Blood test results assistance

[Spider8ait1994]

Hi all
I’ve posted before in these forums about my rescue dragons and this question is regarding my oldest rescue Spike.
Found out that he’s older than initially thought so he’s actually about 8 years old and he was in at the vets for a blood test a couple days ago where we noticed a swelling in his throat region.
The blood test results came back showing that there is an inflammatory response and are more likely a chronic inflammation situation as opposed to an acute one.
I know some of you are in the veterinary field so I’ve attached his bloodwork here and I’m hoping that someone can interpret them and talk me through it.
I do plan on booking him in as per the vet’s reccomendations to have the swelling biopsied but it’s be great to have something if a second opinion of the results to kinda cross-reference.

 

[KarrieRee]

Hi all
I’ve posted before in these forums about my rescue dragons and this question is regarding my oldest rescue Spike.
Found out that he’s older than initially thought so he’s actually about 8 years old and he was in at the vets for a blood test a couple days ago where we noticed a swelling in his throat region.
The blood test results came back showing that there is an inflammatory response and are more likely a chronic inflammation situation as opposed to an acute one.
I know some of you are in the veterinary field so I’ve attached his bloodwork here and I’m hoping that someone can interpret them and talk me through it.
I do plan on booking him in as per the vet’s reccomendations to have the swelling biopsied but it’s be great to have something if a second opinion of the results to kinda cross-reference. View attachment 82808 View attachment 82809

Tracie needs to look at this
@Drache613

 

[Spider8ait1994]

Adding some updates here.
His vet did say that the tests showed elevated lymphocytes and that can me an indication of lymphoma BUT could also be due to other issues.
I have booked him in for a biopsy of the mass in his throat region which will be taking place in 5 days time.
Vet also stated that the calcium levels shown are measured from serum calcium and said that she’s not worried about his calcium levels given the regular supplementation he recieved and the fact he routinely gets time in natural unfiltered sunlight.
I’m hoping things go as well as they can.
The vet says she’s confident he’ll handle anaesthesia well as what they’ll be using is the same stuff he’s had for procedures before and he never showed any signs of having problems with it and his organ functions all looked good.
I do plan today on picking up a mini blender so I can make him reptile food smoothies for him to eat while he’s recovering from the biopsy because I’d imagine it’d leave his throat a little tender and not ideal for eating firmer foods.

 

[KarrieRee]

Adding some updates here.
His vet did say that the tests showed elevated lymphocytes and that can me an indication of lymphoma BUT could also be due to other issues.
I have booked him in for a biopsy of the mass in his throat region which will be taking place in 5 days time.
Vet also stated that the calcium levels shown are measured from serum calcium and said that she’s not worried about his calcium levels given the regular supplementation he recieved and the fact he routinely gets time in natural unfiltered sunlight.
I’m hoping things go as well as they can.
The vet says she’s confident he’ll handle anaesthesia well as what they’ll be using is the same stuff he’s had for procedures before and he never showed any signs of having problems with it and his organ functions all looked good.
I do plan today on picking up a mini blender so I can make him reptile food smoothies for him to eat while he’s recovering from the biopsy because I’d imagine it’d leave his throat a little tender and not ideal for eating firmer foods.

@Drache613

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Thanks for posting the blood tests. How is your boy doing today?
I think his calcium levels are fine, also. You could give some extra calcium weekly for a few weeks
or so, just to give a boost if needed.
How are the smoothies coming along? I hope that he likes them, it is hard to find just the perfect
blend of ingredients!
Poor guy, a biopsy wont feel very good for him. Hopefully the higher lymphocyte levels are just from
an inflammation or infection of some type. The biopsy though, will hopefully shed some light on the
mass.

Keep us posted on him.
Tracie

 

[Spider8ait1994]

Hello,

Thanks for posting the blood tests. How is your boy doing today?
I think his calcium levels are fine, also. You could give some extra calcium weekly for a few weeks
or so, just to give a boost if needed.
How are the smoothies coming along? I hope that he likes them, it is hard to find just the perfect
blend of ingredients!
Poor guy, a biopsy wont feel very good for him. Hopefully the higher lymphocyte levels are just from
an inflammation or infection of some type. The biopsy though, will hopefully shed some light on the
mass.

