Lump on the back

[Scotjess]

Hi all.
My boy Karl, 10 years old, has lost weight within a short period though he's eating well (this could be linked to his current issues with uric acid, but I can't be sure).
He also has a small lump on his back, which is concerning.
He's still happy, more chatty than active, but it's autumn, so that's not unusual.
We have an appointment to the vet on Friday and I hope to get clarity. I'm posting in case others have experienced this.
You can see the lump a bit below the right shoulder.
Thank you

 

[Sadie]

Hi all.
My boy Karl, 10 years old, has lost weight within a short period though he's eating well (this could be linked to his current issues with uric acid, but I can't be sure).
He also has a small lump on his back, which is concerning.
He's still happy, more chatty than active, but it's autumn, so that's not unusual.
We have an appointment to the vet on Friday and I hope to get clarity. I'm posting in case others have experienced this.
You can see the lump a bit below the right shoulder.
Thank you
View attachment 32974View attachment 32973

I see it and not sure what it is but I can have a vet tech take a look to me it looks like some sort of shed that may have not come off --- please take a fecal sample into the vet w/ you NO enemas -- they often end in disaster --- did you have blood work done to get the uric acid level--- what are you feeding for a staple insect? Its good hes eating --- what are you using for a UVB? coil or a tube ? surface basking temps? Those should be taken w/ a digital probe thermometer --- the UVB helps w / shedding along w/ humidity in the tank --- what is the humidity?
@Drache613

 

[Scotjess]

Hi Sadie, I started collected for the poo sample. I always take one just in case. He also will get blood tests as he always does for his check up due to his issues with uric acid, the vet also checks his liver every few follow ups as he had issues in the past. I guess she'll do the lot this time.
He has arcadia T5 12%, inside the viv. Temp are 100 to 105 on basking spot, and cool side at 80 to 85. Humidity about 25%
He's eating locust and calciworms, and some waxworms for live. Greens are spring greens, dandelions, rocket, green beans, courgette, basil, mint, frizee, etc...

 

[Sadie]

Hi Sadie, I started collected for the poo sample. I always take one just in case. He also will get blood tests as he always does for his check up due to his issues with uric acid, the vet also checks his liver every few follow ups as he had issues in the past. I guess she'll do the lot this time.
He has arcadia T5 12%, inside the viv. Temp are 100 to 105 on basking spot, and cool side at 80 to 85. Humidity about 25%
He's eating locust and calciworms, and some waxworms for live. Greens are spring greens, dandelions, rocket, green beans, courgette, basil, mint, frizee, etc...

Ok please NO more waxworms -- they are real common for causing liver issues --- feed super worms or meal worms both if you like and horn worms --- you have good UVB and good basking temps - make sure you have your UVB directly over the basking decor 12-15 inches -- what is courgette and frizee? Humidity is good -- optimal is 40-50% -- I flagged Tracie to look at the lump -- she is on real late at night ---

 

[Scotjess]

Ok please NO more waxworms -- they are real common for causing liver issues --- feed super worms or meal worms both if you like and horn worms --- you have good UVB and good basking temps - make sure you have your UVB directly over the basking decor 12-15 inches -- what is courgette and frizee? Humidity is good -- optimal is 40-50% -- I flagged Tracie to look at the lump -- she is on real late at

 

[Scotjess]

Frizee is endive I think, and Courgette zucchini. I'm in the UK so that's all the worms I can get.
I'm crossing fingers the vet can figure out what's going on.
Thanks Sadie

 

[Scotjess]

I forgot to say I'm in the UK, that's why I can't get the worms you mentioned.
I hope the vet will find why the sudden weight loss and the bump. Meantime, thank you again. I'll take to the vet anything you mention.

 

[Sadie]

I forgot to say I'm in the UK, that's why I can't get the worms you mentioned.
I hope the vet will find why the sudden weight loss and the bump. Meantime, thank you again. I'll take to the vet anything you mention.

Ok the super worms are known as mario worms --- and please NO more wax worms-- the endive and the zucchini is good --

 

[Scotjess]

Hi Sadie and all. Back from the vet. After physical exam, she did an ultrasound for liver and gallbladder where all looked good. She took blood and poo sample. Blood test are for haematology panel, liver check and uric acid. Poo sample for parasites and bacteria.
To know what the lump is, we'll need surgery. But we agreed to see what the blood/poo tells us before. If something is found in the blood (infection or uric gone higher, etc), we'll treat that before doing the surgery to lower anaesthetic risks.
Karl is still his happy self. After some sulking (because how dare we let Katie, his vet, poke him), he had a good bunch of locust and calciworms. He's stealthily (or so he thinks) checking on me right now, popping just an eye up the bottom of his viv
We should get the results next week. I'll update then.

 

[Sadie]

Hi Sadie and all. Back from the vet. After physical exam, she did an ultrasound for liver and gallbladder where all looked good. She took blood and poo sample. Blood test are for haematology panel, liver check and uric acid. Poo sample for parasites and bacteria.
To know what the lump is, we'll need surgery. But we agreed to see what the blood/poo tells us before. If something is found in the blood (infection or uric gone higher, etc), we'll treat that before doing the surgery to lower anaesthetic risks.
Karl is still his happy self. After some sulking (because how dare we let Katie, his vet, poke him), he had a good bunch of locust and calciworms. He's stealthily (or so he thinks) checking on me right now, popping just an eye up the bottom of his viv
We should get the results next week. I'll update then.

