Abscess won't heal...

[kingofnobbys]

He needs your love and it is obvious to me he really enjoys being with you.

He'll also be missing Stumpy (yes they do notice and do get upset when things like this happen - I've seen this in Rex and Wriggles when Puff died, and again in Rex when Wriggle died of old age , became very clingy and wanted lots of extra snuggles and quality mommy and daddy time). RSK will be the same.

 

[AHBD]

Yeah, there's a sweet boy who needs you. He won't and can't take Stumpy's place, and your strange feelings toward him may be because he is healthy + energetic while Stumpy had the hard life. But you can direct your energy now to caring for this unique little guy who is depending on you 100% for every aspect of care. You'll always remember Stumpy, but this guy can have a place in your heart, too....and he needs you. And you'll make him a wonderful dragon mansion, so enjoy that !

 

[Amazonia]

Just read Stumpy's story after googling abscesses in dragons (my boy has one in his jaw) and I'm in tears. What a little fighter that sweet dragon was and what a wonderful owner you are for trying so hard to help get him better.Losing a beloved pet is a horrible thing to go through, they are all precious in different ways and bring so much joy to those who are lucky enough to love them. I hope Rumplestiltskin is doing well. Rest easy, little Stumpy ?

 

[Jessmvee]

Thank you. I think about my Stumpy every day and am still so empty without him. He took all of my time and energy for so long while he was fighting, and now I just have such a weird void. Rumpel is doing pretty well. He's a hornworm addict and refuses to eat anything else currently. Im spoiling him as much as I can.

I hope your dragon makes a speedy recovery. I'd love to see some pics!

 

[kingofnobbys]

Just read Stumpy's story after googling abscesses in dragons (my boy has one in his jaw) and I'm in tears. What a little fighter that sweet dragon was and what a wonderful owner you are for trying so hard to help get him better.Losing a beloved pet is a horrible thing to go through, they are all precious in different ways and bring so much joy to those who are lucky enough to love them. I hope Rumplestiltskin is doing well. Rest easy, little Stumpy ?

Stumpys story was terribly heartbreaking, expecially to me, as I lost my lovely big boy Puff not long beforehand (aneurism surgery - never woke up, my vet misdiagnosed his big lump as an abscess only to discover it was an aneurism (which was my original fear - very bad prognosis if operated on - essentially they bleed out unless you have a sacrificial bearded dragon who supplies blood)).

Please keep us updated on how your boy is doing, we are all pulling for him (is a fabulous group of keepers here , best there is IMO , and some very knowledgeable and experienced people).

Has your vet taken a small needle sample of the contents of your beardie's abscess ?, .....really important this is done early so pathology can be done and the most effective antibiotics be identified early in his treatment.

 

[kingofnobbys]

Thank you. I think about my Stumpy every day and am still so empty without him. He took all of my time and energy for so long while he was fighting, and now I just have such a weird void. Rumpel is doing pretty well. He's a hornworm addict and refuses to eat anything else currently. Im spoiling him as much as I can.

I hope your dragon makes a speedy recovery. I'd love to see some pics!

Hi Jessy ....

Glad your little boy is doing well. Can I suggest you try Rumpel on silkworms .... they are a much better staple insect than hornworms .

You will miss Stumpy and memories of him will make you sad for a long time .... I still get wet eyes when I remember Puff (and Wriggles) .... only time will heal the void you are feeling "in your heart" , this is perfectly normal and don't let anyone say otherwise. Stumpy was your sick spikey child who needed intensive care and was a huge part of your life for a long time.

 

[Jessmvee]

I miss you guys a lot!! You were my support group for a long time as well. The hardest part of all this is thinking back on everything I could have done differently.

I've heard this thread gets a lot of Google hits, so for anyone who reads this with an abscessed beardie... PLEASE get a needle sample culture of the abscess before doing anything else. PLEASE don't let the vet cut into the abscess first unless they deem immediately necessary. I'm convinced Stumpy's situation would have ended differently if we hadn't made that first huge cut. I really feel awful about that.

I hope everyone here is doing well. I will look around for silkworms at my reptile store. We tried everything they had in stock yesterday and he wouldn't eat. I threw a hornworm down and he snatched it up. He refused to eat for 2 weeks on his own. I was syringe feeding him like Stumpy. He stopped eating when he ran out of the hornworm treats I bought him once. I sincerely think he might be an addict.

 

[Amazonia]

I've been a member of this forum for a while but not posted recently, just had to respond when I read Stumpy's story. Poor baby, you must miss him terribly ?

My dragon Nioka is a rescue and has had a few things happen to him over the years, poor boy. Last year the vet had to amputate part of his tail and now he has this abscess. Been on painkillers and antibiotics and tomorrow I've to start giving him antibiotic injections so that will be fun! Bit nervous...

Sorry for your loss too Kingofnobbys. The vet didn't analyse the abscess, she said pus was coming out. I noticed the lump was a little bigger and got him back in on Thursday and she drained it and put a pin bead(?) or something in the hole to keep food etc out while allowing drainage. And she gave him his first injection, she made it look so easy. I'm to give him the injections every 3 days into his leg muscle, fingers crossed I manage ok and they speed up his recovery.

