Cancer in bearded dragons?

Yesterday I dropped Faust off for surgery at 10 am. It was sometime at 2 that they confirmed to me that he was in surgery. At some point, a vet I haven't met in person called me to tell me about how the surgery is progressing. She told me that they found that the tumor had gone through his chest wall and that I had 3 options:
1. Continue surgery and risk him not waking up.
2. Go to the clinic and be with him for euthanization.
3. Allow them to euthanize without me being there.

After being told that the ultrasound showed no tumor in his chest, I was devastated that the tumor had grown since the ultrasound and in the wrong direction. But I opted for the first option, continue with the amputation and let his vet try to remove as much of the tumor to make him comfortable. So he stayed at the clinic over night, and they were giving me hourly updates until his vet last called me at around 8 to let me know that he was breathing on his own and waking up and that she was going to be locking up.

I was supposed to get a call at 10 this morning, but I jumped the gun and called ahead I really wanted to make sure that he was still awake and breathing on his own. So she said I could come in to pick him up at 11.

As far as his prognosis, it's not good. He has tumor in his chest, it's not by his heart yet and we're hoping it doesn't reach his heart, but it could. She believes that he will have a better quality of life now without his arm. He won't be in pain since there isn't tumor eating his bones. We don't know how long he has, but that's it as far as treatments go, I won't put him through chemo or radiation or further surgeries. Chemo has been shown to not work in reptiles like they do in mammals anyways.

Here are pictures of my little fighter though. He put up quite a fight when they were sedating him. He really didn't want to go to sleep.

I'm relieved to hear he made it through the surgery. I wish there was better news regarding the tumor. He has proven that he's a fighter and wishes to keep going so I think you made the right decision. He looks like he's doing quite well based on those photos. Spoil him rotten as much as you can and make the best of the extra time you've been given.

Faust just had his first check up since the surgery 2 weeks ago. He's made great progress since then, he's walking and getting around his tank without any problems, he's even climbing and running when I try to give him his meds. He has gained weight since, and he even weighs more now than he did prior to having the tumor and his arm removed! His vet seemed impressed with how he looks and there are no signs of tumor growth which is good news. If it wasn't for the fact that we know he still has tumor in his chest, one might think that he's cancer free because of how much better he looks.

To think that the other vet made it seem like euthanasia was the only option is terrible. Faust clearly wants to live and he's become my biggest source of inspiration. I'll help him fight until he decides his battle is over.

Sorry the prognosis isn't very good...
The vet did a good job on the amputation. Hard to tell that it was an amputation and not area birth defect.

I'm glad to hear he is thriving so far after the surgery. That's a great sign and I agree it shows he wants to keep fighting. This has given him some good quality life to enjoy that he wouldn't otherwise have =)

Over the past week, Faust had taken a turn for the worst. I was giving him his formula since he wasn't eating on his own, yet he was rapidly losing the weight he had put on. After a bath last night, he started to puff up his beard and thrash around, Then suddenly he went limp, I was sure he had passed, but I noticed he was still breathing. I knew then that that was the start of the end. I watched over him for hours until finally sleep got the better of me and I woke up to find him looking very peaceful and almost smiling. He must have slipped away at some point between 2am and 7am. Faust fought his cancer like a warrior right to the end, but now he's in peace.

Thank you for all you support in this difficult journey, I appreciate it.

I'm so sorry to read about your buddy Faust passing away. Faust was well loved + thankfully it didn't seem like he suffered much in the end. My sympathy to your family.

I'm so sorry. I had a beardie die due to cancer, it's still upsetting.

I sit here and cry reading this! What a wondering owner you were! I love reading stories where people fight for their pets! He for sure is in a better place watching over you and thanking you

So close to Rex's sudden death, I really feel for you, I know you'll feel gutted right now especially since Foust was looking like he was going to make it and recover after his amputation.

At least he passed away knowing he was loved and while snuggling on you and while being comforted by you.

You would never have forgiven yourself (like me) if he had died surrounded by strangers in a vet's surgery in a strange and scary setting.

I still greatly regret and feel deeply sad and horrible when I think about my lovely boy Puff who's last memories were of a scary strange place full of stranger and strange sounds where people were nasty painful things to him to put him under for his major surgery which he never woke up from.
I lost all my confidence in those vets as result (and of them misdiagnosing Puff's lump as a abscess, had I know for sure (as I suspected right along) it was an aneurism I would have never let them operate on it).
I would much rather him have had die in my loving arms while being loved and comforted like Rex and Wriggles did, and my first rescue Lucky did all those years ago.

I have lost 2 dragons to cancer. One to abdominal cancer, one to lung cancer. I lost 1 dog to cancer, while another survived it.

FaustEngelmar":1mrrwdk7 said:

Got a call from his vet today. Faust has a sarcoma. Amputation would only decrease the tumor size, but given the location, it would not be removed completely. To say I am devastated is an understatement, but I plan on making his life as comfortable as possible. Scheduled an ultrasound to determine whether he has mets anywhere else in his body. How sad is it that cancer in reptiles is very under researched?

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just noticed the date stamps = Old thread ....

nothing to add other than this is likely a consequence of extreme inbreeding and very low genetic diversity in the pools of breeders available in your country due to breeders flooding the market in an attempt to make maximum $ from their breeding stock. Will only get worse and more frequent.