Stuck shed? Abscess or cancer??

[KelG84]

Ok newbie here and I’ll warn you now, it’s likely to be a long post! 😖
So I rehomed this beautiful boy 2 weeks ago with the understanding he had stuck shed on his leg which would likely rectify itself on his next shed. When he arrived his leg was more swollen than expected and he was unable to use it properly. I got him on the Saturday and on the Monday I took him straight to the vets. They suspected maybe a fracture or dislocation and scheduled for us to go back on the Wednesday for X-rays. The X-rays showed a mass in his arm and the vet tried to aspirate it to check cultures but as the mass is a solid lump he said it could actually be cancer. I was given antibiotics to give Ludo in the hopes it’s just an abscess which will clear up and advised to bath him regularly to help with his shed. I’ve been bathing him every second day, using a toothbrush and even bough some shed ease to spray a couple of times a day, hoping it is just his shed that’s causing the swelling. Unfortunately I’m getting no shed off, his swelling is still just as bad and although he’s using it more, he’s still limping and unable to grip. Has anyone seen scales like this and does it actually look like shuck shed or am I wasting my time trying to get it off? Thanks
Pics are in order of when he first arrived to now (if they upload properly)
Also should mention he’s in a 4x2x2 wooden vivarium with a 75w exoterra basking light, an Arcadia 12% +d3 uvb, has 3 lives meals a week dusted with 1x Cali dust and 2x arcadia earth pro A. He eats greens daily...mainly peashoots, rocket, collard greens, kale once a week, sweet potato or squash grated on top and a treat of blueberries, apple or raspberries once a week.

https://ibb.co/gyW5Yxc

https://ibb.co/ryPsgss

https://ibb.co/Dp2zy6W

https://ibb.co/8Dz688z

[KarrieRee]

Yeah we need Tracie Drache613 our vet tech mod and AHBD to look at him
Karrie

[AHBD]

Hi there, what's your new fella's name ? That does look painful, I don't think it's stuck shed although anytime there's trauma it can shed differently, taking longer. I don't know or have any more guesses than the vet except possibly gout , my first thought was a possible break but I guess the xray did not reveal that. I hope you can get a definite answer and treatment ASAP.

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

Could you post the picture of the Xray?

So no fluid at all was aspirated from it? What are the next steps your vet is thinking of?

Is opening it up to look at it/remove it an option?
Bloodwork would be good to get done if it's an option at your vet.

-Brandon

[KelG84]

Thanks for the replies!

I’ve named him Ludo (after a character from the film labyrinth, not after the board game lol)

If he’s no better on the 2nd December when he goes for his follow up visit then he’ll have to have bloodwork and a biopsy. The vet did say there was swelling on his left elbow that showed up on the X-ray but not visable on the outside, but that could possibly be down to inflammation due to him over compensating for not being able to use his right arm properly.

I’ll get in touch with the vets tomorrow morning and see if they can possibly email me over his X-rays so I can post here.

I just want him to be better, he’s the sweetest little guy and would hate to lose him 😩

[Drache613]

Hello,

It possibly could be a cyst or an abscess. Though, usually if there is an abscess present
doing an aspiration of the area should have yielded some type of fluids in the area. If
possible, a picture of the x-ray would be helpful. I realize blood work is expensive but that
would help determine whether or not there is a local infection present or gout. Are there
any other areas on the body such as the fingers, toes, that you see?
What insects do you give him & what gut load/feed do you provide to the insects prior to
feeding them to Ludo?

Tracie

[KelG84]

Hello,

It possibly could be a cyst or an abscess. Though, usually if there is an abscess present
doing an aspiration of the area should have yielded some type of fluids in the area. If
possible, a picture of the x-ray would be helpful. I realize blood work is expensive but that
would help determine whether or not there is a local infection present or gout. Are there
any other areas on the body such as the fingers, toes, that you see?
What insects do you give him & what gut load/feed do you provide to the insects prior to
feeding them to Ludo?

Tracie

Hi Tracie, thanks for the reply

I’m going to try and get the xrays emailed to me if possible so if I do I’ll definitely post them on here straight away.

Money isn’t an issue so he’ll definitely be having his biopsy and bloodwork done on Wednesday if there’s no significant improvement.

There is no swelling in any other limb/body part, just that one arm from his elbow area to his fingers.

I’ve only had him for 2 weeks and I’ve literally stuck to locusts in that 2 weeks and gut loaded them with whatever I wasn’t planning on feeding Ludo. So if I fed the locusts carrot and collard greens then I feed Ludo peashoots and squash so he’s getting the goodness of both.

I should also add, his previous owner said his leg has been like this for around 2 months and she previously fed him crickets and “greens” (I’m not even sure what)

I’ll add another picture of the discolouration of his scales, he’s only just waking up though so excuse the displeasure in his face lol

https://ibb.co/6trSmN1

[AHBD]

Hopefully your vet has good experience in treating beardies and the additional tests will uncover the real problem. Hope to hear a good outcome for Ludo !

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is your dragon doing?
I was curious as to how the vet visit went for Ludo, I hope it went well. Let us know how
things are going.

Tracie

[KelG84]

Hi thanks for checking in!

He's no different, the vets appointment isn't until the 2nd (weds) and I haven't been able to get his x-rays as they've been closed over the weekend (emergency only due to us still being in national lockdown.... I'm from the UK)

He's still eating but doesn't really move from his basking platform unless he's out of his vivarium and chasing bugs! I'll try and add a few more pictures of what it's like today and a video of him "hunting" lol I'm feeding him out of his vivarium to try and get him moving more.

https://ibb.co/s2CGW2g

Ok it won't upload videos but he does use it

[Drache613]

Hello,

Ok, well at least he isn't getting any worse though, that is good. I'm sorry about that, I
guess I didn't remember when your vet visit was. This lockdown is such a hoax & it is
utterly ruining everyone's lives! I hope you are able to get everything taken care of.
I hope he is feeling a bit better. Did he end up eating anything?
Keep us posted on him!

Tracie

[KelG84]

oh don't worry, it's like groundhog day isn't it lol We haven't been able to mix since the first lockdown in March but apparently covid goes into hiding over Christmas as we get to spend 5 days mixing with upto 3 other households!

Yes he's eating like a champ! Doesn't turn down anything! He's currently having an early lunch of watercress, rocket, sweet potato and he's trying a little bit of parsnip for the first time (I like experimenting with new foods as I'm still getting to know him) I'll add a picture of him demolishing his greens

https://ibb.co/8ch6zhK

[KelG84]

So I've just given Ludo his bath and I have a horrible feeling his leg is actually yellow fungus 😭 Some of his stuck shed came away but underneath it looks like leather. It's so hard and black. I've also noticed some yellow scales on his back leg. I'll post some pics, please tell me what you think!

This is the back of his front "bad" leg
https://ibb.co/hgjhzh7

This is the yellow scales on his back leg
https://ibb.co/0Ztd7CS

[AHBD]

No that's not Y.F, something else goin on there. Yellow fungus looks much different, the very slight tinge of sandy yellow color you see is natural. The dark front leg definitely has something going on but not Y.F.

[KelG84]

Ohh phew!! I'm tempted to bring his appointment forward as I don't want to wait til Wednesday. It's clearly getting worse even with his antibiotics (even though he's using it more) he's gone quite lethargic and just wants to sleep.
I really don't know what to do for him, he looks utterly miserable bless his heart 😩