Seriously, please find a reptile vet or a different "exotics" vet, and when you call to make the appointment tell them you are bringing him in for a skin scraping test...then when you get there explain that the "vet that works at the pet store" told you this is "a cyst he gets that keeps coming back and that they just drain every time it comes back"...that isn't a simple cyst, it's either a fluid cyst or an abscess that keeps coming back because the underlying infection that is causing it hasn't ever been treated, or it's something much worse, like a squamous or basal cell carcinoma that is only getting worse and worse over time. A skin scraping test usually costs under $50. I just hate to see a poor dragon go through this every so many months when it can possibly be properly diagnosed and resolved once and for all...he doesn't need the constant stress, pain, etc...
And did you ever get a proper UVB tube? That All Living Things bulb you bought is just a basking/heat bulb, it emits no UVB...
That's good to hear. As for his bowl, I can't really picture what you mean , beardies can climb in to or on things to get what they want. If he can't see them maybe just use a flat paper plate ?
Thanks to everyone that posted. Took him to a different vet. The bump just kept getting bigger but it doesn't affect the way he eats or acts. She said it's very rare in bearded dragons usually it happens in dogs or cats and when she drained it it was stringy but he looks back to normal. She also said that with cats or dogs sometimes they have to have surgery because it fills up but sometimes it goes away on it's own. She also gave us some needles so we could drain it ourselves if it came back but it might not come back so you could tell she wasn't all about the money like the other one was.
That's good to hear. I'm glad you found a vet you like working with. That makes a big difference. Did she say what the cause was? Did she run any tests on the fluid that was extracted?