Reptile & Amphibian Forums

here is the situation. A friend has a male dragon about two years old who is no bigger than a 6 month old. It is a bit thicker and heavier but no longer. Its parents were normal size. He developed a swollen throat below his lower mandible from one side to the other. He had recently stopped eating greens at all. then wouldn't eat bugs. His vet did fecals (neg) then dosed him with a series of baytril injections. No response. He was only surviving by syringe feeding. He pased away last night and I opened him up for a look at things this morning. Two large fat nodules were in the throat and were large enough to effect swallowing. These were attached only to small blood vessels and are encased in thin membrane.
Question is has anyone encountered this??? I am suspicous of a kidney issue but why these large fat deposits on the throat while the dragon was wasting away? Any input any one? I will be calling my vet on Monday and touching base with him. The other vet is unavailable right now. Thanks for any help you might have.

How do you know it was fat deposits? Sounds like to me that it was tumorous.

I'm thinking maybe a thyroid gland problem? It often affects growth and the gland can be oversized when it's not fonctionning well...maybe it's what you saw...
Just an hypothesis!
-----
Lisabeth

1.1 Bearded dragons (Flake and Rusty)
1.1 Uromastyx geyri (Spiky and Salsa)
1.1 Guinea pig (Pumpkin and Moka)

I would not know what abnormal thyroid glands might look like but it could be that. (I will pester my vet on Monday) These were very nodulely and clear and matched one side to the other. I assumed tumors would look more "ugly".

It would have been better to have your vet do a necropsy. THose masses could be abcesses, swollen glands, tumors (either malignant or benign), gout, some form of fibrous tissue etc.

From the sounds of things the dragon hasn't grown much at all and without knowing the full history of the dragon, (ie cage set up, what was fed, how much it ate, etc) it could be caused by many things. From improper husbandry, injury, illness etc.

Tonight we have a guest chat with Dr. Mader, a very well known and knowledgeable herp vet. Come in and you can certainly describe the situation to him and ask his opinion on what could have been the cause. The chat is scheduled for 9pm eastern time tonight (Sunday, Feb 22)

Your vet can also take samples from the body himself to run tests..so keep it refrigerated to prevent degradation.
-----
PHLdyPayne

vet said abnormal thyroid glands. He is reluctant to call it cancerous at this point but definately overgrown. Just for your info this dragon was from normal sized parents, has had proper heat and lighting and great food. It belonged to my friend who also has another one who is a fabulous example of a beardie. I was never suspicous of care or genetics. I know several of his siblings and they are all normal size as well.
I have worked for this vet for quite a while...that is why I preformed the necropsy myself and why I already knew to label and save any suspicous bits. He will look at it for free but charges me if he has to do the work. So I apologise if it seemed I oversteped my bounds but we live in a fairly rural area and I am used to doing most of the basics myself. My buddy could have never afforded a full on necropsy but this way we all learned something. Thanks to all.

from what you learned and what the vet confirmed...most likely the reason this dragon was smaller than all his siblings and his parents, is because of the thyroid gland. If I remember correctly I do believe the thyroid gland does secrete substances that allow for the proper growth in animals. If this dragon's gland was defective, or had something wrong with it due to other reasons, that could explain why he is so small, despite good care.
-----
PHLdyPayne