Ok post the blood work so Tracie can see it- she can give input on this too

 

[Scotjess]

Ok post the blood work so Tracie can see it- she can give input on this too

I'll try to get the details. I'll get results on the phone. thank you

 

[Sadie]

I'll try to get the details. I'll get results on the phone. thank you

Have them email the results to you please
@Drache613

 

[Scotjess]

Have them email the results to you please
@Drache613

Hello.
We've got the results from Karl's tests.
Nothing explains the weight loss (he's already treated for the uric acid issues).
He has some yeast in the poo which happens sometimes with him, though it's never had him lose weight and it goes away after a while.
The next step is to remove the lump to check what it is. But before that, we gonna try to fatten him up a bit for the next 2 weeks (again, to try and manage the surgery risks). We're getting a special formula to add to his normal diet.
I hope the formula will help him gain weight. This is gonna be done scary few weeks.
I attach a copy of the results.
Karl is still eating well and chatty.

 

[Sadie]

Hello.
We've got the results from Karl's tests.
Nothing explains the weight loss (he's already treated for the uric acid issues).
He has some yeast in the poo which happens sometimes with him, though it's never had him lose weight and it goes away after a while.
The next step is to remove the lump to check what it is. But before that, we gonna try to fatten him up a bit for the next 2 weeks (again, to try and manage the surgery risks). We're getting a special formula to add to his normal diet.
I hope the formula will help him gain weight. This is gonna be done scary few weeks.
I attach a copy of the results.
Karl is still eating well and chatty.

Ok I am going to post to Tracie

 

[Scotjess]

I hope my boy will be all good soon and this thread will help others who find a lump on their beardie.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Thanks for posting the results here.
It doesn't look like there is any infection at the moment. The white blood cell counts look good,
overall.
The Uric acid levels are high which is renal function. Is he on the allopurinol then for gout or the
uric acid levels?
His calcium is normal!
I'm glad that he doesn't have any parasites mentioned, either.
Did the vet mention anything about the little bump on him, or not, just to consider removing it? I
think that would be a good idea so it doesn't get larger. If there is infection locally it's better to get
it taken care of than for it to spread.
It seems like Karl is doing good. Are you keeping him hydrated daily? Hopefully the powdered food
you get for him will help with weight gain. Are you getting the Critical care or Carnivore care?

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

 

[Scotjess]

Hello,

Thanks for posting the results here.
It doesn't look like there is any infection at the moment. The white blood cell counts look good,
overall.
The Uric acid levels are high which is renal function. Is he on the allopurinol then for gout or the
uric acid levels?
His calcium is normal!
I'm glad that he doesn't have any parasites mentioned, either.
Did the vet mention anything about the little bump on him, or not, just to consider removing it? I
think that would be a good idea so it doesn't get larger. If there is infection locally it's better to get
it taken care of than for it to spread.
It seems like Karl is doing good. Are you keeping him hydrated daily? Hopefully the powdered food
you get for him will help with weight gain. Are you getting the Critical care or Carnivore care?

Keep us posted on him.

Tracie

Hi Tracie,
Thank you for the reply.
Karl is on allopurinol for the uric acid.
The plan is to get him to surgery, but he's weight is concerning, his fat pads are tiny. So for the next 2 weeks, he's getting Emeraid on top of his food (live 3 time a week, the rest is veggies only). The vet chose herbivore because of the uric acid. We want him to put on weight without adding meat protein.
We're gonna check in after that course, and decide what to do. We want to remove the lump in case it's infected or cancerous. I'm very concerned that the lump could be the cause of the weight loss. If we don't remove it, it could lead to worse. But I'm also concerned about the surgery.
I'll keep you updated in a couple of weeks.

 

[Scotjess]

His calcium is normal!

PS: why is it surprising?
In any case, I'm glad he's calcium good.

 

[Scotjess]

Update on Karl.
Karl had surgery to remove the lump on his back on the 8th of December. The surgery went well. Karl is recovering from it well too.
The vet took the lump and 2 black scales out (in case they were part of the same issue)
The scales are normal, but not the lump. It is soft tissue sarcoma.
There is no grading of cancer on reptile skin, so we don't have a prognosis.
The analysis indicates some cancer cells might remain in the body (just at the limit of where the lump was removed).
We're seeing the vet to check for early regrowth next Monday.
This is not good news. I'm still processing it. I go from hoping Karl will be with us for some years, to being sad and scared he'll go in a few months.
I'll keep this thread updated.
Here's a pic of my boy today, being his cute self. I love him so much.

 

[Sadie]

Update on Karl.
Karl had surgery to remove the lump on his back on the 8th of December. The surgery went well. Karl is recovering from it well too.
The vet took the lump and 2 black scales out (in case they were part of the same issue)
The scales are normal, but not the lump. It is soft tissue sarcoma.
There is no grading of cancer on reptile skin, so we don't have a prognosis.
The analysis indicates some cancer cells might remain in the body (just at the limit of where the lump was removed).
We're seeing the vet to check for early regrowth next Monday.
This is not good news. I'm still processing it. I go from hoping Karl will be with us for some years, to being sad and scared he'll go in a few months.
I'll keep this thread updated.
Here's a pic of my boy today, being his cute self. I love him so much. View attachment 33162

Yes keep us updated - pulling for you and Karl