~ Mango ~

Meet my sweet dragon lady.

Mango is a bearded dragon, one of the most common lizard in the reptile industry. We got her at the same time as Heidi, my uromastyx, at a reptile expo in the summer of 2023 from Tails & Scales. Unfortunately, the breeder does not have a record of her hatch date but we could only approximate her age at about 3 weeks old at the time of acquisition. 

Mango was always personable and great with kids. In fact, she lived and was taken care by my niece for a whole year before she ended up in my arms xD. She loves the tortoise salads which made it easy for me to transition her into a more herbivorous diet but of course, she will never say no to her protein treats. Mango spends a lot of her day out of her enclosure on my side, while I do my regular tortoise routine. She is always motivated by food so I've come to enjoy our training sessions. She grew up very gentle but beneath her soft demeanor is a survivor's strength. 

In the summer of 2024, Mango faced a life-threatening complication. She suffered from severe anemia secondary to internal hemorrhage due to follicular stasis. At acquisition, she was advertised as a "male" so we never expected to experience this complication. One day, she stopped eating, her gums turned yellow, and her tongue was pale. At the hospital, we performed an xray and an ultrasound, which were inconclusive but suspected a tumor, which might have burst, causing the bleeding. Her bloodwork returned dangerously anemic with her PCV at 4-6% (normal is 25-35%), meaning there wasn't enough red blood cells circulating in her system. She could die at any time. Our only option was to euthanize or perform an exploratory abdominal surgery, which does not even guarantee her survival. I chose the latter, ofc, clinging to hope. Because she didn't have enough blood, the surgery became even more dangerous so we decided to perform a blood transfusion. However, there weren't any documented bearded dragon transfusions done in Canada, so we had to read and learn from a peer-reviewed article from the United States (Successful Management of Hemocoelom and Marked Anemia in a Central Bearded Dragon Following Multiple Blood Transfusions and Surgery) and used it as a guide for the procedure. Even with a successful procedure, we couldn't guarantee that Mango will not have a bad reaction to the blood and die before the surgery. Still, I clung to hope. Thankfully, we had a donor from a rescue and another from a staff pet. They pulled blood, transfused it, while I wait in anxiety. Mango survived the transfusion and her blood count improved. On the day of surgery, our blood donors wait on standby just in case. Again, I clung to hope, filled with anxiety. Fortunately, Mango survived the surgery and without blood transfusion. It turned out Mango is a female. It wasn't a ruptured tumor; it was a ruptured egg follicle. They removed all the retained follicles (some rotten) along with her reproductive organs (ovariosalpingectomy). All of this happened within the span of less than 1 week. The internal turmoil I felt could never be compared to any other I've experienced. 

I will be forever grateful to my veterinarian for being open-minded and for saving Mango's life; she is alive today because our veterinary team chose curiosity over assumption, collaboration over fear, and heart over convenience. 

Mango's journey reminded me every day that even the smallest lives are worth fighting for. She is thriving now: basking, exploring, and ruling her world with confidence. I carry her story as a reminder of resilience, compassion, and trust between a mere human and a lizard. 

It's 2026, but lemme just cry over there in the corner.