Long lump on right side of stomach?

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EMH97

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For the past month or so (probably longer), my bearded dragon (Andre, 3 years old) has had a long, hard lump on the right side of his stomach. He is still pooping and acting normal for the most part. He gets one similar on his left side before he poops, but it is significantly decreased right after (it is still slightly there). For some reason, the one on his right side won’t decrease in size or go away!

I’ve been giving him some mineral oil and squash baby food for the past 2 days as well as warm baths every day (he only will poop in the bath), and he’ll poop, but the lump on his right side won’t go away. Is it possible for beardies to be impacted and still be able to go to the bathroom? I am so confused about what this could be.
 

EMH97

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104517-9286103081.jpg
No, his stomach seems to be fairly normal in appearance. The lumps can only be felt when you press on his stomach. They are close to the sides of his body and at the lower end of his abdomen.

I took him to the vet on Monday, and my vet noticed the lumps (they are on both sides, but the left side is much smaller) and said they were pretty abnormal to feel, and that I should bring him back in a few days if they don’t go away after he poops. The vet did a fecal test and he doesn’t have any parasites, so we know it’s not that. Andre is pretty active still, basking every day and running around when I let him out of the cage, but he doesn’t seem to want to eat or drink much of anything. He’s still pooping, but a lot less than he usually does, but I also think that’s because he is eating much less than normal.
 

EMH97

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I thought I would go ahead and let you all know his living conditions as well. I rescued Andre at about 2 years old from someone who had essentially abandoned him and was no longer really feeding or taking care of him. When I first got him, he was gray, looked like a skeleton, and was riddled with parasites (he also lost a few toes and his tail had been shortened due to tail rot). His quality of life has definitely improved over the past ~8 months that I have had him!

Habitat
Exo Terra large terrarium (36x18x18)
Zoomed Reptisun 10.0 UVB strip light (just replaced 1 month ago)
Halogen 65w basking bulb with dimmer
Basking spot temp: 103F
Warm side temp: about 95F
Cool side temp: about 83F
Substrate: Non-adhesive shelf liner
Diet
Mostly greens, I rotate out turnip, mustard, and dandelion greens.
In his salads, I also like to include something like bell peppers (his favorite), butternut squash, or blueberries.
He used to eat crickets, but recently has become disinterested in them so I have been feeding him superworms, but sparingly because of their high fat content. My apartment complex is pretty strict and would be very angry if they found I was keeping roaches (they barely let me bring Andre), so unfortunately, dubias are not an option for me.

Here is a recent picture of him:
104517-8159259199.jpg
 

CooperDragon

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I'm so glad to hear you're able to give him a good home and that he's doing well under your care =). He looks really good in the photos. As you said I don't see any outward signs of an issue. Are the lumps you're feeling part of his rib cage? Those will feel like small bumps along the sides of his belly and they are quite flexible so they'll appear to be in different spots depending on how he is flexed. Since they are internal, the vet might be able to get a better idea of what's going on using an x-ray or ultrasound.
 

EMH97

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I don't think it's the ribcage... The lumps are solid continuous masses that are bigger than the ribs. I went ahead and edited my picture to show where they are:
104517-6508347406.jpg

I decided to call the vet and make a follow-up appointment for tomorrow morning since this isn't a new problem & has been around for a while. He mentioned something about the lumps possibly being related to the kidneys since they're right around that area, which has me pretty worried, so I think I'll ask for him to check his blood to either rule that out or confirm it as soon as possible. I'll also take your advice and ask for an ultrasound or x-ray too just to check on everything internally. Thank you so much for your help! I'll definitely update as soon as I get any new information.
 

CooperDragon

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A blood test is a good idea too. You'll at least get a baseline for how his systems are functioning. Please let me know how it goes.
 

Drache613

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Hello,

I agree, he looks good overall, very healthy looking.
I think that they are his kidney since they are unilateral in location to each other. It is a
possibility that his kidneys could be enlarged but, hopefully they are not.
An ultrasound would be helpful in showing enlargement, more so than simply palpating them
in the general area. As Cooper suggests, a blood test is always very insightful, too. Especially
if renal dysfunction might be suspect.
Your tank setup sounds terrific, so Andre is a lucky man to have been rescued by you! :D
Your Reptisun 10 tube bulb, is that mounted on top of or underneath of the screen top?
Have you tried phoenix/calcium worms, or maybe silkworms or hornworms? They do
love to change their eating preferences over the course of time. That is nice he eats his
greens & veggies though.

Let us know how the vet visit goes.
Tracie
 

EMH97

Member
Original Poster
Hello!

Thank you all for responding! I took Andre to the vet today, and he had an x-ray done. I took a picture of it shown below, and they told me they would email the full resolution picture sometime this afternoon.
104517-8392674559.jpg

The vet told me that he didn't think he saw anything too out of the ordinary in Andre's x-ray, but that it was hard to tell if there wasn't something internally wrong just from that. We decided to have some bloodwork sent out (they don't have the lab materials in house there since they mainly deal with cats and dogs), so I should have the results sometime tomorrow. My vet did say that what he was feeling in Andre's stomach seemed way too big to be the kidneys but suggested that they might be fat pads. Essentially, I don't think he's 100% sure what's in his stomach, but he's doing everything he can to make sure it's not something terrible. He was really nice and decided not to charge me for the x-ray since it didn't offer him too much information. If anyone sees something out of the ordinary that he might not have caught, please let me know!