Keep us posted on him.
Tracie

I’ll definitely keep this updated on his condition as things progress with finding out what’s going on.
I’m hoping it’s just an inflammation response as he has previously has inflammation pop up in his mouth due to his dental health state which was atrocious when he was rescued so that is something that’s going to be ongoing and we are managing it by cutting out fruits completely and brushing his teeth with Mavlab ideally twice weekly.
He hasn’t had a smoothie yet as for now he’s alright with me feeding him smaller sized pieces of food but I’ll definitely be using smoothies post-biopsy.
I do grow some greens for my dragons so my plan for the smoothies is to blend up a mixture of these greens dependent on what’s ready for eating (so currently that’s Tuscan kale and chicory) and add in a reptile superfood supplement (Pisces brand), some calcium and some vetafarm brand lizard food pellets I’ll soak in water to soften. Any extra liquid the mix needs I’ll just use plain water. Might also add some steamed pumpkin in as well for him.
Activity wise he’s still moving about and enjoys his time out in the sun (and waving to my younger dragon while having roaming time in the house, one at a time of course)
He doesn’t seem in any significant pain but I have noted he likes to sleep with his head propped up at an angle on his pillow so I’m assuming that’s just more comfortable for him what with the throat mass.
His weight is alright and was at 530 grams at his checkup 6 days ago.
He’s sure been through a lot over the years with sorting out the damage that was done by his previous owners so if anything I at least know he’s a strong little guy who doesn’t want to give up.

 

[Spider8ait1994]

Ok so his biopsy is in 3 days time now and this morning I did give him some Meloxicam because I figured the anti-inflammatory properties might benefit him some.
That definitely seemed to be the case as he did eat a dandelion flower. He also had a pretty significant drink of water and I’d say it was a total of at least 3 minutes long with 3 short breaks.
He did ‘drool’ out a lot of thick saliva while drinking so I wiped his face off and scooped it all out of his water. He had a good time moving about out in the sun for a few hours too so he isn’t slowing down too much at this point.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Wow, so he was definitely thirsty, bless him! HIs beard doesn't appear black or darker in color.
At least he ate a dandelion flower, did he have anything else?
The Meloxicam/metacam is a good anti-inflammatory. I wouldn't keep him on it for long term but
for short term it should help quite a bit for him right now.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

 

[Spider8ait1994]

Hello,

Wow, so he was definitely thirsty, bless him! HIs beard doesn't appear black or darker in color.
At least he ate a dandelion flower, did he have anything else?
The Meloxicam/metacam is a good anti-inflammatory. I wouldn't keep him on it for long term but
for short term it should help quite a bit for him right now.
Let us know how he is doing.

Tracie

Yeah he has a smaller water bowl in his enclosure so he does have access to water at all times but he clearly decided that today he wanted to drink from his pot plant saucer paddling pool.
He’s only having small doses of Meloxicam and this is the first time in a number of months he’s had a dose so he’s weighing in at 530 grams and the dosage I give him is 0.03ml.
Diet wise I try to feed him daily and give 2 days of greens followed by 1 day of insects with calcium + D3 supplement and repeat that cycle. For the most part he can eat his insects without needing me to hold them still for him (crickets and dubias are too fast for him now so he’s been having mealworms but I intend to order him in some BSFL since they’re a better balance insect nutrition wise) but he does need help with his greens because since they don’t move and his short range vision isn’t the best anymore he has trouble seeing the greens and otherwise a misses most of his grab attempt then gets upset so I’ve been cutting the greens into small pieces (currently smaller than I used to so it’s easier on his throat) and he knows I’ll hold them at his lips and then opens up his mouth for me to kinda position the piece for him.
Insect wise he usually eats about 30 mealworms and with the greens he’ll eat 1-3 dandelions dependent on their size; anywhere from 1/2 to a full Tuscan kale leaf (the leaves on the plants I grew are approx the length of my forearm at the most); 1 chicory leaf about the size of my hand.
He doesn’t eat all this at once but rather I alternate between these options at the moment so he’s not getting bored of eating the same green every day.
The insect amount is the same as he’s always eaten but the amount of greens per portion he eats nowdays is slightly less than he used to when he was younger but his weight is remaining stable at the moment so I’m not concerned about that.
All the greens he’s eaten for the past ~7 months have been entirely homegrown so I know there’s no chemicals and such involved which makes me feel better knowing what he’s getting is fresh and he definitely seems to prefer homegrown over store bought when offered the same green from either source.
For a list of when I have growing for him and my other dragon currently:
Tuscan kale (ready to eat)
Chicory (ready to eat)
Cornflowers (flowering. Puff prefers these)
Calendula flowers (flowering. Spike prefers these)
Collard greens (sprouts waiting to mature)
Dandelions (whenever they pop up in the lawn)
Prickly pear (red fruit variety currently establishing)

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How is he doing today? That is a terrific variety, what a lucky guy he is. I am glad to hear there aren't
chemicals on anything, homegrown is the best!
The Meloxicam should be fine for him since you don't give it real often.
Is his weight holding pretty well? I hope his beard is still normal color so he doesn't seem to be in any
pain or anything right now.

