Possible tumor, cyst, or abscess developed while I was on vacation for a week. Please help.

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
As the title suggests, I just got back home from being away on vacation for 8 days, I had my uncle come and feed them every 2 days however he is not a reptile guy and wouldn’t have noticed this. I finally have had a chance to take a close look at all of my beardies and check for anything before cleaning their enclosures. I went to check on my beardie Mulder and was horrified to see that he has developed some sort of a mostly hard lump/bump underneath his eye.

I have no idea what could have caused this but it most definitely happened over the week because that was NOT there when I left.
My guesses so far are potential cyst, abscess, or tumor, and I’m praying it’s benign and not cancerous. I’m getting my mom to contact the vet ASAP but unfortunately we have a thoroughly packed week and will be extremely busy with things we cannot cancel or fluctuate schedules/time on, so I’m fearing the only possible time that he could be seen is Monday. I’m going to watch this as closely as I possibly can and hope it doesn’t spread or grow, but I’m overall extremely concerned and would highly appreciate any tips/info/advice on what I can do in the meantime. My guess is that we can’t figure out what this is exactly unless we get a biopsy or something, we’ll see.

Thankfully, Mulder seems to be acting, moving, headbobbing, eating and pooping just fine. And for some backstory on him, before anyone comments on his appearance, Mulder is a rescue. Mulder was special needs and used to have severe MBD. He was slightly deformed because of it, but he’s made a full recovery since and does just fine, he’s just a little wonky looking but he was given a clean bill of health and free of MBD, so please don’t comment on his appearance and tell me he has MBD. He had it in one of his previous homes and has since recovered under my care. He used to be paralyzed from the waist down but is now able to walk and move perfectly fine like any other beardie, he just waddles and walks funky, but he’s okay now. I still classify him as special needs even though he isn’t really anymore.

Thankfully the other side of his face/eye looks fine and has no swellings of bumps anywhere, and I can’t find or feel any more abnormal bumps anywhere on him. (Yes the bump at the base of his tail is normal, if I can remember correctly it’s from a very old fracture from his previous homes when he had MBD still. It’s healed, just weirdly.) he’s very alert and active too which is a great sign, but nonetheless I’m still very concerned about the bump. I’ve never seen anything like this before with my beardies and I’m kinda freaking out inside because I really didn’t need any more stress this week 🥲
But yeah, any advice or tips on what I can do until I get him seen by a vet would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
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KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
As the title suggests, I just got back home from being away on vacation for 8 days, I had my uncle come and feed them every 2 days however he is not a reptile guy and wouldn’t have noticed this. I finally have had a chance to take a close look at all of my beardies and check for anything before cleaning their enclosures. I went to check on my beardie Mulder and was horrified to see that he has developed some sort of a mostly hard lump/bump underneath his eye.

I have no idea what could have caused this but it most definitely happened over the week because that was NOT there when I left.
My guesses so far are potential cyst, abscess, or tumor, and I’m praying it’s benign and not cancerous. I’m getting my mom to contact the vet ASAP but unfortunately we have a thoroughly packed week and will be extremely busy with things we cannot cancel or fluctuate schedules/time on, so I’m fearing the only possible time that he could be seen is Monday. I’m going to watch this as closely as I possibly can and hope it doesn’t spread or grow, but I’m overall extremely concerned and would highly appreciate any tips/info/advice on what I can do in the meantime. My guess is that we can’t figure out what this is exactly unless we get a biopsy or something, we’ll see.

Thankfully, Mulder seems to be acting, moving, headbobbing, eating and pooping just fine. And for some backstory on him, before anyone comments on his appearance, Mulder is a rescue. Mulder was special needs and used to have severe MBD. He was slightly deformed because of it, but he’s made a full recovery since and does just fine, he’s just a little wonky looking but he was given a clean bill of health and free of MBD, so please don’t comment on his appearance and tell me he has MBD. He had it in one of his previous homes and has since recovered under my care. He used to be paralyzed from the waist down but is now able to walk and move perfectly fine like any other beardie, he just waddles and walks funky, but he’s okay now. I still classify him as special needs even though he isn’t really anymore.