The UV light is currently over the screen, but I have been taking this summer to improve Andre's cage conditions, and have actually ordered an under-counter fixture that I'm waiting for in the mail to rig under the screen. I've thought about switching to pheonix worms since superworms aren't the best feeder option, but I'm a little nervous about storing them at the proper temperature so they don't turn into flies quickly. Unfortunately, I'm a student, so I don't have the budget to buy something like a wine cooler to keep them at the proper temperature to hold them for long periods of time. If you have any other suggestions for how to keep them at the right temp, please let me know! I'd be more than happy to make the switch if it'll make Andre healthier :)

I'll keep you all updated with the results of his bloodwork!
 

CooperDragon

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The x-ray looks pretty good to me too. Bones are nice and bright and the ribs look normal. Perhaps the blood test will shed some more light on things. Since the weather is starting to get nicer, can you take him outside with you? If you can give him some time to bask in natural sunlight it's quite beneficial for him. Given his bone density (based on the x-ray) it appears that he is getting enough calcium and UVB as it is though.
 

EMH97

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Original Poster
I've been taking him out every day since it's nice and warm here! I thought he could use some time outside the tank that wasn't just in my house. I'm glad his bones look alright too.

An update: Andre took a bath today and pooped, but it was the tiniest poop I've ever seen in my life. Almost the size of a pencil eraser. After that, he continued to try to poop and really seemed to be struggling a lot to get something out, and he was making hissing and squeaking sounds :( Nothing ever came from that, and he eventually gave up and I got him out of the bath. When I put him back in his cage, he went crazy! He ran back and forth for about 5 minutes before settling back down in his basking spot. I think that's just spring fever.

I'll be sure to let you all know about the bloodwork results as soon as they come in!
 

EMH97

Member
Original Poster
Hello!

I finally got the blood results back, so I thought I would go ahead and update you. The vet said that everything involving his kidneys seemed actually pretty normal, but that his liver enzymes seemed slightly high and that his white blood cells looked like they were fighting some sort of infection. He mentioned that the liver can have abnormal levels from both eating too much or too little, and in Andre's case, it is most likely because he hasn't been eating enough. He wants me to stop by tomorrow and get some antibiotics for the infection and to also talk about how to help Andre eat more and get better hydrated. I already have probiotics here, so I'll add those to his food so that his gut flora doesn't get all out of wack.

We still don't know the cause of the lumps.. I'm wondering if he's kind of constipated or something, but we're just not quite sure. I might take Andre to another vet to see if they might have an idea, but I'm not really sure what else to do.
 

Drache613

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Hello,

Sometimes their liver enzymes can be high if they are not eating much or have been in a
slow down state like brumation, etc. Mating season can cause levels to elevate or decrease
in several readings.
That is a huge possibility, the areas could be fat pads, sure. The x-rays did look good. I don't
see any evidence of metabolic bone disease there, either. Hopefully the kidneys are normal in
size & not having any issues. How nice of him not to charge you for the x-rays though!
The probiotics should help him quite a bit. I hope Andre gets to feeling better soon!
If he has a slight infection, the antibiotics should clear out most general infections. Keep him
hydrated also while he is on the medication rounds.

Let us know how he is doing.
Tracie
 

EMH97

Member
Original Poster
Thanks for responding, Tracie!

I asked for a copy of the blood results, and I have included them below:
104517-4554958069.jpg

I'm concerned about the remarks on the blood test. The courier somehow missed Andre's sample when it was ordered to be taken over, so the blood was a day old when it was tested and showed a moderate amount of hemolysis as well as a clot. Should that mess up the results too much? I am taking him to another vet on Tuesday and could get Andre's blood tested again if these aren't super accurate.. Also, could someone go over these values with me? The high LDH and AST are concerning me a bit :(

Andre still doesn't want to eat any greens, and is constantly glass surfing and running around! I have been letting him out for an hour or so each day to let him get his zoomies out, and then he seems to be a lot calmer in his cage after that. I think that's just spring fever. I am a little bit worried about his beard though. Since I put him back in his cage after running around, his beard has turned black for about an hour now.

Today, the vet gave him 0.05mL of Baytril (I am continuing this every day for the next two weeks) and he seemed alright at the time. When his beard turned black was about 4 hours after the administration of the Baytril. Is this also something that could be because of the mating season or something caused by the medicine? I'm a little bit worried about this because he's usually very mellow, and I almost never see it. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!
 

Drache613

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Moderator
Hello,

Those blood tests don't look too bad. The AST (liver enzymes) are a bit high but could also
be due to his not eating all that much right now. Many times when they are in mating season
mode their levels will vary. He hasn't been eating very much correct?
The uric acid levels (kidney enzymes) are a little low but they could be from a vitamin or a
mineral deficiency possibly.
The Reptisun 10 tube is on top of the screen or underneath of the screen?
The meds can dehydrate them so do try to get extra oral fluids into him daily at least or every
other day. Baytril does not taste good & could cause blackbearding if it upsets his tummy.
How is he doing today?

Let us know how things are going!
Tracie
 
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