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

 

[Spider8ait1994]

Hello,

How is he doing today? That is a terrific variety, what a lucky guy he is. I am glad to hear there aren't
chemicals on anything, homegrown is the best!
The Meloxicam should be fine for him since you don't give it real often.
Is his weight holding pretty well? I hope his beard is still normal color so he doesn't seem to be in any
pain or anything right now.

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

He just had the biopsy today and tolerated it well. Dropped off at 8am and picked him up at 5:30pm.
Vet told me that he has internal and external dissolvable stitches since they had to go through muscle. They were able to take three samples which have been sent away to pathology.
Was also told that the appearance of the mass was very vascular.
He also had some X-rays taken free of charge so that was nice. The X-rays showed that there’s no bone involvement with this and no evidence of further masses so this one doesn’t seem like it’s spread anywhere. That said they did note some mottling in the lung region which they’re getting second opinions on and have said that it could just be bronchial changes that can be expected in older dragons.
The X-rays also showed he has arthritis in the fingers of both front hands which answered the question of why those fingers have been stiff ever since he first came into my care so no gout at all. That doesn’t seem to be bothering him but if it does in the future we can see about sorting out some anti-inflammatory treatment.
Post-proceedure he was given a meloxocam injection and I’ve been given some tramidol injections to give him 1 a day (or every second day if it makes him too drowsy).
They expect the pathology results in about 5 days and he has a follow up appointment in 3 weeks.
I’ve been informed that if the pathology comes back and it’s something viable to be excised (ie unlikely to spread etc) that is something they’d reccomend with a CT scan beforehand so they know exactly where everything is.
They also said that he woke up well and was awake and looking around but he is understandably still a bit sleepy so he’s gone to bed now.
I’ll make up a smoothie for him tomorrow to see if he’s up for something to eat and as always I’ll keep you updated as the situation progresses.

 

[Spider8ait1994]

He’s awake and moving around today.
Made him a smoothie with some Tuscan kale, calcium + D3 supplement, pisces reptile superfood supplement and some Vetafarm lizard food pellets I soaked in water overnight.
He happily ate that and had ~15ml of it. Gave him his tramidol injection and he seems to be tolerating that well.
Vets also sent through the X-rays they took so I’ll add those here.

 

[KarrieRee]

He’s awake and moving around today.
Made him a smoothie with some Tuscan kale, calcium + D3 supplement, pisces reptile superfood supplement and some Vetafarm lizard food pellets I soaked in water overnight.
He happily ate that and had ~15ml of it. Gave him his tramidol injection and he seems to be tolerating that well.
Vets also sent through the X-rays they took so I’ll add those here. View attachment 82958 View attachment 82959 View attachment 82960

@Drache613

 

[Spider8ait1994]

Just got his pathology results back and unfortunately it’s not great. It’s come back as Chromatophoroma so apparently not all that much is known about this particular tumor so there’s no 100% definitive answer on whether treating it will be successful so I’m told if I choose to treat it it’ll be a CT and aggressive excision otherwise the only other option is palliative care to just keep him comfortable.
Also mentioned that there’s no estimate on how long he’ll have.
I have enquired about the treatment option to look at some further details on the proceedure itself and where that would be done, how long I can expect it to take, how many days I can expect him to be in post-proceedure care and what kind of costs I’d be looking at.
For now though here’s the pathology results.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh good grief, I am sorry, that is a rare diagnosis. So they are going to try to remove the area? That
should be successful though, if they feel confident. There have been several instances on the forum
here in which they had a tumor or growth removed in their beard.
How is he doing tonight, is his beard still a normal color?
I hope he is eating & basking normally. Overall he looks healthy & of good weight so I would think he
should pull through anesthesia & surgery without any issues.
Please let us know how he is doing.

Tracie