Vote for BP.Net for the 2013 Forum of the Year! Click here for more info.

» Site Navigation

» Home
 > FAQ

» Online Users: 2,620

1 members and 2,619 guests
Most users ever online was 6,337, 01-24-2020 at 04:30 AM.

» Today's Birthdays

Ziggy31984 (40)

» Stats

Members: 75,014
Threads: 248,474
Posts: 2,568,391
Top Poster: JLC (31,651)
Welcome to our newest member, DetectiveIcarus
Results 1 to 3 of 3
  1. #1
    BPnet Veteran
    Join Date
    01-18-2018
    Posts
    649
    Thanks
    34
    Thanked 802 Times in 393 Posts

    RIP - Aegon, bearded dragon

    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.
    Last edited by Cheesenugget; 01-05-2021 at 04:12 PM.

  2. #2
    Bogertophis's Avatar
    Join Date
    04-28-2018
    Location
    USA
    Posts
    20,178
    Thanks
    28,069
    Thanked 19,730 Times in 11,794 Posts
    I'm very sorry for your loss...it's a rotten way to start the new year, but these things happen sooner or later- it's part of sharing our lives with animals.

    I think you absolutely made the right decision not to wake him up to what could only have been suffering longer, & you should not blame yourself for waiting- sometimes it's very hard to know what's going on with reptiles, & he certainly fared better than if he'd been a wild dragon. Sad that he was only 5 years old though.

    Very interesting what your vet said about his genetics & inbreeding being a possible cause, but that makes sense, I guess. Reinforces my preference for "wild types" as being healthier, though I'm sure there's plenty of exceptions.

    A few years ago, I lost an older rosy boa to a nasty tail infection that appeared "out of nowhere" (no previous trauma, no mating etc). These things just happen sometimes.

    I hope Nibbler has more time- what is his diagnosis? (abscess? cancer?) What is the plan with him?

    Thanks for sharing Aegon's story (R.I.P. Aegon), I'm sure it helps for others here when they have to make similar & difficult decisions.
    Last edited by Bogertophis; 01-05-2021 at 04:40 PM.
    Rudeness is the weak man's imitation of strength.
    Eric Hoffer (1902 - 1983)

  3. #3
    BPnet Veteran
    Join Date
    01-18-2018
    Posts
    649
    Thanks
    34
    Thanked 802 Times in 393 Posts

    Re: RIP - Aegon, bearded dragon

    Quote Originally Posted by Bogertophis View Post
    I'm very sorry for your loss...it's a rotten way to start the new year, but these things happen sooner or later- it's part of sharing our lives with animals.

    I think you absolutely made the right decision not to wake him up to what could only have been suffering longer, & you should not blame yourself for waiting- sometimes it's very hard to know what's going on with reptiles, & he certainly fared better than if he'd been a wild dragon. Sad that he was only 5 years old though.

    Very interesting what your vet said about his genetics & inbreeding being a possible cause, but that makes sense, I guess. Reinforces my preference for "wild types" as being healthier, though I'm sure there's plenty of exceptions.

    A few years ago, I lost an older rosy boa to a nasty tail infection that appeared "out of nowhere" (no previous trauma, no mating etc). These things just happen sometimes.

    I hope Nibbler has more time- what is his diagnosis? (abscess? cancer?) What is the plan with him?

    Thanks for sharing Aegon's story (R.I.P. Aegon), I'm sure it helps for others here when they have to make similar & difficult decisions.
    Nibbler's diagnosis is also cancer. It's eating away at his tail bone and due to how close it is to the cloaca, it is not operable. The tumor grew in the last 2 weeks, so now his cloaca can't close completely (no prolapse yet). He still eats, poops and do everything that he normally likes to do, like burrowing in the box of coco fiber or hang out on the fake grass in his enclosure. The plan is to watch for the final sign that it is time to put him to sleep: prolapse, can't poop, tumor burst open, pain and/or not eating. Unlike Aegon, Nibbler is confirmed to be an old snake (about 10).

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to Cheesenugget For This Useful Post:

    Bogertophis (01-06-2021)

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •  
Powered by vBadvanced CMPS v4.2.1