The photo shows him sporting his funky purple stitch! Love my little man ?

 

[kingofnobbys]

I miss you guys a lot!! You were my support group for a long time as well. The hardest part of all this is thinking back on everything I could have done differently.

I've heard this thread gets a lot of Google hits, so for anyone who reads this with an abscessed beardie... PLEASE get a needle sample culture of the abscess before doing anything else. PLEASE don't let the vet cut into the abscess first unless they deem immediately necessary. I'm convinced Stumpy's situation would have ended differently if we hadn't made that first huge cut. I really feel awful about that.

I hope everyone here is doing well. I will look around for silkworms at my reptile store. We tried everything they had in stock yesterday and he wouldn't eat. I threw a hornworm down and he snatched it up. He refused to eat for 2 weeks on his own. I was syringe feeding him like Stumpy. He stopped eating when he ran out of the hornworm treats I bought him once. I sincerely think he might be an addict.

If reckon if loves hornworms , he'll go bananas for silkworms (kind look the same shape, just different colour , and definitely a better staple than I've heard hornworms will be ( more nutritious ).

 

[kingofnobbys]

I've been a member of this forum for a while but not posted recently, just had to respond when I read Stumpy's story. Poor baby, you must miss him terribly ?

My dragon Nioka is a rescue and has had a few things happen to him over the years, poor boy. Last year the vet had to amputate part of his tail and now he has this abscess. Been on painkillers and antibiotics and tomorrow I've to start giving him antibiotic injections so that will be fun! Bit nervous...

Sorry for your loss too Kingofnobbys. The vet didn't analyse the abscess, she said pus was coming out. I noticed the lump was a little bigger and got him back in on Thursday and she drained it and put a pin bead(?) or something in the hole to keep food etc out while allowing drainage. And she gave him his first injection, she made it look so easy. I'm to give him the injections every 3 days into his leg muscle, fingers crossed I manage ok and they speed up his recovery.

The photo shows him sporting his funky purple stitch! Love my little man ?

.... a black beard....

I hated giving little lucky injections in his back , he was so tiny and I was terrified I'd accidentially impale him with needle if he squirmed suddenly while it was being done. He also hated the oral antibiotic (must have tasted really nasty, and I could never fool him when I was trying to hide the syringe with flexi-plastic catheter tube attached to it and he'd do his darnest to make getting it into his mouth near impossible).
I wouldn't want to be trying to inject a beardie in the leg on a regular basis .... he wont like it and is apt to show his displeasure if it really hurts.

 

[AHBD]

Hi Jess, good to hear from you. Stumpy's story was one of a kind, I know you anguish over what might have been, I did too , along with tears, and he was not my dragon. You did your best in those circumstances , you really did !

I hope that Rumpel stays healthy, albeit a little spoiled. Do you have any pics of the hornworm addict ? Maybe put up a thread in beardie tales so you can show him off a bit.

 

[Jessmvee]

I've been reluctant to start a thread for him or even talk about this... But the little dude has a swollen back leg. The upper thigh part. Been that way since I got him. It's now really hard like a rock. Ugh. I keep hoping I can reverse whatever it is. Temps and UV are good.

 

[AHBD]

Oh no, I hope it can be treated and he can recover ! Any idea what's causing it ? I can understand not wanting to talk about it but maybe a thread and some pics can get him some help here.

 

[kingofnobbys]

I've been reluctant to start a thread for him or even talk about this... But the little dude has a swollen back leg. The upper thigh part. Been that way since I got him. It's now really hard like a rock. Ugh. I keep hoping I can reverse whatever it is. Temps and UV are good.

Oh my .... you've had a rough trot .... poor little Rumple.

I wonder if he's got an infected leg or if it's something else (does it worry him ?) .... sounds like there might be an abscess in the leg .

About 4 years ago I had a nasty fall (down the front steps , tripped over my own shadow on evening doing down them) and wound up with my lower left leg having a huge haematoma in it that eventually turned septic - I wound up with a nasty case of cellulitis in the lower leg and it swelled up and became extremely painful , GP prescribed antibiotics that disagreed with me (allergic) and then my leg sprung a leak just below the knee (puss) and the doctor ordered me hospital by ambulance, where the I was operated on under a local ( still hurt like hell) where the surgeon cut a big hole just under my knee to drain and remove an abscess that was deep in the upper shin, 3 weeks in the surgical ward with intravenous broadspectrum antibiotics and talk of perhaps taking my lower leg if they couldn't kill the infection, then my leg was scanned and a decision made to put me under a general to remove a second large deep leg abscess.

When George was little and very boisterous he some how broke his upper left arm , it swelled up a lot and I took him to the local vet who did an xray and wound up putting him under a general and he inserted a pin in the broken bone and put a caste on it to immobilise it and gave me a series of anti-inflamatories - antibiotics and pain relief mixed injections to give him every couple of days , healed up nicely over several weeks.


Has the vet examined his bad leg ?

 

[Jessmvee]

It almost looks like it might be gout.

I'm NOT going through the abscess thing again...I hope...