Beard / Neck has sudden large growth / lump

Hi,

I am concerned with a lump or growth that has appeared on my Beardie's neck/beard over the last 7-10 days. I thought nothing of it at first but now it is getting really quite large and although he doesn't seem too phased by it, I am worrying what it may be. He is coming up to 7 and has always been healthy. His daily routine is pretty constant; he usually wakes me in the morning by tapping on his vivarium and I then let him out and he'll sit on a log looking out of my window into the garden (he can wander in and out of the viv via a ramp while I'm around at home). That hasn't really changed, neither has his eating; he is eating plenty of fruit and veg and locusts as per. I have felt the lump, it feels softish with a harder core. He doesn't seem to fussed with me touching it, but he pulled his head away when I applied a bit of pressure to it. I've looked to see if he has a cut or missing scale and it can't see anything. There is also no smell or liquid from it, and I can't see anything when I've opened his mouth to look down his throat.

I don't know what to do as a next step. I don't know of any herp vets in my area (Wirral/Liverpool) or if they're any good.

Can anybody offer any advice?

Many thanks

I'm sorry to hear about the lump. Would it be possible to post a picture of it?

Is it Liverpool, NY where you live?

Hi

Hopefully you can see the attached image? I thought it may be a tumour but it seems to have just popped out of nowhere really suddenly. As I said, he seems to be alright in himself at the moment (thankfully). And no, its Liverpool, England I live, should have made that clearer, sorry.

Cheers

Cobain

Another image from a different angle.

Oh my goodness, that is a big lump. It only just appeared about 7 to 10 days ago? I would definitely get that checked by a vet as soon as you can. Sorry, but I can't help you with vets in England. Good luck.

That looks like a cyst, but it could be a tumour. Your local vet will be able to refer you to a specialist reptile vet.

Woolton village's "village vets" has got a super reputation - you want Alan if he's still there.

Hello,

Oh geez, that is very large indeed! I wasn't expecting that.
He definitely should be seen by a vet to see what in the world is going on.
You didn't see anything down his throat, so it is external then?

Let us know how things go. I am glad someone recommended someone for you.

Tracie

Poor guy looks so unhappy as well… black bearding, spines sticking out. Please keep us informed as to what it is and how he is doing.

Hi,

Thanks for the recommendation of Village Vets, I'll give them a call.

As for being unhappy, that's what's confusing me slightly. He is a nice light colour all over and the other side of his beard is orange so I'm not sure whether the pressure on his skin is forcing the spines outwards. It's really strange. It's now 8am here and half an hour ago he was banging on his vivarium window waiting to be let out and he is now sat at the window watching pigeons in the garden; you wouldn't think anything was wrong with him if you didn't know otherwise.

Thanks again for your help so far, I'll keep you informed.

Cobain

Years ago, i remember reading about a beardie that had a large lump suddenly appear on the back of his head. The beardie didn't seem to be uncomfortable at all and he acted normally.

When a vet performed exploratory surgery, he found the lump was a large blood clot from a burst aneurism. The vet was really good and was able to successfully repair the defect.


Please bring your beardie to the vet ASAP. Any growth that appears suddenly needs to be examined and treated immediately.

Any updates?

Yes, we're all wondering how your beardie is doing.

I also would like to know whats happening :/

Hi,

Sorry for not replying, I have been away and not been able to monitor this email account.

I took him to the vets, and he knew what it was immediately. It is a haematoma on one of his main arteries. Apparently it was the biggest he had seen. He said he could operate on it, but because it is such a rare occurance, he had only done one similar operation before and the potential disadvantages outweighed the benefits. He recommended leaving it alone as it will eventually degrade and heal itself, although he may re-bleed in future, which will cause it to form again. The other option was to put him to sleep. I explained that he was doing well in himself, and the vet agreed that he is not in any pain, so I took him home and he is indeed doing just fine. The lump peaked at a slightly larger size and is now slowly getting smaller. As long as he is mobile, eating and drinking the vet said it is business as usual. He may get a bit slower and drowsy if it starts re-bleeding in future, as his blood pressure will drop, but hopefully he will remain ok and it will get smaller again with time. If I notice any change in his daily routine I'll take him straight back to assess what the next steps would be, hopefully it shouldn't come to this.

It was a big relief for me, I'm glad it wasn't a tumour, but obviously the fact that it is still there and could reoccur in future is a bit off putting. At least I know that he should be ok going forward, and the vet said that his life expectancy will only decrease slightly because of this.

Fingers crossed it heals and doesn't happen again!

Cheers

That's great news ! I hope for a pleasant future and hot a speedy recovery as well as it never coming again!