Bearded Dragon Injury

Question
Hi Tracie,

I needed some advice on how best to treat an injury on my 3 year old female bearded dragon Gracie. I have a group of four in an extremely large tank. I got them as an established group in January, they have been together since hatchlings. Gracie has a wound on her head from where the dominant male has been biting on showing his dominance. It isnt a bad or bleeding wound but it doesn't seem to be healing as the male dragon is very persistent. If I removed her to allow her to heal would that disrupt the group and would I be able to re-introduce her? My other thought was I could remove the aggressive male instead, could he ever be re-introduced? Would more females in the tank improve the situation. Just today I have noticed that the same dragon also has a tiny wound on her front elbow and that her arm and hand is swollen. She also seems to not be using the leg as much. I know swollen limbs can be a sign of calcium deficiency but they get calcium powder on all there food. What would be the best treatment for the wounds? I am concerned that they may get infected. I gave her a bath to rehydrate her and she did eat 4 locusts this morning but not with her usual enthusiasm.

I am love my beardies and want to do the best for them so would be grateful for any advice that would help her.

Thank you,
Naomi.

Answer
Hello Naomi,

How large is your tank, do you have a picture you can post for me?  That would be great!
Normally I don't recommend housing dragons together, simply due to them being solitary creatures who can turn on their tank mates in an instant.
The males will continue to try & mate repeatedly which can injure the females.  
It is best to house males alone, without another female as they tend to do much better alone.


Which UVB are you using?  Is it a fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?  How old are the bulbs?

The best treatment for the wounds would be a diluted betadine solution being a ratio of 3-4 parts water to 1 part betadine or until it resembles weak tea.  You can dip cotton balls in the solution & dab it on the wounds.  Use antibiotic ointment such as neosporin or polysporin, etc for the wounds.  
Pictures would be helpful of your set up as well as the dragon (s) in question right now to assess the overall condition.  


Thanks.
Tracie