Cyst near vent

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Beardie name(s)
Spike & Apollo
Just wondering if anyone else has any experience with a cyst near the vent area in their dragon?
My youngest rescue who’s now ~6 years old has had a firmer feeling lump/swelling on the right of the base of his tail in line with his vent. He’s had this since I got him in 2018 and I don’t know how long he’d had it while with his original owners.
The vet he sees wasn’t too sure what it was initially and the theory was possibly scar tissue from some sort of trauma (his original owners housed him with another male dragon and there was evidence of fighting).
A couple days back it was discovered that this swelling is a cyst and so that cyst was drained and produced quite a bit of pale brownish colored pus drained from an external opening to the cyst on the side of his tail but it was also noted that this substance was also draining from his actual vent so there’s potentially an opening to the cyst in there too.
Behaviour wise this dragon has seemed normal after the draining however today I’ve noticed he’s been with a VERY black beard all day and even now as he’s sleeping and I worry about my rescues so this has me a bit anxious hence my asking about this matter here.
For that first day after the draining he did have some very minor discharge from his vent but there hasn’t been any further discharge after that first day.
He ate yesterday which was the day after the draining, though he did eat less than he usually does, and he has been passing waste fine all of which appeared normal with no blood present in his waste.
I’ve checked his mouth and vent today and noted that the tissues of the vent opening and mouth are a nice pink color and not pale/whiteish so I would say that does rule out possible ongoing bleeding.
He’s breathing as normal at an even rate, no abnormal sounds.
He does have a follow up appointment with his vet on Friday (4 days time) and as of writing this it’s 7:47pm Monday night meaning all vets within my travel range currently are closed for the night so I’m hoping he’s alright.
He has also been shedding lately so it’s just been today that he’s rubbed all that off but even after that he’s still with the black beard to the extent that the last half of his tail (though he has a shorter tail than the average dragon as he lost a portion of it prior to being rescued), his shoulder pads and chest are also black.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
Just wondering if anyone else has any experience with a cyst near the vent area in their dragon?
My youngest rescue who’s now ~6 years old has had a firmer feeling lump/swelling on the right of the base of his tail in line with his vent. He’s had this since I got him in 2018 and I don’t know how long he’d had it while with his original owners.
The vet he sees wasn’t too sure what it was initially and the theory was possibly scar tissue from some sort of trauma (his original owners housed him with another male dragon and there was evidence of fighting).
A couple days back it was discovered that this swelling is a cyst and so that cyst was drained and produced quite a bit of pale brownish colored pus drained from an external opening to the cyst on the side of his tail but it was also noted that this substance was also draining from his actual vent so there’s potentially an opening to the cyst in there too.
Behaviour wise this dragon has seemed normal after the draining however today I’ve noticed he’s been with a VERY black beard all day and even now as he’s sleeping and I worry about my rescues so this has me a bit anxious hence my asking about this matter here.
For that first day after the draining he did have some very minor discharge from his vent but there hasn’t been any further discharge after that first day.
He ate yesterday which was the day after the draining, though he did eat less than he usually does, and he has been passing waste fine all of which appeared normal with no blood present in his waste.
I’ve checked his mouth and vent today and noted that the tissues of the vent opening and mouth are a nice pink color and not pale/whiteish so I would say that does rule out possible ongoing bleeding.
He’s breathing as normal at an even rate, no abnormal sounds.
He does have a follow up appointment with his vet on Friday (4 days time) and as of writing this it’s 7:47pm Monday night meaning all vets within my travel range currently are closed for the night so I’m hoping he’s alright.
He has also been shedding lately so it’s just been today that he’s rubbed all that off but even after that he’s still with the black beard to the extent that the last half of his tail (though he has a shorter tail than the average dragon as he lost a portion of it prior to being rescued), his shoulder pads and chest are also black.
It sounds like he is some sort of distress having the black beard.
Keep him a bit warmer over night. Personally I'd be sitting at the vets door when they open.
I've learned the hard way how fast they can crash. In my opinion we need to give the vet as much time as possible to help them if they need it.
Keep us posted please, I for one will be worrying right along with you.
 

