Fungal mass inside beardie - Humane euthanasia?

I recently adopted what I now know is a very sick beardie. She has a small mass in her right abdomen surrounded by fluid of some sort (not pus). Lab work came back positive for fungi. Bloodwork on her liver and kidneys are clear.

She is currently very thin, lethargic and sleeps a lot. She eats on some days, very little when she does. She poops almost every day with formed poop and urate.

There are 2 options: surgery to remove the mass plus anti fungal meds. This comes with 3 problems: she is very weak and may not survive the surgery. If she did make it, she may not do well to be on the meds for SEVERAL months. The meds are very strong. She will need to have her liver checked every 2 weeks for toxicity. She will feel terrible. And that is if the meds don't kill her already weak body.

Third major problem is the fungi itself. It's not YF, but the vet doesn't know the type. However, the vet advised that fungi are notoriously difficult to fight. This means I should expect Gaga to be on the meds for at least 6 months or longer.

The financial factor comes into play. I make decent $$ as a paralegal and I can afford what I can because of my frugal lifestyle. The bloodwork is around $300 a month. If Gaga has to stay on it for at least 6 months, that is about $1800.00 in blood tests. Plus the anti fungal meds which I assume isn't going to be cheap and Gaga must be on it for several months. The surgery is about $400-600 plus other fees.

All this with no guarantee success. My vet warned me to go into this with full expectations that she may not do well. Those were her words.

According to other sources online, most agree that fungi is hard to rid of and success is very few and far in between. One vet mentioned how a reptile had similar symptoms as Gaga who continued to feed until the last few days before its death. Also, that the fungi that created this granuloma has no effective treatment at this time.

This leaves my other remaining option: put her to sleep. End her suffering now so she won't endure months of recovery, meds and discomfort. Gaga is already very weak. Fungi takes a long time to get to this point. She had this problem probably months prior to the rescue getting her. Her previous owners didn't want to deal with it.

Another reason for euthanasia is the cost. As previously mentioned, I just got her less than 3 weeks ago. I already spent $500 in testing which I didn't mind. I have the money for the surgery and some meds too. But for more than a month plus bloodwork is going to add up really fast. Shockingly, I still would take the financial hit if it wasn't the fact that there seems to be no cure, it's a long term treatment for a small chance of it working and Gaga will have to keep feeling worse.

Sorry for the long post... I am not happy about this. I feel guilty just thinking about putting her down because I so much wanted her to have a new life, living without anymore suffering like she is now. It seems that will most likely not happen with forcing her to go through more crap. This is not fair for her. The previous owner messed up so bad. Some people should not have an exotic pet ever.

Poor little girl. I sure can feel for you, I can imagine how you really want to give her a life that she never had. This kind of thing is SOOOO difficult. I think in a way that you are answering your own question, it just sounds like there's too little chance for a good outcome and a whole lot of possible suffering after if she had surgery. If only there seemed to be a better chance......it's just so hard. I'm almost inclined to say 100% euthanasia, but almost want to hold out by like 5 % if that makes sense. So sorry that she's in this situation and that you have to make this choice. You'll do the right thing.

Hello,

Wow, that is really sad, I am so sorry she is going through this, how awful.
The meds are hard on them, definitely. Fungus is very stubborn also! There are successful cases but not as many as the ones that aren't.
I feel for you having to make a decision like this. I am always trying to look on the positive side, hoping it will turn out better than the odds with good care.
You will make the right decision.
Let us know how things are going.

Tracie

Ugghhh....sorry your going through this.
Internal fungal infections are extremely hard to cure. As you previously mentioned oral antifungals are horribly hard on the liver. It does require frequent labs to make sure liver function tests are okay. The liver is a pretty resilient organ and as long as it's not sclorosed, it can recover. The problem is the probable lengthy time the dragon will need to be on the meds. If the liver starts to fail before the med regime is completed, stopping the meds can cause a "super infection" with a massive growth of the fungus.
It's a tough spot to be in because it's a complicated treatment with no guarantee of a good outcome.
Only you can decide what is the appropriate thing to do...I don't even know what I would do.

Thank you all for the kind replies. Unfortunately, she has passed since yesterday. After further discussion with the vet, and talking to my husband and friends, I agreed it was for Gaga's best interests to be put to sleep.

The main driving points for me, prior to receiving the phone call from the vet, helped made me see that things are much more serious inside of her: I came home from work and found her cold, lying away from the basking spot but not even making an effort to get warm, my cat loves to nibble everything so while I looked away for a moment, she nibbled Gaga's side (it was painless, they are more love bites) but Gaga did not react. Same goes for when my dog licked her. No response. She continued to lay there, eyes closed and droopy. If she was in the wild, a predator would have easily picked her up.

I agreed to the autopsy. The autopsy revealed a grimmer find than we thought: the mass or cyst was attached to her liver which had already shown signs of severe damage. In addition, she had preovulatory stasis. Her bloodwork showed she had high levels of calcium. And as we had guessed how she turned blind and get this infection, this diagnosis further confirms that bad husbandry was most likely the cause of all these diseases. In light of all this, Gaga may simply be elderly whose body has become weak and more easily diseased over time. Who knows. But bad husbandry was the main culprit. The vet states these diseases happen over a period of months to develop. The previous owner ignorance killed her.

It was a very difficult choice and a more difficult morning to drop her off at the vet's clinic for the last time. I gave her plenty of green beans and bok choy, which she liked a lot. I also spoiled her with worms and crickets. She didn't eat much but I think she enjoyed her meal. Gaga was fearful as I took her to the vet, she was not a fan of the outdoors, which made me doubt my decision at the time: if she is eating and pooping and responding to something, she can't be that sick??

And then I remember since the day I had her, she simply survived because of her body's hardiness not letting her die. She didn't thrive.

If you haven't taken your beardie for a check up, I urge you to do so, even if it seem healthy. Reptiles are experts at hiding illnesses, much better at doing so than cats. An experienced vet can confirm if everything is doing ok or not. They will also confirm if the tank set up and diet are correct to ensure your pet stays healthy and strong. It is your responsibility as a pet owner, no one else's. Pets are not disposable items regardless of the cheap and easy way of obtaining them. They suffer and like in Gaga's case, for months before they can die in the most painful manner unless they are put down. If this responsibility cannot be met, please rehome your pet to someone who will do this or don't get one.

I'm sorry to hear this , but you did the right thing. Even so, I know it's painful for you + your family to see the suffering + now lose Gaga. My sympathy to you + your family.