RIP - Aegon, bearded dragon

[Cheesenugget]

Lightning appear to strike twice when both my bearded dragon and kingsnake have bumps growing in their bodies on the same day. I took my beardie, Aegon, for a 2nd opinion after the first vet didn't find anything or recommend anything afterwards. Both are kept on different floors from each other.

A brief medical history: 2 bumps on his tail and side showed up around July. They grew fast in size. I took him to the first vet and she said they were abscess. It was drained and antibiotics given for 3 weeks.

Soon after, more bumps showed up all around his body (sides, back) and they grew in size. One in his beard was particularly big and it started to bleed. This happened in August. This is when I found Nibbler's lump on his tail so both were taken to the vet asap. X-rays and bloodwork were done, nothing abnormal found.

More bumps appeared and grew in size. Most grow to be able the size of a fingernail besides the one in the beard which feels much bigger. He ate and pooped. It wasn't until the last 2 weeks when I noticed he wasn't basking like he used to after a meal. He also would sit in one spot on his hammock for 2 days in a row. His appetite had gone down, and after eating some, he would stop, inflate his beard and make a hissing noise. He wouldn't eat until days later or his favorite hornworms is given.

Yesterday he was taken in for a 2nd opinion. He stayed overnight, vet said he appeared alert but the bumps are a serious concern.

This morning, he was placed under anesthesia to prep for biopsy. Bloodwork results are normal. X-rays showed a much grimmer picture: a large mass was found in his guts, possibly already spread to his liver. They x-ray different views and used ultrasound to get a better picture.

The vet removed the bump on his tail and it was necrotic tissue. He said it fell apart as soon as he cut it. It looked awful. He is confident that these bumps as well as the mass in his gut are cancerous tumors.

After a lengthy conversation, these were the scenarios that may happen:

Biopsy comes back, and it's not cancer/malignant (Very unlikely due to how fast they grow every time they were messed with)
We remove all tumors except the one in the guts because that is not operable, which will continue to grow and kill him, he will suffer. Low chance of surviving surgery. High chance the tumors will return in force or worse.
Remove all tumors including the one in the gut (By some miracle it is doable). High chance of dying on table by bleeding out and the trauma kills him, little chance of recovery because they need their guts to live, and high chance everything comes back in force or worse.
Do nothing. Antibiotics won't work. Nothing will help him without a successful surgery. He will suffer and get worse for weeks to months before finally passing or bringing him back to humanely euthanize him (If the vet office is open when you need them) and the stress of travel, being handled and put back to sleep will be traumatic for him. It takes time for the drug to work on reptiles.
Putting him to sleep while he is already under anesthesia, so we won't have to put him through and of the above.

I chose the last option.

Sorry, I tried to login to Tapatalk to post pictures but it wasn't working by my own fault and I just gave up. Maybe next time.

Vet says causes are genetic, and the high volume inbreeding (intentionally or not) of bearded dragons may be a contributing factor.

Sorry for the somber note to start the new year. I was expecting this news, it was so obvious, but to find the mass in his guts was what killed me. It must have been so painful. I may be crazy enough to risk it all to remove the tumors around his skin and beard but the one in his guts is what sealed his fate. The vet gave him a very poor prognosis if we let him be without surgery. I can't help but think how I just fed him his favorite hornworms yesterday. He ate, but I had to remind myself how my other beardie, Gaga, ate her food as her insides were covered in fungus and her ovaries were infected. Eating can't be a deciding factor for quality of life for these lizards. Realizing that he wasn't basking on his rock like he normally would, his appetite had gone down, not moving from his spot because he just didn't feel well... I do feel guilty why it took this long for me to end it.

He would be 5 years old on Valentine's Day. I got him from a good breeder when he was almost 2 years old.

Moral of the story: enjoy your pet. Sometimes vet medicine can't save them all, but I don't regret trying, at least they are collecting data that is much needed in reptile medicine. So if your pet is sick, take it to vet.

Nibbler's bump had grown bigger since his diagnosis. His cloaca isn't closed completely but he had not prolapse yet. Oddly enough, he is in shed. Vet said as long as he eats, not in pain, and poops, we still have some time.

I will miss our sun time together, Aegon.