Thankfully the other side of his face/eye looks fine and has no swellings of bumps anywhere, and I can’t find or feel any more abnormal bumps anywhere on him. (Yes the bump at the base of his tail is normal, if I can remember correctly it’s from a very old fracture from his previous homes when he had MBD still. It’s healed, just weirdly.) he’s very alert and active too which is a great sign, but nonetheless I’m still very concerned about the bump. I’ve never seen anything like this before with my beardies and I’m kinda freaking out inside because I really didn’t need any more stress this week 🥲
But yeah, any advice or tips on what I can do until I get him seen by a vet would be greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.
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We need AHBD to help here and Drache613 ---- he looks thin --- is he eating?
@AHBD
@Drache613
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
It is probably a cyst or abcess like you mentioned, hopefully the vet can aspirate it and/or have a treatment plan. It's nice that you took this guy in and helped him to gain a better physical condition after having MBD, good job ! Maybe Drache613 will have some insight on the lump, she's usually on at night.
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
We need AHBD to help here and Drache613 ---- he looks thin --- is he eating?
@AHBD
@Drache613
He thankfully eats extremely well and almost never refuses a meal, and the vets have previously said he is a good weight for his condition, he just looks thin due to his body shape and deformities making him look extra thin would be my best guess. He definitely could put on some more weight though, which I’ll talk to my vet about on Monday.
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
It is probably a cyst or abcess like you mentioned, hopefully the vet can aspirate it and/or have a treatment plan. It's nice that you took this guy in and helped him to gain a better physical condition after having MBD, good job ! Maybe Drache613 will have some insight on the lump, she's usually on at night.
That would be my assumption as well, he has a vet appointment Monday morning to get it checked and I will be keeping a close eye on him in the meantime. I dropped off a fresh fecal sample to them today too. I’m hoping it’ll be an easy fix.

And thank you! This little guy is decently one of the strongest beardies I’ve met, he went from being completely paralyzed in his legs and having multiple old fractures in each of his limbs and at the base of his tail that healed really weirdly, which caused a lot of mobility issues for him, to now having almost no mobility issues at all, he even has full use in his back legs and is strong enough to stand up against the wall of his tank every night to sleep lol! He’s come a long way and he’s definitely one heck of a fighter <3

Also update for tonight he still seems good, he ate a bunch of greens and blueberries and had fun head bobbing at various random things and running around.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I do think since it cropped up so quickly, it is probably an abscess. I wonder if he somehow
got hurt or bumped his eye on something while you were gone?
They can aspirate fluids from it to see if there is infection involved.
That is great he isn't paralyzed anymore. Did he have an impaction when you got him?
There isn't much you can do but wait to get it aspirated. You could try getting some chamomile
tea bags & place a warmed & moistened one over the eye, with a washcloth over it, before his
bedtime. Try to keep it on around 10 or so minutes making sure it isn't too hot.
Was he ever tested for gout?
Let us know how he is doing. It sounds like overall, he is doing pretty well!

Tracie
 

HippieLizards

Gray-bearded Member
Original Poster
Beardie name(s)
Daisy, Loki, Rocket, Phoenix, Mulder & Scully. Non beardie pets: Stan (Leo) Cayde (Hognose) Tillery (cat)
Hello,

I do think since it cropped up so quickly, it is probably an abscess. I wonder if he somehow
got hurt or bumped his eye on something while you were gone?
They can aspirate fluids from it to see if there is infection involved.
That is great he isn't paralyzed anymore. Did he have an impaction when you got him?
There isn't much you can do but wait to get it aspirated. You could try getting some chamomile
tea bags & place a warmed & moistened one over the eye, with a washcloth over it, before his
bedtime. Try to keep it on around 10 or so minutes making sure it isn't too hot.
Was he ever tested for gout?
Let us know how he is doing. It sounds like overall, he is doing pretty well!

Tracie
That is my guess so far, I’ll be rearranging his enclosure to be safer this evening. He didn’t have an impaction if I can remember correctly, he’s gone through like 3-4 previous homes, so I don’t know much about his history, but in his previous home that I got him from, He wasn’t on a loose substrate thankfully, and they were in the midst of helping treat him but couldn’t offer as much time as he needed, so I took him in.

I also don’t remember if he’s ever been tested for gout, I don’t think he has? I can ask the vet about it on Monday, I’ll likely ask for bloodwork to be done as well to check up and make sure everything’s going okay with him.

He’s doing good today, basking and eating and headbobbing like normal lol. He still seems very alert and seems to be able to see just fine, so that’s a great sign.
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

They can do just a regular blood test, & look at the uric acid levels to help determine whether gout
is a possibility. A lot of dragons can develop gout, just from poor care so that definitely wouldn't be
your fault. Or, simply genetics play a vital role, too.
It sounds like he is doing well, bobbing & eating, having fun! At least it doesn't seem to be bothering
him so far.

Tracie
 

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