Cheesenugget
Member
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.
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.