teacup
New member
I used to breed bearded dragons a few years ago as a side hobby when i still lived in California. I since then stopped breeding since i moved. I missed having bearded dragons, so i went ahead and got myself a pair of babies. I wasn't intending on breeding them, so my roommate adopted one from me and i kept the other. We kept them in separate cages, but we did temporarily house them together since they were young and most likely from the same clutch. They did not show any aggression towards each other, but we made sure to not let them see each other anyways.
The reason why we separated them even though they got along well was because 1) we were going to have to eventually and 2) my roommate's beardie was starting to not eat. Once we gave him some alone time and some TLC, my beardie since then was the one starting not to eat. She was getting sluggish and had dark circles under her eyes, and it got so bad i tried making her some leafy "smoothies" and dripping them on her mouth but she eventually stopped liking that as well. One day i broke down and immediately took her to the emergency vet because i thought she was dying. The doctor tried to diagnose her, but she was so dehydrated and was in super critical condition that she couldnt get any blood tests from her. Instead she sent me home with medicine to keep syringe feeding her. She died in my hands a few days after.
She was eating phoenix worms and small crickets, and occasionally ate mustard greens and kale. I dusted them all with calcium and gave her warm baths every couple of days. She was the most active baby i ever kept, she loved to run around and mess with the cats. For her setup, we used paper towels for bedding and provided plenty of basking spots. We used the "20 gallon ZooMed bearded dragon kit". When we was nearing her death, the lower half of her beard and her upper stomach was blackening, and she slept a lot more and refused food. When she died, i was super heartbroken, but my roommate's beardie was doing super well. Same diet, same care.
Since my roommate's beardie was super healthy, i thought maybe it was because i got them both from Petsmart and they have the reputation of not being so great to their animals. Maybe she got the lower end of the stick, and I regret ever going to them now. I blamed Petsmart, and the fact that she was just super young and fragile, and i moved on.
Eventually, i recovered and went to a reputable reptile store that has glowing reviews. (It wasnt Petmart or Petco, so thats already better.) The only bearded dragons they had was a clutch they received the day before, and i was hesitant to get one since i didnt want to screw up by getting another super fragile baby. But, i fell in love and got the most active one. She was already doing better than my previous baby, and she even shed, which the previous baby didnt. I had high hopes for her. But, as you may have already caught on- it didnt last very long. Almost even more sudden than before, one day she just stopped eating entirely and her beard and belly darkened-- the same pattern as my previous beardie when she was dying. Almost the exact same symptoms happened, but this time faster and more out of the blue. She started to loose weight, so we tried giving her the same treatment the doctor recommended to my previous baby, but she died before we even had time to bring her to the vet. She was curled up in one of her hides with her eyes open, but she was clearly gone.
A ton of reasons this could have happened clouded my mind. I'll go through them all:
1) Heating and Lighting. The Zoomed kit came with a double dome with a basking bulb and a UVB bulb. I dont think they both died of MBD. Ever since we separated the first pair, my roommate only gave their beardie a basking bulb and no UVB for a month until i told them that he needs a UVB bulb. He still is super healthy and active to this day, and if i did have a lighting problem, it wouldnt have effected my babies this fast. Also, neither babies had signs of MBD. As for heating, the basking temp is about 95-105 degrees, while the cooler side is about 75-80. Neither of them spent much time away from their basking area.
2) Diet. I fed them often every day. But neither of them were very excited about their greens, but i made it an option when i could. Sometimes i would leave the crickets in the cage so that they could pick them off later, but i know now that i shouldnt have done that. I dont know the signs of if the crickets were attacking my babies, but neither of the babies were ever physically hurt. It probably stressed them too much, and i see that now. She would often prefer being outside of her tank also, so i should have known. I never had this problem before, and i wasnt sure if babies can die from stress alone. I take full responsibility if the cause of death was because they were way too stressed from leaving the crickets in the tank. But that would only solve the second babie's death, not the first.
3) Unknown infection. After reading some articles on here similar to my situation, ive been thinking maybe they both contracted something that didnt show any dramatic symptoms. Like i said, the pattern went like this: one day they decided they didnt want to eat, their eyebags darkened, their activity dramatically slowed down, and their lower beard and upper stomach darkened before they died. Im unsure if this is the case, because they both produced normal stools up until their death. But before the second one died, i found these strange small orange droppings in her tank, and her vent was sort of yellow before i wiped it off. This didnt happen for the first baby. If it is an infection caused by sharing of items in the tank and other stuff used for the dragons, my roommate's beardie would have caught it too, since they all share the same feeding utensils, food, dishes, etc. I'm stumped on this one. Any insight is welcome, and i'll do my best to give more info on this if i have any.
4) Bad luck. Maybe they were too young. Maybe they were too sensitive. Maybe the move for them was too stressful. Maybe i got sold sick babies. I dont know. I feel so bad and i feel like such a failure as a pet parent, but I want to learn how i can prevent this from happening if i ever decide im ready for a new one. I know i wont ever get another baby, since im too terrified. So if anyone can provide me with insight or opinions, im open to them. I just dont know what went wrong, and im so confused. But please know that i tried super hard to keep them both alive, and i didnt want them to die so easily. Google isnt helping me much, and im here to learn. This is my last resort.
