him a second chance to live his live as was intended, risks and all. Well done.