So our 3 year old (M) beardie, Dart, started bleeding from his mouth about a year and a half ago. We looked inside his mouth and saw a tiny lump, and it had ruptured a bit with clear pus and blood. We took him to the vet, and they recommended surgery because it looked like maybe a cyst. We paid almost $1,000 for the surgery and the vet said they got everything from his mouth, so we opted to not pay hundreds of dollars to have the mass tested.
Then, 6 months later, it grew again. This time, we paid $350 for an aspiration (they take a needle and get the fluid from the inside and try to see what it is), but they still couldn’t tell us what it was.
Then, we paid another $1,000 for another surgery and they told us that it was wrapped around his bottom jaw bone and veins etc, so they didn’t get the entire mass. We then spent $400 to send it to pathology for testing at a 3rd party lab. Those results came back inconclusive. (Beyond frustrating)
It’s now 1 year later and we noticed the mass growing back about 6 months ago, but really can’t afford another surgery. It’s gotten almost triple the size and today he was eating his greens and it ruptured again, this time with dark red blood. We are heartbroken and worried he might die, but aren’t really sure what to do. Should we find a new vet and get a second opinion? Or maybe someone on here has seen this before? Just looking for advice.
The second picture you can see pink on the top that leads into an almost black. The whole mass is about a half inch long.
***specs about dart:
>Greens every day; he loves cilantro the best but will settle for kale or collard greens.
>10-15 Dubia roaches once a week; meal worms once a month as a special treat.
>UV bulb replaced every 6 months, temp and humidity are in the normal range and checked on a biweekly time frame.
>he has always been incredibly lazy and not super active, but he always comes down for food and water/changes basking spots frequently throughout the day. This hasn’t changed his entire life.
Then, 6 months later, it grew again. This time, we paid $350 for an aspiration (they take a needle and get the fluid from the inside and try to see what it is), but they still couldn’t tell us what it was.
Then, we paid another $1,000 for another surgery and they told us that it was wrapped around his bottom jaw bone and veins etc, so they didn’t get the entire mass. We then spent $400 to send it to pathology for testing at a 3rd party lab. Those results came back inconclusive. (Beyond frustrating)
It’s now 1 year later and we noticed the mass growing back about 6 months ago, but really can’t afford another surgery. It’s gotten almost triple the size and today he was eating his greens and it ruptured again, this time with dark red blood. We are heartbroken and worried he might die, but aren’t really sure what to do. Should we find a new vet and get a second opinion? Or maybe someone on here has seen this before? Just looking for advice.
The second picture you can see pink on the top that leads into an almost black. The whole mass is about a half inch long.
***specs about dart:
>Greens every day; he loves cilantro the best but will settle for kale or collard greens.
>10-15 Dubia roaches once a week; meal worms once a month as a special treat.
>UV bulb replaced every 6 months, temp and humidity are in the normal range and checked on a biweekly time frame.
>he has always been incredibly lazy and not super active, but he always comes down for food and water/changes basking spots frequently throughout the day. This hasn’t changed his entire life.
