Very Sad news

[mishelly58]

I just recieved a call from my vet. I took Gizmo to the vet on Wednesday and she did blood work on him. Well it turns out that he may be a girl afterall. The calcium level is at 41% and his white blood cells is at 18,000. (I'm trying to remember all the numbers that she gave me over the phone.) So they think he may be a female which is not the worst thing. With these count levels they want to do X-Rays to find out which will run me $2-300. If he turns out to be a female they think she has Egg Yolk Peritonitis and then they want to do surgery which will run me about $1500 and I don't have that. Gizmo is my class pet and the kids ask me every day where he is and when I'm bringing him back to school. (I have two tanks one at home and one at school so right now he is home.) I am so upset I'm trying to hide it from the children. I know if anything happens I'm going to have to get another one, I knew eventually this would happen but I didn't think it would be so soon.

Has anybody gone through this? What was the outcome? Does anybody have any input? I'm probably going to go for x-rays tonight but after this I'm not sure what to do.

 

[Jasper's Mom]

Oh dear. I'm so sorry. Do you think it would be possible to have the kids do a bake sale or some other fund raising activity to help cover the cost of the tests and surgery? I'm sure they would love to help.

Also, x-rays should not be needed to determine his gender. Is there another reason they want to do x-rays, or is it only to find out the gender?

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Wow that is quite expensive! I think at the least you should try to find another vet who would give a lower price perhaps! Good grief!
The calcium is quite high. Do you have a copy of the actual bloodtest that I could see please? I would like to take a look at them if possible.
Maybe she is egg bound, which is somewhat common. The actual surgery should not run you $1500, I feel that is pretty high.
An initial x-ray will determine eggs or not. I do agree something is definitely not right with those counts. Did he prescribe any antibiotics or suggest that she had an infection?

Tracie

 

[mishelly58]

Thanks for the advice but when I got home last night to get Gizmo and bring him to the vet I noticed that one of his arms was discolored and he was not using it when he tried to walk. I took him to the vet for the x-ray (to see if he was egg bound which he wasn't) and the vet found a mass that was not there on Wednesday when he was examined and I did not notice it on Thursday. When we looked at the x-rays it showed the mass to be very large and compromising his ribs. They aspirated the mass to look at the cells and they were irregular and the vet was 95% sure that is was cancer also because it had grown so quickly.

Needless to say the prognoses was not good even if they removed the mass and treated him. So at 8:30 last night Gizmo joined all of his buddies and crossed the Rainbow Bridge.

I cried all night and the hardest thing is yet to come on Monday when my class askes when Gizmo is coming back to school (he was their class pet). They asked everyday last week where he was and when he was coming back to school.

 

[beardie parents]

I'm sooo sorry. That's hard

 

[acwood04]

Im very sorry for your loss. We all know how attached people get to there beardies... If I were you I would immediately get another one, it wont make everything all better. But at least you'll have something new to pour your heart in to. I'm sure this will be a valuable lesson that the kids will learn from you in the class. Think about what can come out of this and what an opportunity you have to teach the kids about life and pain and suffering.. I hope that helps.

 

[mishelly58]

Thanks to everyone! I do want to get another one but I'm not sure I refuse to go to Petsmart-Petco to buy one and going through a breeder could get expensive, and I have to look at my finances. Also I'm not sure the correct way to handle this wth my class they are only 3 & 4 year olds. If any one knows of a dragon needing a home please let me know.

Thanks again for all the kind words!

 

[gini]

I'm so sorry. What a tough one! Good luck with your kids at school.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

OH no, that is terrible. I am sorry to hear that. Unfortunately, they do get cancer. That came on very fast, but at least he was with you & not in some petstore alone. The kids probably wont take it real well.
If you look through the "For Free" area on this forum, a lot of people look to rehome their dragons, usually with just a small shipping fee, & sometimes even free shipping.

Tracie

 

[Jiffy]

Oh no. I am so sorry about Gizmo. Sounds like he was well loved by you and the kids though, and I am sure that he knew it.

Are you in the US? What area are you in? There may be some breeders near you.

 

[mishelly58]

Thank you, I think Gizmo knew there was something going on. The vet left me a lone for a while with him and every time he walk in Gizmo would try to climb up me and nuzzle in my neck. That was very hard on me.

Oh no. I am so sorry about Gizmo. Sounds like he was well loved by you and the kids though, and I am sure that he knew it.

Are you in the US? What area are you in? There may be some breeders near you.

Yes, i live in New Jersey. I will start looking Tomorrow it's still hard to think about.

 

[BeardieBebe15]

I am very sorry for your loss. My beardie is sick right now too....but on getting another one i believe you should go to a reptile show. They have reputable breeders there who would be glad to answer any question and some of the beardies may already be sexed (to avoid anothyer mixup) and they tend to be lots cheaper. I went to one this friday and they had adult for 75 bucks and babies for 20 and you can (inappropriate phrase removed by moderator) get some really good deals on them, too. It may not be the quickest replacement but it saves money and gives you lots of color choices....again sorry for your loss hun. Hope you get to feelin better!

 

[NJgirl]

I am so sorry for your loss. I know it is very hard. I, too, lost my sweet Dizzy to cancer last week and it was incredibly difficult to deal with.

My fiance took me to a local breeder here in north NJ to pick out a baby beardie. It may be an option if you are looking to get a new one and since you are also in NJ it may not be too far to travel. I found the prices to be more reasonable than many of the pet stores.

 

[Twobeardieguy]

So sorry to hear!! Keep your head up!

 

[tundradragons]

very sorry to hear about your loss, i hope it goes well when you tell the class.

charles