The vet did an ultrasound last week on my 3-year-old rescue beardie and determined that she has preovulatory stasis, which is basically the retention of follicles that have not been reabsorbed or developed into eggs. The vet suggested that surgery is the best route in which they will remove the follicles and spay her in the process so that it does not happen again. At first, I was all for the surgery because she is healthy right now, but after reading horror stories online of other bearded dragons struggling with recovery, I am a bit cautious because she is relatively healthy now and if anything were to go wrong I would feel awful for putting her through surgery without it being an absolute emergency. On the other hand, if we do not do surgery and follicles continue to accumulate, she could go downhill quickly and surgery at that point would be much much riskier. Does anyone else have experience with egg binding/spaying/surgery with their bearded dragon? Any advice is appreciated! (also the cost of the surgery is not a deciding factor, I love her and want to do what's best for her health!)
Thanks for the response! You are right, it is a difficult choice. I did not take home the ultrasound from the vet, but my current vet and one other have taken quite a few ultrasounds/x-rays/blood/fecal samples of her over the past year. The ultrasound showed many large follicles along with a number of smaller, misshapen ones that my vet thinks are older and cannot be reabsorbed or developed into actual eggs. She's never successfully laid any eggs actually, presumably because the conditions I rescued her from were not ideal and she had a case of fatty liver disease which has since improved. She has reabsorbed eggs once in the past, but it took quite a toll on her health and it is unlikely that she will ever be able to lay any actual eggs. The only sign of distress she is showing right now are pooping 2-3 times a day and constantly scratching and digging for the last 2 months (despite having a lay box and other areas to dig). I don't want to put her through the stress of surgery if she doesn't need it, but right now, it is looking like it is the only option other than waiting to see if her condition worsens to the point where it is an emergency. Luckily, my vet and others at the same practice are experienced in reptile surgery, but I am also aware that it is riskier than mammal surgery. This is my first time owning a bearded dragon and I am thankful for any advice!
If you feel confident and have seen the ultrasound and understand the images + explanation then it might be best to go ahead. If she's pretty healthy now hopefully it will go smoothly.
I'm not sure if you went ahead with the surgery or not. If you have, it is worth asking about possible complications, like follicles developing again and how to screen for that early. It wasn't something I've found much online about, but seems to be a known complication that can occur. With all surgeries there are risks of course. I hope your dragon is doing well
Thanks for the response! You are right, it is a difficult choice. I did not take home the ultrasound from the vet, but my current vet and one other have taken quite a few ultrasounds/x-rays/blood/fecal samples of her over the past year. The ultrasound showed many large follicles along with a number of smaller, misshapen ones that my vet thinks are older and cannot be reabsorbed or developed into actual eggs. She's never successfully laid any eggs actually, presumably because the conditions I rescued her from were not ideal and she had a case of fatty liver disease which has since improved. She has reabsorbed eggs once in the past, but it took quite a toll on her health and it is unlikely that she will ever be able to lay any actual eggs. The only sign of distress she is showing right now are pooping 2-3 times a day and constantly scratching and digging for the last 2 months (despite having a lay box and other areas to dig). I don't want to put her through the stress of surgery if she doesn't need it, but right now, it is looking like it is the only option other than waiting to see if her condition worsens to the point where it is an emergency. Luckily, my vet and others at the same practice are experienced in reptile surgery, but I am also aware that it is riskier than mammal surgery. This is my first time owning a bearded dragon and I am thankful for any advice!
To update anyone that sees this post: it has been about two years now since her surgery, and she is doing great! The surgery itself went smoothly and the recovery time was fairly quick- we were very lucky and she is much happier than before. Good luck to anyone considering the procedure!
That is great news, she is a lucky girl! This type of informational post can help so many owners
who have females with the same or similar type of issues! I am happy everything has turned
out so well.