Bloodwork doesn't look good. opinions

[earthdragon]

My dragon has never been normal since I received him. A year ago I had his bloodwork done and recently had it looked at again. He's very small for his age and never has been a good eater. He's not lethargic but has never been super active. His blood results came back still showing super elevated white blood cells and a few other things. My vet thinks Lymphoma. Ultrasounds showed a large mass in in stomach as well along with a large amount of fluid. I'm wondering if anybody can help me understand these results a bit more. I'm prepared that i may have to let him go, but hoping to get a second opinion or if anybody has tried some things that work. For background I've been a reptile rescue for over 20 years. This is the first beardie that has stumped myself and my vet.

 

[KarrieRee]

My dragon has never been normal since I received him. A year ago I had his bloodwork done and recently had it looked at again. He's very small for his age and never has been a good eater. He's not lethargic but has never been super active. His blood results came back still showing super elevated white blood cells and a few other things. My vet thinks Lymphoma. Ultrasounds showed a large mass in in stomach as well along with a large amount of fluid. I'm wondering if anybody can help me understand these results a bit more. I'm prepared that i may have to let him go, but hoping to get a second opinion or if anybody has tried some things that work. For background I've been a reptile rescue for over 20 years. This is the first beardie that has stumped myself and my vet.

Flagging to Tracie the vet tech on the board
What kind of UVB are you using coil or long tube fixture and how are you getting your surface basking temps?
@Drache613

 

[earthdragon]

Flagging to Tracie the vet tech on the board
What kind of UVB are you using coil or long tube fixture and how are you getting your surface basking temps?
@Drache613

Arcadia t5 Desert 12% mounted inside the enclosure next to the exoterra intense basking bulb. I also have a sensa Led light in the basking space and a barrina strip LED along the center of the enclosure to increase lumens. Basking is 103 on slate, hot side 92-94F, middle runs between 84-86F and cool side tends to stay around 78F. Enclosure is 5x3x2. I have a solarmeter, inferred temp gun, and two digitial thermostats on the hot and cool side that measure humidity and heat. Set up is not the issue thank goodness. It's the bloodwork results. I have lots of dragons and have had a lot of rescues, and this is the first one where the blood is off the charts like this. My vet strongly thinks it's genetic, since he's been this way since a baby. He's never bobbed or black bearded either.

 

[magicmagni]

Wow that's a great sounding setup. I was thinking genetic too.. but that is just a shot in the dark. I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this, but thanks for what you do.

Hopefully you can get some answers from other folks on here ...maybe Tracie will have some answers for you?.. For what it's worth her is Dr. Ron Howard's Facebook page. IDK if he has the time to answer, but it never hurts to try and message him to see? He seems to have extensive knowledge with BD.

BeardieVet

BeardieVet, Maitland, New South Wales. 13,531 likes · 31 talking about this. Beardie Vet is a blog detailing veterinary research and information regarding all things Bearded Dra

www.facebook.com

Good luck!

 

[earthdragon]

Wow that's a great sounding setup. I was thinking genetic too.. but that is just a shot in the dark. I'm so sorry that you have to deal with this, but thanks for what you do.

Hopefully you can get some answers from other folks on here ...maybe Tracie will have some answers for you?.. For what it's worth her is Dr. Ron Howard's Facebook page. IDK if he has the time to answer, but it never hurts to try and message him to see? He seems to have extensive knowledge with BD.

BeardieVet

BeardieVet, Maitland, New South Wales. 13,531 likes · 31 talking about this. Beardie Vet is a blog detailing veterinary research and information regarding all things Bearded Dra

www.facebook.com

Good luck!

 

[earthdragon]

Thank you. Yeah it seems he has had it since he was little. He’s always been different than my other dragons. I just don’t want him to be suffering. For the outside he looks super healthy. Good head pads, bright eyes, hydrated and strong looking bones. He’s lazy and doesn’t want food though. Besides his bad bloodwork, his stomach is filled with fluid. . Thanks for the doctors FB. I’ll post there as well.

 

[KarrieRee]

@Drache613

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Have you tested him for adeno, since many times that is what causes the fluid in the abdomen?
Did you post pictures of him here, & I just have missed it?
His regular complete blood work values look good, such as the calcium, total protein, AST, &Uric acid levels. The calcium could be lowered a little bit, to be more balance out with the phosphorus levels.
The hematology or white blood cell counts are definitely off. Do you know how long he may have had the mass
that they have found?
What meds have they given him? Bless him, I'm glad he seems to be doing well right now.
What other supplements are being given for him now?
I would try to build up his immune system right now to
help fight infection. You can try some colloidal silver,
or consider CBD to help with his immune system.

Tracie

 

[earthdragon]

Hello,

Have you tested him for adeno, since many times that is what causes the fluid in the abdomen?
Did you post pictures of him here, & I just have missed it?
His regular complete blood work values look good, such as the calcium, total protein, AST, &Uric acid levels. The calcium could be lowered a little bit, to be more balance out with the phosphorus levels.
The hematology or white blood cell counts are definitely off. Do you know how long he may have had the mass
that they have found?
What meds have they given him? Bless him, I'm glad he seems to be doing well right now.
What other supplements are being given for him now?
I would try to build up his immune system right now to
help fight infection. You can try some colloidal silver,
or consider CBD to help with his immune system.

Tracie

Adeno came back negative. I haven’t posted other pictures of him. Just the blood work.
He hasn’t been a big eater since I’ve had him, always seemed to have digestive issues since he was a baby. I’m not sure how long the mass has been there. But the white blood count has been like that for a year. He’s only 1 year and 7 months. So I’m guessing it’s genetic. Last year he was given an antibiotic, but it really didn’t do anything.
I give him calcium three times a week. A multivitamin 2 times a week. Probiotics and currently he’s taking a digestive enzyme to break up the mass. He doesn’t eat on his own so I feed him Lucardi omnivore blend which is made from silk worms, plus organic single ingredient baby food like green beans if I don’t have enough time to blend up his salad.
He has another vet appointment next week. Though my vet isn’t very hopefully that antibiotics will help considering his counts have been off this long. She thinks it’s possibly a liver disease or cancer and not treatable.