3 year old beardie has mass in mouth

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Renjolly

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So our 3 year old (M) beardie, Dart, started bleeding from his mouth about a year and a half ago. We looked inside his mouth and saw a tiny lump, and it had ruptured a bit with clear pus and blood. We took him to the vet, and they recommended trying antibiotics in case it was a trauma from eating, but they didn’t help. Then they recommended surgery because it looked like maybe a cyst but they weren’t sure. We paid almost $1,000 for the surgery and the vet said they got everything from his mouth, so we opted to not pay hundreds of dollars to have the mass tested.

Then, 6 months later, it grew again. This time, we paid $350 for an aspiration (they take a needle and get the fluid from the inside and try to see what it is), but they still couldn’t tell us what it was.

Then, we paid another $1,000 for another surgery and they told us that it was wrapped around his bottom jaw bone and veins etc, so they didn’t get the entire mass. We then spent $400 to send it to pathology for testing at a 3rd party lab. Those results came back inconclusive. (Beyond frustrating)

It’s now 1 year later and we noticed the mass growing back about 6 months ago, but really can’t afford another surgery. It’s gotten almost triple the size and today he was eating his greens and it ruptured again, this time with dark red blood. We are heartbroken and worried he might die, but aren’t really sure what to do. Should we find a new vet and get a second opinion? Or maybe someone on here has seen this before? Just looking for advice.

The second picture you can see pink on the top that leads into an almost black. The whole mass is about a half inch long.
***specs about dart:
>Greens every day; he loves cilantro the best but will settle for kale or collard greens.
>10-15 Dubia roaches once a week; meal worms once a month as a special treat.
>We have a reptisun brand basking/uv bulb on the basking side and an only UV (a long blue light-don’t remember the brand off the top of my head) on the cool side; both bulbs are replaced every 6 months. temp is always between 95-100F, humidity is about 25 and both checked on a biweekly time frame (we have a thermometer/humidity gauge inside the tank).
>he has always been incredibly lazy and not super active, but he always comes down for food and water/changes basking spots frequently throughout the day. This hasn’t changed his entire life.
>also may just be him, but he only poops every 1-2 weeks, and it has been that way during his adult life.

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AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Aw poor Dart, he's such a good boy dealing with this upsetting situation. I really feel for you and I don't have anything specific to suggest but I know that in humans growths can reoccur in the mouth that can be either cancerous or non. It's odd that the vet can't determine what it is so I would search
for another experienced reptile vet to go for a second opinion to quickly get a biopsy. I'm not sure how much can be done but it's worth a try while you decide what to do. At least Dart still seems comfortable for now. Some of the mods. will be on later, one of who is a vet tech. Drache613 [ username ] may have other suggestions and hopefully you can get some definite answers soon. Best wishes to you + your boy Dart.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

Poor boy, that probably doesn't feel very good at all! I agree, I would try to get a second
opinion on that. The biopsy should reveal answers for you, or should be more definitive.
Since it has gotten larger, I highly recommend getting him to another vet. I hope that it
isn't cancer though.
It is a great sign that he is still active & eating well.
If you have any raw, unpasteurized honey, you can try putting some on the area, just to
help in case there is some infection going on.
Which antibiotic was he given previously?

Tracie
 
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