Thank you for reading, and i will do my best to reply with more information or answer any questions. xoxo
The reason why we separated them even though they got along well was because 1) we were going to have to eventually and 2) my roommate's beardie was starting to not eat. Once we gave him some alone time and some TLC, my beardie since then was the one starting not to eat. She was getting sluggish and had dark circles under her eyes, and it got so bad i tried making her some leafy "smoothies" and dripping them on her mouth but she eventually stopped liking that as well. One day i broke down and immediately took her to the emergency vet because i thought she was dying. The doctor tried to diagnose her, but she was so dehydrated and was in super critical condition that she couldnt get any blood tests from her. Instead she sent me home with medicine to keep syringe feeding her. She died in my hands a few days after.
She was eating phoenix worms and small crickets, and occasionally ate mustard greens and kale. I dusted them all with calcium and gave her warm baths every couple of days. She was the most active baby i ever kept, she loved to run around and mess with the cats. For her setup, we used paper towels for bedding and provided plenty of basking spots. We used the "20 gallon ZooMed bearded dragon kit". When we was nearing her death, the lower half of her beard and her upper stomach was blackening, and she slept a lot more and refused food. When she died, i was super heartbroken, but my roommate's beardie was doing super well. Same diet, same care.
Since my roommate's beardie was super healthy, i thought maybe it was because i got them both from Petsmart and they have the reputation of not being so great to their animals. Maybe she got the lower end of the stick, and I regret ever going to them now. I blamed Petsmart, and the fact that she was just super young and fragile, and i moved on.
Eventually, i recovered and went to a reputable reptile store that has glowing reviews. (It wasnt Petmart or Petco, so thats already better.) The only bearded dragons they had was a clutch they received the day before, and i was hesitant to get one since i didnt want to screw up by getting another super fragile baby. But, i fell in love and got the most active one. She was already doing better than my previous baby, and she even shed, which the previous baby didnt. I had high hopes for her. But, as you may have already caught on- it didnt last very long. Almost even more sudden than before, one day she just stopped eating entirely and her beard and belly darkened-- the same pattern as my previous beardie when she was dying. Almost the exact same symptoms happened, but this time faster and more out of the blue. She started to loose weight, so we tried giving her the same treatment the doctor recommended to my previous baby, but she died before we even had time to bring her to the vet. She was curled up in one of her hides with her eyes open, but she was clearly gone.
A ton of reasons this could have happened clouded my mind. I'll go through them all:
1) Heating and Lighting. The Zoomed kit came with a double dome with a basking bulb and a UVB bulb. I dont think they both died of MBD. Ever since we separated the first pair, my roommate only gave their beardie a basking bulb and no UVB for a month until i told them that he needs a UVB bulb. He still is super healthy and active to this day, and if i did have a lighting problem, it wouldnt have effected my babies this fast. Also, neither babies had signs of MBD. As for heating, the basking temp is about 95-105 degrees, while the cooler side is about 75-80. Neither of them spent much time away from their basking area.
2) Diet. I fed them often every day. But neither of them were very excited about their greens, but i made it an option when i could. Sometimes i would leave the crickets in the cage so that they could pick them off later, but i know now that i shouldnt have done that. I dont know the signs of if the crickets were attacking my babies, but neither of the babies were ever physically hurt. It probably stressed them too much, and i see that now. She would often prefer being outside of her tank also, so i should have known. I never had this problem before, and i wasnt sure if babies can die from stress alone. I take full responsibility if the cause of death was because they were way too stressed from leaving the crickets in the tank. But that would only solve the second babie's death, not the first.
3) Unknown infection. After reading some articles on here similar to my situation, ive been thinking maybe they both contracted something that didnt show any dramatic symptoms. Like i said, the pattern went like this: one day they decided they didnt want to eat, their eyebags darkened, their activity dramatically slowed down, and their lower beard and upper stomach darkened before they died. Im unsure if this is the case, because they both produced normal stools up until their death. But before the second one died, i found these strange small orange droppings in her tank, and her vent was sort of yellow before i wiped it off. This didnt happen for the first baby. If it is an infection caused by sharing of items in the tank and other stuff used for the dragons, my roommate's beardie would have caught it too, since they all share the same feeding utensils, food, dishes, etc. I'm stumped on this one. Any insight is welcome, and i'll do my best to give more info on this if i have any.
4) Bad luck. Maybe they were too young. Maybe they were too sensitive. Maybe the move for them was too stressful. Maybe i got sold sick babies. I dont know. I feel so bad and i feel like such a failure as a pet parent, but I want to learn how i can prevent this from happening if i ever decide im ready for a new one. I know i wont ever get another baby, since im too terrified. So if anyone can provide me with insight or opinions, im open to them. I just dont know what went wrong, and im so confused. But please know that i tried super hard to keep them both alive, and i didnt want them to die so easily. Google isnt helping me much, and im here to learn. This is my last resort.
Thank you for reading, and i will do my best to reply with more information or answer any questions. xoxo
