Our family rescued an 8 year old bearded dragon in August of 2013, for our son who was 13 years old at the time. (A worker at a local pet shop heard from a friend about the previous owner threatening to turn it lose, and knew we were planning to buy one for our son for Christmas and thought an older dragon would be easier for us.) We had our son do research on how to care for a bearded dragon for over a year before we rescued him, but I found a lot of useful info on the the website. The previous owner had never used calcium, correct lighting or foods. We immediately went out and bought proper lights-Reptisun UVB, dual dome with day & night heat(previously just had a cfl bulb in a clamp fixture from the hardware store), screen top to replace the glass aquarium lids(the smell without air circulation was awful), hide(he had never had a hide), basking platform(only had a large garden rock), protein(only had bugs caught outdoors), fresh veggies(only had romaine, carrot peels, occasional strawberry), thermometer & humidity monitors for each end of his tank.
The beardie did great through the first winter, but had an infection this summer. Our vet taught us how to do injections, and he responded well to treatment. We took him in last week(Dec. 2nd) for a routine check up, and our vet found a couple of issues that were surprises. His carotid artery was beginning to bulge way down in his beard, and we were told it was an aneurysm that may eventually burst. The reptile vet also found a small mass in his abdomen, which she said was likely a tumor. She said both of these issues were not things we could treat, and we could keep him as long as he seemed comfortable.
Over the weekend, his eating decreased dramatically. The bulge on the side of his beard seemed to be getting larger. He did not seem his usual happy self. We spoke to our vet on Sunday, and she felt it was ok to wait until Monday to come in to see her. We went on Monday, and our vet felt the bulge in his beard and the mass in his stomach were both larger than they were the previous week. Since his was showing signs of discomfort, and we did not want him to suffer, we opted to have him euthanized per our vet's recommendation. My son who is now 14 stayed with our beardie during the procedure. (Our vet did an ultrasound of the heart to confirm he passed.) We didn't want our bearded to be left at the vet's office alone, so they let us bring him home for the night. We made impressions of his feet using a stepping stone kit from the craft store. We made a bed for him with a shoe box, and put him to bed in our fridge as directed by our vet. We dropped him back off this morning, so they could have him picked up to be cremated.
I mentioned to our vet that we may try to find another beardie to rescue. She cautioned about getting one on Craigslist. She said we have no way of knowing how well they have been cared for. We are carefully trying to find another beardie to care for. We're looking at some on Craigslist, but asking lots of questions. We are also checking with rescues in our state. Plus, we're keeping an eye out for listings here on the forums. It may take a little time, but hopefully we will find another beardie to love.
The beardie did great through the first winter, but had an infection this summer. Our vet taught us how to do injections, and he responded well to treatment. We took him in last week(Dec. 2nd) for a routine check up, and our vet found a couple of issues that were surprises. His carotid artery was beginning to bulge way down in his beard, and we were told it was an aneurysm that may eventually burst. The reptile vet also found a small mass in his abdomen, which she said was likely a tumor. She said both of these issues were not things we could treat, and we could keep him as long as he seemed comfortable.
Over the weekend, his eating decreased dramatically. The bulge on the side of his beard seemed to be getting larger. He did not seem his usual happy self. We spoke to our vet on Sunday, and she felt it was ok to wait until Monday to come in to see her. We went on Monday, and our vet felt the bulge in his beard and the mass in his stomach were both larger than they were the previous week. Since his was showing signs of discomfort, and we did not want him to suffer, we opted to have him euthanized per our vet's recommendation. My son who is now 14 stayed with our beardie during the procedure. (Our vet did an ultrasound of the heart to confirm he passed.) We didn't want our bearded to be left at the vet's office alone, so they let us bring him home for the night. We made impressions of his feet using a stepping stone kit from the craft store. We made a bed for him with a shoe box, and put him to bed in our fridge as directed by our vet. We dropped him back off this morning, so they could have him picked up to be cremated.
I mentioned to our vet that we may try to find another beardie to rescue. She cautioned about getting one on Craigslist. She said we have no way of knowing how well they have been cared for. We are carefully trying to find another beardie to care for. We're looking at some on Craigslist, but asking lots of questions. We are also checking with rescues in our state. Plus, we're keeping an eye out for listings here on the forums. It may take a little time, but hopefully we will find another beardie to love.