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Spike & Apollo
It sounds like he is some sort of distress having the black beard.
Keep him a bit warmer over night. Personally I'd be sitting at the vets door when they open.
I've learned the hard way how fast they can crash. In my opinion we need to give the vet as much time as possible to help them if they need it.
Keep us posted please, I for one will be worrying right along with you.
Sad update. Unfortunately Puff hasn’t made it the night. I plan to get in contact with his vet today and see what they would like us to do.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
Sad update. Unfortunately Puff hasn’t made it the night. I plan to get in contact with his vet today and see what they would like us to do.
I'm so sorry to hear that. Truely I know you gave him/them great lives. No one could have done better by him. You have my most absolute sincere condolences.
Rest in peace little buddy.
😔😪
 

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Spike & Apollo
This has definitely been tough and a bit of a surprise as I’d always expected the older rescue Spike to be the first of the two to go and yet he’s still going strong and it’s been Puff going so suddenly.
He’s with the vets now who confirmed he’d passed and they’ve been really wonderful with giving us options on what to do next.
As it’s been sudden we’ve opted for a necropsy to se if they can find what happened and I should have those results later today.
In the meantime they have taken some of his prints to have as a memorial/keepsake and have given me a link to a good cremation service which I’ve taken a look at and requested a quote from. This service also offers various memorial and keepsake extras as well which is nice so I am thinking about adding in a crystal keepsake for Puff which is essentially a pendant shaped crystal that includes some of the ashes.
At the very least I can know his last night wasn’t too bad as he got to have a final warm bath, a good long cuddle and he finished off his shedding.
He’ll also always be memorialised on the cover of my guidebook so there’s that too to keep his memory going.
Considering how he started out his life I guess ~6 years is a pretty good time to have had.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
This has definitely been tough and a bit of a surprise as I’d always expected the older rescue Spike to be the first of the two to go and yet he’s still going strong and it’s been Puff going so suddenly.
He’s with the vets now who confirmed he’d passed and they’ve been really wonderful with giving us options on what to do next.
As it’s been sudden we’ve opted for a necropsy to se if they can find what happened and I should have those results later today.
In the meantime they have taken some of his prints to have as a memorial/keepsake and have given me a link to a good cremation service which I’ve taken a look at and requested a quote from. This service also offers various memorial and keepsake extras as well which is nice so I am thinking about adding in a crystal keepsake for Puff which is essentially a pendant shaped crystal that includes some of the ashes.
At the very least I can know his last night wasn’t too bad as he got to have a final warm bath, a good long cuddle and he finished off his shedding.
He’ll also always be memorialised on the cover of my guidebook so there’s that too to keep his memory going.
Considering how he started out his life I guess ~6 years is a pretty good time to have had.
You gave him a great life, and he knew he was loved. Thats the best anyone can do. Still my heart goes out to you.
 

Spider8ait1994

Hatchling Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Spike & Apollo
Update on the necropsy results. They got back to me and from what they found the verdict is Sepsis that looked like it had been ongoing for a time and they’re suspicious of his liver in that it was very black and yellow. Thy also found fluid around his heart and in his body cavity.
They’ve said that with sepsis in dragons it’s not uncommon for them to show very little in the way of symptoms meaning this sort of thing can be ongoing for quite a while without anyone being entirely aware of it.
 

xp29

BD.org Addict
Photo Comp Winner
Beardie name(s)
Ruby, Sinatra, Zsa Zsa
Bless his heart 😔
I wish reptile medicine would catch up to mammal care. Vets often times can't tell any more than the keepers without serious testing, which they're not inclined to do without visible issues. They just look at them and see what seems to be a healthy pet and give the all clear.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am very sorry to hear you lost little Puff. :( It
is the worst feeling to lose a precious dragon. It
sounds like he had a few issues going on for awhile & they are very good at disguising illness.

I am sorry for your loss.

Tracie
 

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