Ugh.......lots of blood

[SeventyGTX]

My beautiful 11 year old female BD left a lot of blood from her mouth on her basking rock sometime this morning. I spent an hour cleaning her cage and giving her a bath from all the blood on her face, beard and left front arm. I have no idea why she did it, or what to do. She eats lettuce/kale we grow in our greenhouse, as well as supers.

Our problem is we are over an hour away from the nearest vet that will see reptiles. Plus at her age, we are not sure if it is worth it to make that trip. She seems fine now, is strong, alert, clear eyes and drank water. I haven't tried feeding her yet, kind of afraid to.

Some in here may remember last August she had a similar issue, but the blood came out of her vent that time. But she seemed to recover just fine, until now. Below is a pic of her basking rock as I found it and this was about 2/3 of what was actually there. The rest was on her substrate. She was on her cooling rock when I found her, looking alert as usual with blood all over her. I have no idea what to do because of her age.

 

[SeventyGTX]

Here is a pic I just took, only an hour or so since I cleaned her cage. She is looking just as alert as ever, her head following me around watching what I do.....

 

[AHBD]

Wow,that's quite a bit of blood, poor girl and yet she is sitting almost unconcerned. Of course she must feel some discomfort....it may be cancer or some type of large cyst that bursts occasionally.I think I remember the other thread about her bleeding episode. A vet would be the only way to find out, but I can understand your hesitation at her age for the obvious reason.....that being what could they do and could she live through a surgery. But if you went, at least you'd know. Just decide ahead of time whether or not you would put her through surgery + the meds. afterwards. She is a good old age. Some people would rush her to the vet, others would just keep her comfortable. It's good that she drank she'll be dehydrated from the blood loss. Maybe wait until tomorrow to offer food, and not too much . I surely wish you the best outcome possible !

 

[SeventyGTX]

Yea, that's the weird thing...........she acts as normal as ever. She was the same way last August when she lost all that blood through her vent. Acted as if nothing was wrong. I did offer her calcium a bit ago, which she loves, and she gobbled it right up. Then I tried giving her a small super worm, and she refused. But she does that all the time anyway. Usually she closes her eyes when she doesn't want something, I always thought that was funny.

 

[AHBD]

You might get some Pedialyte to add to her water to give her via syringe as well as a slurry made with all the top greens which are : turnip. mustard, collard, dandelion and maybe a bit of squash. Those are high in calcium, B vit. + other essential nutrients .

 

[SDragon]

I wonder if she would benefit from some iron supplementation as well? Not something I know a lot about but I'd be interested the experienced options of others.

I think I would probably wait and see before a vet trip as well, at 11 it would be unlikely you would consider surgery or invasive treatment. So time is less of the essence, rather ensuring she isn't in a lot of discomfort. If her appetite doesn't return or it happens again then it might be more or a case of considering what is best to minimise her suffering. Hopefully it's another isolated incident.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Geez, that is a lot of blood, but she has no black beard which is strange.
The blood came from or out of her mouth? I do remember your case last year. She seems to be doing pretty well at 11. It may be worth it for peace of mind to get her a check up though, just to see if anything can be determined.
I hope she is eating well too. Some extra fluids would be helpful for her also. Let us know how she is doing.

Tracie

 

[SeventyGTX]

Hi Tracie, that is only a portion of the blood and yes, it came from her mouth. There was quite a bit more on her substrate. It is roughly the same amount that came out of her vent last August. Totally bizarre, since she acts normal. I was hoping others have had similar things happen to their BD and could give some insight on what the heck is going on. I know she needs to replenish the lost blood, but not sure how to accomplish that.

At her age, she has had a good healthy life and given the distance to get her to a herp vet it is just not worth it, especially since she acts like nothing is wrong. From what I have read, BD's don't live a whole lot longer than she is now. I will offer her some food and water later today. She's napping in her cave rocks right now. But she was up and about earlier this morning.

 

[Drache613]

Hello!

Well, she is a good age, I agree. She could live several more years.
As for the blood loss/volume, you could give supplemental iron, not much but a few times per week. She didn't look dehydrated from the pictures, but if she seems dehydrated you can give extra oral fluids mixed with diluted juice or pedialyte to help out.
Did she eat anything today?
Let us know how she is doing.
I understand not having a vet close by & not sure if she would make the trip well.

Tracie

 

[SeventyGTX]

Hello!

Well, she is a good age, I agree. She could live several more years.
As for the blood loss/volume, you could give supplemental iron, not much but a few times per week. She didn't look dehydrated from the pictures, but if she seems dehydrated you can give extra oral fluids mixed with diluted juice or pedialyte to help out.
Did she eat anything today?
Let us know how she is doing.
I understand not having a vet close by & not sure if she would make the trip well.

Tracie

She ate some Kale just fine and drank water. The only odd thing is she refused her Calci-blast, which she rarely does. But this morning, she is up and alert acting like her normal self. Obviously, I am not a specialist or a vet, but I would have to agree with ABHD that it is most likely some sort of cyst that broke. If so, it must have been huge. The weather is starting to warm up, so I will get her outside for some fresh sunshine.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is great she is up & around today! She didn't want her calcium? Hopefully she will take it next time.
Cysts can be very strange, I agree. Hopefully that is all it is & nothing more serious than that. It is an excellent sign though that she doesn't have a black beard or isn't lethargic, either. I am glad to hear that she ate some greens too. Getting her out in the sunshine should really perk her up also.

Keep us posted on her.
Tracie

 

[AHBD]

I'm really glad for you and your girl that she s not suffering and appears to be doing O.K. Although the cause is unknown, she seems to be coping with it well. Hopefully she'll keep doing well for her remaining days.

 

[SeventyGTX]

Thanks for all the kind words. Here is a pic of her this morning on her climbing rock, 3 days after the blood bath. Looking just as alert as she ever has. Like I said earlier, this is exactly what happened when she lost a bunch of blood through her vent last August. You would never know anything ever happened.
Oh Tracie, she accepted her Calci-blast this morning and ate a few supers.

 

[AHBD]

That is amazing ! She looks great, what a sweet dragon she is.

 

[SeventyGTX]

That is amazing ! She looks great, what a sweet dragon she is.

She has always been a great pet. Super docile and always watching what is going on around her in a curious sort of way. She spent about an hour this afternoon soaking up some rays in the front yard. This super low humidity here in the high desert really agrees with her, which I think is one reasons she has been so healthy. She did poop today, and it was really runny and dark. Hopefully it will clear up soon. Here she is sunning herself on her favorite piece of driftwood....