Female Bearded Dragon has hard lump in stomach

[LinkDragon512]

I just noticed my bearded dragon "Xena" has a hard lump in her stomach after giving her a bath, she hasn't been eating normally recently and she's getting skinny, I'm really concerned this could be fatal for her or something...and I don't have money to bring her to a vet or anything. She drank water though recently, will that soften it down and help her pass it?

 

[kcarello]

Has she gone poo lately? If not, she could be impacted. Some unsweetened applesauce or canned pure pumpkin with a couple drops of olive oil should help her.

 

[LinkDragon512]

She hasn't at all recently...I really think she's heavily impacted. I'll try it out, thank you so much for the suggestion.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

What is your dragon impacted from, sand, or other substrate? What type of feeders are you giving to her?
Is she old enough to be developing eggs or no?

As suggested, feed soft foods such as pumpkin & sugar free applesauce along with mineral or olive oil to help with impaction. You can bathe her daily as well to help with an impaction, too.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie

 

[LinkDragon512]

I'm not quite sure. I know I usually feed her lettuce and freeze-dried crickets and such. And thankfully I have gotten her to take the applesauce with some olive oil, and I'm gonna give her another bath today. I did have sand in her enclosure for a while, I thought it was okay, but recently learned how bad it can be. Luckily the enclosure is custom made, though I don't really have any substrate down yet after cleaning the sand out.

 

[casioravine21]

How old is she?

 

[kcarello]

You can use paper towels or newspaper for now. Also, you should not feed your dragon lettuce at all. Collard, mustard and turnip greens are much better choices, along with some butternut or acorn squash.
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
This is the food list most of us go by. Live feeders are also much better for them than freeze dried things.

 

[LinkDragon512]

I got her back in November 2007, she was just a hatchling.

And I thought I just saw about lettuce not being good recently too...I was never aware. I'll look over the list and see, thanks again everyone! I really hope she'll be okay...I mean, this lump is very firm, and definitely not eggs or anything, she got pregnant only once from my other beardie I still have (Who's still doing very well), and that was a long time ago when she was younger. She hasn't layed another clutch of eggs since...I'll keep trying to help her pass it, but I'm very worried she'll just starve or worse...

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Keep us posted on her.
It is important that she passes it soon, otherwise, you will need to get her into a vet if she is impacted.
It could be from the sand. Did you use the calcium based sand?
At least she is taking the soft foods & olive oil mix then. Get some extra fluids into her, if you can.

Tracie

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....poor Xena, I hope she'll pass this impaction soon. As was mentioned, getting extra hydration in her, plus olive or mineral oil, and the other things mentioned already are the best things to help her. One more thing,when you give her a bath, make it a little warmer than usual, that could help move things along better as well.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Any updates for us, how is she doing?
I hope she is improving & feeling better.

Tracie

 

[LinkDragon512]

Sorry for the late post. She's been pooping like normal but the lump hasn't gotten any smaller...I'm worried if it's a tumor or something. It's only gotten harder and she's not eating at all...though she'll drink at least. I'm really worried for her.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

How long has she had the lump in her stomach now?
I would say if it has not reduced or dissipated completely that a vet visit would be a good idea to get an x-ray to determine what could be the problem.

Are her stools normal sized according to what she eats?

Tracie

 

[ashesc212]

Hi, my beardie has a lump as well and it turned out to be a mass that requires surgery; you just can't get around it. Is it only on one side?

Some vets offer what is called CareCredit. You should look into it if you are worried about the expense. I actually had to get it yesterday to help cover Kwayze's surgery.

 

[Bwalter]

Just posted on another thread, but here is what I wrote on that one. My girl had a cyst, no cancer, I had no money for surgery $650, I got care credit for $500 and my friends raised the rest, all in half hour.

I just went through this the end of April, You can look under Prayers for Booger in ER. The vet found a large mass on her right side. We didn't think she would make it through surgery, but she did. She had a big cyst and eggs forming. Total weight of both was 108 grams. Stupid me I took her to a vet while in Oregon and he said she was fine, I waited 2 moths later, once I noticed she lost weight, her legs are getting skinny and lost all her fad pads, hard to breath and wasn't eating. When he opened her up, he called and said she might not make it, an hour later he called to say she made it through surgery and doing fine. Now she is spayed so no worries of eggs. I had a great vet who saved her life and now 6 weeks later she is doing so good. Good luck to you and your girl.