Beardy not eating - Vet doesn't know why

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negsense

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Hi,

Thanks for all the responses, update below too.

Do you have other bloodwork too, of the calcium levels, etc as well?
I am basing thoughts from the first bloodtest set but it is possible she is shelling eggs,
with the calcium levels so high. Have they done x-rays to see if there are eggs or an
ultrasound if there are unshelled eggs or developing follicles?

The other bloodwork is the first pic two posts up of mine.

I think you're right though, the vet saw what looks like mummfied eggs in her latest x-ray and he red blood cell count is at 7 (up from 6 last week which isn't great but it's something.) The vet is still trying to figure out why she's losing red blood cells because there isn't any blood in her fecal sample they looked at yesterday.

Next steps are putting her on anti-biotics because the vet thinks an infection could be the cause of red blood cell levels going down and then we're going to take her to a vet college in Guelph for an ultrasound and potentially a blood transfusion. The vet thinks that either they're eggs or potentially tumors, either way we're eventually most likely going to need surgery after we get her red blood cell count up.

Does anyone have any experience with finding another beardie to be a blood donor? The vet says the risk to the donor is low/none, but I don't know many/any folks around Toronto with bearded dragons.
 

negsense

Member
Original Poster
Hey,

Wanted to post an update on this topic for the folks that commented and also in case someone ends up here looking for answers about their beardy not eating.

We took her to Guelph veterinary college for an ultrasound and blood transfusion in the event she needed surgery. Ultrasound revealed that there's a vascular mass on her stomach that's attached to about half of her stomach, which I think is causing discomfort around eating so she's less excited about it. This is also why she's been losing red blood cells.

They ended up trying to poke the mass to find out what it is but weren't able to get a good sample. The vet at the college thinks it is most likely cancer but would need to do a surgical biopsy to examine it. We're opting not to do the surgical biopsy because if it is cancer, they can't remove it because it's too big along her stomach.

Our plan is to continue the current course of antibiotics, possibly put her on an anti-fungal and see how things go. She's been pretty perky lately and we've been feeding her Rapashi Beardy Buffet which our vet suggested and she loves. We're also going to follow up with our primary vet for a second opinion. Right now since we don't really know what it is, or what it means for her, we're just focusing on making sure she has the best life she can for as long as we get to be with her. Thanks for all of the help, I'll update the thread if I get any new info.
 
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