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Adult Bearded Male Vomiting Blood!

B2 Berg Jul 08, 2004 07:08 PM

My nephew's adult male Bearded, raised from a baby and established as a proven breeder, was found in his cage this morning vomiting blood. I was told it was a considerable amount and he would do it every few minutes. As one would expect, his color was very pale. He also had a swelling on one side of his head. He died while calling the vet to make an appointment.

Does anyone have any insight into what my be his cause of death. I'm knowledeagle with snakes, but not lizards. I've certainly never heard of one vomiting blood. Perhaps a tumor?

Thank you for your input.

Barry

Replies (5)

Joel R Jul 08, 2004 07:39 PM

I would definitely get a necropsy done to find out.
Please let us know if you do.

Sorry for the loss.
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Joel R

Coming Soon!
www.SpikesAndScales.com

rujonesin Jul 08, 2004 09:09 PM

at Kansas State University. You would need to freeze the animal solid and overnight ship it to them. The vet building will do a basic necropsy for free, as they use it for teaching. You can get the results usually the day the procedure is done. If a basic necropsy doesn't find the cause it's $30 for the additional tests. They are your decision as to whether or not you want them done. I would think that from what you are describing it should be fairly easy to determine the cause of death with the basic procedure. I'm not sure if a local vet could perform the procedure or if it would be more or less than shipping. Something to consider though.
KSU VMTH
1800 Denison Avenue
Manhattan, KS 66506
Small Animal Desk
785-532-5690

Mike
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If you can read this, thank a teacher. If you are reading it in English, thank a soldier.

beardiedragon Jul 09, 2004 07:34 AM

I was told by my vet that freezing the animal makes a proper necropsy near impossible as many things are spoiled by the freezing process. Don't know if it's true but you may want to inquire further.
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Bennett


Home of the Florida Orange
www.beardiedragon.com

Bigtattoo Jul 09, 2004 09:08 AM

Please do NOT freeze you will not get a good necropsy result, refrigerate and ship with a bag of frozen peas. Yes I said frozen peas. These will keep the lizard cool while shipping and the lab techs can heat them up for lunch. J/K Really frozen peas and a small styro is the best way to ship. Get a necropsy done it could be parasites, a tumor or adenovirus to name a few.
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Hope this helps.

BigT

grimdog Jul 09, 2004 11:27 AM

Brandon is correct. Freezing makes any histological/pathological study useless. It causes all the cells to burst. Meaning you can't determine any cellular abnormalities.
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Peace
Derek

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