Odd bump on leg?

[Beman]

Happy you know what the cause was. And I am so excited that you decided to get another baby!

 

[dinomom]

Notes on what happened to Little Guy:

I got an email from the vet with the biopsy results and a short discussion on what happened to Little Guy. I've attached the report for those interested.

Bottom line up front: The bump I found was squamous cell carcinoma - he had cancer. Dr. Daulhausen said that the cancer was actually deep into his tissues and there really wasn't anything that could be done to save him.

What I'm not sure of is whether the biopsy sent it into overdrive or if he was on the decline and the biopsy was just coincidental timing. Either way, it looks like I DID do everything I could for him, and it just wasn't meant to be.

That being said, I'll pose the question to the group: I'm going to be doing a deep cleaning of his cage. Is this type of carcinoma the same as a papilloma? My understanding is that can be contagious to other chams/lizards and I'd HATE to spread something to my new aone coming later this week. That being said, what sort of cleaning should I focus on?

Thanks for your time and care and help everyone. I'm very glad that I know now what caused his decline/death.

So very sorry for your loss. You definitely had an amazing team, Dr Garner is probably the most experienced reptile pathologist in the US, I recently saw him speak and he is brilliant.

To your question about contagion, squamous cell carcinoma is not contagious-but it IS a very nasty cancer that can and does spread to organs. What is being said in the comments is that SCC can be a result of a progression of the other conditions, including papillomas, which ARE contagious. Meaning a papilloma as it advances can "morph" into cancer. Therefore, it would be very helpful to know if there was any evidence of where or how the SCC developed. It is worth a call or email to Dr. Dahlhausen to ask his opinion as to whether or not it originated as a papilloma. Also histo samples are typically kept at least for some time, and they might be able to test the sample further to get this answer. That could answer your question as to whether or not you have any concerns about contagion and how aggressive you need to be in cleaning the cage. And of course the answer would be of great value to this forum.

As an aside, SCC can arise from environmental conditions as well. I had a frog that developed a nasty one his head a few weeks after a really bad air quality event due to wildfires a few years ago, pathologist said it was definitely the cause.

Either way, this is not something you could have done anything else about, and you are an AMAZING owner to persist and get to the bottom of it. Your new guy will be very lucky to have you!

 

[dinomom]

So very sorry for your loss. You definitely had an amazing team, Dr Garner is probably the most experienced reptile pathologist in the US, I recently saw him speak and he is brilliant.

To your question about contagion, squamous cell carcinoma is not contagious-but it IS a very nasty cancer that can and does spread to organs. What is being said in the comments is that SCC can be a result of a progression of the other conditions, including papillomas, which ARE contagious. Meaning a papilloma as it advances can "morph" into cancer. Therefore, it would be very helpful to know if there was any evidence of where or how the SCC developed. It is worth a call or email to Dr. Dahlhausen to ask his opinion as to whether or not it originated as a papilloma. Also histo samples are typically kept at least for some time, and they might be able to test the sample further to get this answer. That could answer your question as to whether or not you have any concerns about contagion and how aggressive you need to be in cleaning the cage. And of course the answer would be of great value to this forum.

As an aside, SCC can arise from environmental conditions as well. I had a frog that developed a nasty one his head a few weeks after a really bad air quality event due to wildfires a few years ago, pathologist said it was definitely the cause.

Either way, this is not something you could have done anything else about, and you are an AMAZING owner to persist and get to the bottom of it. Your new guy will be very lucky to have you!

PS just noticed Dr Garner's email address is on the path report, I'd send him an email too; he seems like the type that would answer especially since you are concerned about contagion and a new pet.

 

[CalamityCrow]

PS just noticed Dr Garner's email address is on the path report, I'd send him an email too; he seems like the type that would answer especially since you are concerned about contagion and a new pet.

Awesome! I'm really glad the vet I worked with and his contacts are so excellent in their fields. I went ahead and emailed Dr. Garner to ask some details on potential cause, and what he suggest for sanitizing/cleaning the enclosure. I'll be sure to report back!