Stomach tumor... GNT??

[AHBD]

That's good to hear ! She does look stronger today and that's always a good sign. Cautiously optimistic !

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Another seemingly good day, she was busy this morning.. now she's gone a bit lazy. She's on the cooler end.. but to be fair the coolest spot is sitting around 36 degrees C. No puffing 'burping' or mouth gaping and the mucous looks like its definitely come down. She's responsive to anyone who comes nearby or speaks to her

Vet revisit is this Friday then if all goes well She will be down to monthly vet visits until resolved. Things are looking okay so far!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Wow, she does look rather well right there, bless her!
I am happy to see her colors look so good. What a trooper she has been through all of
this, so I would say that things are really looking positive for her.

Tracie

 

[AHBD]

Good to hear these positive updates, and that expert stink eye is worth a 1,000 words.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I am hoping your girl is still doing well??
Let us know how things are coming along.

Tracie

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Hi Tracie!! She seems to be going pretty well! when i wake her in the morning shes bright/alert and she seems active. I have had to return to working in the office this week due to COVID restrictions being eased in Australia; so I have not been able to stay home and monitor her activity sadly.. I leave at 8am and get home around 6pm. Shes bright and mobile after i give her the morning treatments... and while she is typically lazing around and dozing off by the 6pm evening time i get home, the paper towels at the bottom of her enclosure were dishevelled around today so thats a sure sign shes been active while I've been away :roll: she would always do this before she became unwell as well


I'm waiting on another poo which has not come yet but Taro's usual doctor confirmed what AHBD has said in terms of poo just once or twice a week would be normal. She cannot return to normal diet for at least another 4 weeks so i have not offered anything except the slurries the vet prescribed; just the 2-3 mls per day. (I put a batch of it in ice cube mold in the freezer in a plastic bag so that we would definitely have enough ready to go for the month at least; its working well.)

Vet discouraged her to be out of the enclosure at all but she seems to very much enjoy being out when i do treatments; so i always give her 10-15 minutes of cuddles and petting as a reward for doing treatments; I keep her wrapped in a warm towel and against my body so hopefully this won't do any harm to her body heat.

She still gapes her mouth a little once in awhile, particularly after feeds; but its not very often anymore.

She's going to see the surgeon on Friday afternoon for a recheck; we will also do some new longer term meds to wipe out the infection shes had (since we actually got the histopathology report now!) and to also to target reduce the inflammation of the stomach lining/liver. I'll also be sure to continue her on the probiotics and maybe do a poo check to see if theres still any yeast in there or not.

I'll post some pics in the next post!

 

[Cuttlefishh]

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

She looks marvelous! It really seems she is on the mend, though slowly but her beard is
not dark & her eyes look good & alert.
I think it's fine to have her out a little while & hold her, after giving her meds, treatments, etc
so it will encourage her to get well. It will be healing for her to spend time with you.
Definitely keep us posted on her progress. I hope she continues to get better.

Tracie

 

[Cuttlefishh]

A very big wet poo today. It's been exactly one week, seems shes like clockwork

The poo is quite wet and dark but her wombaroo intake is maybe causing this? The urate is also a bit darker I hope this isn't cause for concern

I do give her 1 ML water daily ontop of the food which has water so maybe im over hydrating her..?

She doesnt seem too pleased haha

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Here is the foods

50%

50%
I mix them with a little warm water to make it softer

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Here's what it looks like

 

[Cuttlefishh]

I want to clean this a bit, could i buy some gauze and saline to give it a wipe down? Or is it too risky?

 

[Cuttlefishh]

Vet recheck update:

We visited the vet today, vet said her abdomen feels really good and no signs of fluid buildup there- the fluid that was there from before she confirms was post operative and not from the liver issues- it seems to be resolved!

I brought the poo in from this morning as well, she says she has looked at it and it looks well digested. Very small amount of yeast still (only a couple of small bits maybe But nearly gone), definitely much less than before. We will continue the nystatin though just to make sure its wiped out, since it doesn't cause harm to the kidneys anyway and we want to make sure its gone for good.

She's going to be placed on two antibiotic, since there was an abcess + the infection of the liver. She felt reluctant to put her on two but Taro did still have some of the accessed tissue left behind as well as the liver infection, so she felt it was necessary. Taro is on a lot of meds now:


Probiotic, Nystat, dulpha milk, flagyl in the AM
Flagyl, meloxicam, and Enotril in the PM
Continues soft wombaroo diet
Stopped: augmentin

Phone recheck in a week to discuss further plan but she thinks Taro looks very good today

I'll be sure to keep up with the extra water so she stays well hydrated. Little anxious about the amount of meds but im feeling confident in my vet, we have the histopathology report so i really do trust we are not shooting in the dark.

My vet also says the universe is smiling on Taro for all these outcomes- especially the biopsy report coming back as it did. The clinic that does the veterinary tests was closed down the very next day after taros sample was received due to covid 19 and lack of buisness... Taro got one of the last reports and it came very quickly because of the low traffic - taro is really a blessed little dragon

 

[Cuttlefishh]

1st day of new antibiotics

Taro is very lethargic today; shes alert when i pick her up but has been very flat for the most part; just either sleeping on the cooler end or in the hide.

Shes also going into complete shed on her entire head/face and upper abdomen; so i know this also is putting some extra stress on her

I looked up the indications for baytril and flagyl and both of them are contraindicated for beardies with liver problems.. and my beardie has liver problems.. so im really nervous. But I'm worried that if i do not follow my vets instructions her infection/abscess will just return, which was the cause of a lot of these issues to begin with. Antibiotics are so finicky if they are missed in doses... I wish I called her today but i wasnt sure if her symptoms were to be expected or not- it is admittedly a lot of medication and the shed could also be part of it too.

She's not completely out of it or anything but if i just leave her in the enclosure she remains really flat/hiding- vet also said shes in pain when i took her yesterday; admittedly i had been cutting back the dose of meloxicam because i was worried for it being too much for her and my vet scolded me informing that the dose she prescribed was well below the safe dose.

Taro gets flagyl twice a day 0.3ml, on beautiful dragons website this is considered low dose for bearde her size- but its twice a day while bd doesn't really mention how often the doses are given there.
and baytril once a day in the evening with her pain medicine

ugh its so stressful, i feel like im going crazy trying to achieve balance here but i want to trust my vet as she has gotten Taro through this much so far...

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Poor Taro, that is quite an incision she has! I would be careful with getting some gauge
but you can gently clean the incision with diluted betadine. Did the vet give any type of
ointment to put on the incision at all?
That is great news her fluids in her tummy are gone. They said there are still residual
abscess material present which is why they put her on antibiotics?
The anti-inflammatory, meloxicam is hard on them, yes. I wouldn't recommend keeping
her on that long term though, it is hard on their system.
The amount of medications is quite a bit. She is being properly dosed for her weight, right?
How long do they want her on the antibiotics?
Be sure to give her probiotics right now, to be sure her system recovers from the antibiotic
therapy.
That particular food supplement should be fine, does she like it? She is shedding which makes
it more stressful overall for her.
Is her beard normal color?
She sure has been through a lot so I hope she continues to recover. Let us know how she is
doing!

Tracie