Hypercalcemia?

[bambichik39]

I've been on this website previously, but havent posted in a long time. I have a beardie named Pablo who was hatched in jan of 2009. Hes never really had any major health problems- until now. I noticed around Christmas he was holding his head to one side and just seemed "off" neurological when trying to eat and walk. He would always seem like he wasn't seeing things straight on- he would flail when i held him like he was trying to "right himself" when he was already leveled. Of course I took him to the vet- the friday after Christmas was when they could see him. Blood work showed hypercalcemia, other blood levels seemed fine. They took some xrays looking for a mass and only thing it showed was some calcification of his vessels in his chest/upper abdomen area. This could be from the hypercalcemia or it could just be from age (this happens in people all the time). He had a negative fecal at the vet- he supplied a sample after abdomen palpation exam. Vet said he could be a little dehydrated by looking at his gums. They thought he either had cancer (I cant afford a 3000$ cat scan to rule this out, although no other labs were elevated) or an ileus. He did poop a big poop at the vet, and on the way home. They gave me a laxative(.1) to give him daily, along with metacam (.05) and baytril (.15). Hes been on these meds since the 27th- not really any improvements yet. He also gets this powder food you mix with water (cant think of the name and Pablos on my lap right now) but its special for reptiles food replacement for me to force feed him. I'm also suppose to force some water down him with a syringe. He has been sleeping a lot since second week of December (he usually brumates and slows down this time of year anyways) so it took me awhile to catch on that somehting wasn't right. He can manage to eat crickets on his own but his vision seems off and hes not as quick and straight forward as he once was. He just seems wobbly and sloppy when trying to hunt. Does anyone have any experience with these type of problems? I'm located in KCMO and I see Dr. Bradley in Belton, MO who specializes in reptiles- so I do trust they are doing what they can. He isn't anywhere close to me feeling like I need to put him down- but if he doesnt improve that may be the only option down the road. I do work as a CT tech doing cat scans and may be able to do a CT on him eventually, I really dont care to expose him to that much radiation unless absolutely necessary. Thank you to anyone who was willing to read all of this. I really do love the little guy and thought maybe someone else has experienced this.

 

[brittani299]

I would message Drache613 (tracie) she is a monitor on here and knows a lot. She might know.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Do you happen to have a copy of the blood test on you I could see?
What UVB light do you use?
What type of calcium supplementation do you give?
Please post pictures of him along with his setup so we can see his physical make up.

It could be cancer, or a thyroid dysfunction also.

Tracie

 

[bambichik39]

They didn't supply me with a copy of the blood results. I take him back Wednesday for a recheck so I can ask for a copy then. They told me all that was out of wack was calcium. He has a reptisun 10.0 tube thats replaced every six months- it was replaced January 1st. The calcium I use is the white tub with pink label- think repti-cal? I honestly know I'm not over dusting- hes been sleeping a lot lately and hasnt even been getting supplements. Hes no longer head tilting, but still seems off when eating. Maybe he could be having eye issues? Heres a link to the picture of his "set up."

http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=75&t=164766

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

The only thing I can tell from the pictures is to consider changing the location of the tube bulb.
It really needs to be directly over head with a light fixture with reflective backing to direct it downward so the UVB doesn't refract outward away from him. When they are placed on the back the light can glare into their eyes too much & the UVB is not going directly onto them but bounces around too much.
Your tank though is excellent, it looks very nice.

Has he been brumating or trying to brumate right now?

Tracie

 

[bambichik39]

Pablo went in for a recheck yesterday. He has an (assumed) cancerous mass in the RUQ of his abdomen. They wanted to take him directly into surgery. After signing some paperwork and estimate (around 900+$) I decided to take a step back and think it over for a few days. Hes currently acting completely normal. He doesnt seem to be in a pain, hes eating, pooping, and runs around like normal. He may not survive the surgery as its exploratory and they dont really know what the mass is attached to. Given the hypercalcemia its thought to be cancerous which may have already spread. Even if they were to remove the mass, theres still a good chance they wont get all of it as its been there for so long (based on the calcified interior of the mass). I took Pablo to another vet around KC to get a second opinion. After speaking with him, and another trusted reptile keeper I'm making the decision to not do surgery. It would be at least 2 months of healing time, and be very taxing on Pablo. Him being five, he may not even live to have a pain free happy life post surgery. The odds just aren't high enough to put him through that. Instead I'm taking a palliative care approach. I'm going to keep him as happy and comfortable as I can for the time being- knowing that the time will eventually come when he will have to be put down. Also, the head tilt didnt seem to be related to the finding of the mass- unless its mets in his brain. After being on baytril its thought he may have just had an ear infection that was treated with the meds as he isnt holding his head like that anymore.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Oh my, that is too bad about the cancerous mass.
I have to agree with your decision though, with his age, etc. He could live several more years, it is hard to say.
They are absolutely positive it is cancerous though by way ot a blood test?
It could be benign, posssibly. I think keeping him happy & eating, etc is the best approach you could take right now. This way, he wont have a tough recovery with slim chances of coming out of recovery with a lot of pain to endure.
Since Pablo doesn't seem to be in pain, maybe he will be just fine for awhile!
What supplements are you giving him?

Tracie