Is my beardie dead?

I hate to ask this, as it seems stupid. But does it sound like he is dead?

Around 6 and a half hours ago we found my beardie laying on his back, unresponsive. So we assumed he was dead so we turned his stuff of. However, I went to get him to bury the poor baby and he is warm and completely limp, shouldn't he be stiff after 6+ hours? I am terrified of burying him alive, I picked him up and pet him and checked for vitals, but It seems like he is not breathing. He is normal color still, and he is warm and very limp. His eyes are a tiny bit open and they are still black. I have never owned one before so I don't want to go and bury the poor soul alive.

Assuming he is dead?

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear about your beardie!! Sometimes when they're sleeping their breathing is barely noticeable, but if he was on his back that doesn't sound good since I'm pretty sure they can't breathe on their backs. I'm not sure when the stiffness sets in though.

You can try turning his basking and UVB lights on and placing him (on his tummy) in his basking spot, or a warm bath if you're careful to keep his head above water. Or better yet you could take him to the vet, which is what I'd do if warming him up didn't help any and I wasn't sure of his status.

snazzyglasses":3ejdquth said:

Oh no I'm so sorry to hear about your beardie!! Sometimes when they're sleeping their breathing is barely noticeable, but if he was on his back that doesn't sound good since I'm pretty sure they can't breathe on their backs. I'm not sure when the stiffness sets in though.

You can try turning his basking and UVB lights on and placing him (on his tummy) in his basking spot, or a warm bath if you're careful to keep his head above water. Or better yet you could take him to the vet, which is what I'd do if warming him up didn't help any and I wasn't sure of his status.

Click to expand...

I wish I could take him to the vet, but I cannot afford a vet bill unfortunantly. It looks like he has a green small lump in his chest area, did he maybe choke on something?

First thing I did when I noticed that he was warm and not stiff was place him under his basking light, I've been checking on him ever half hour but he does not seem to be doing anything. I'll give him a bit but if he does not do anything I'll probably have to bury him unfortunantly.

Please establish for sure that he has passed before you bury him, like you said. How long do you suppose he was on his back? His lungs have surely been affected and need some time to recover some capacity to breathe. Please let know how he is doing.

So sorry about your dragon...but I would wait till I was absolutley sure before I laid him to rest...

Well, over a day later and he is still limp and normal color. Does not stink or anything. His eyes are a lil sunken looking though.

Warm side of cage is about 83-ish degrees and cool side is a consistant 72. This is his 2nd winter, I read that their version of hibernation starts around their 2nd winter.

Hello,

That is very strange. How old is your dragon?
Do you see any signs of breathing by his sides going in & out at all? Have you seen any movement at all from him?
He should be stiff by now if he had passed.
Can you review his tank set up please such as the UVB, heating, etc & supplementation?
When they are on their backs, their system can go into a catatonic state slowing down their heart rates to 1-2 per minute to preserve life.

I hate to ask, but do you have a picture of him?

I am very sorry about this, I am sure that it is distressing.

Tracie

He is around a year old. Mostly eats pre-gutloaded/calcium'd crickets, but occasionally would eat some veggies. (He usually wouldn't touch anything that was not alive) I can get pics of him then. Haven't noticed any breathing or movement.

I'll have to check the wattage of his lighting/heating.

Im srry to hear about your beardie I do have a question tho.. Can beardies have like strokes? Become paralyzed? Cause if he passed hed def be stiff by now. So is that possible? Its just a thought. Im not sure you could do anything if that is what happened. But again, its just a thought...

I think he passed last night or this morning, looks like he is swelling up.

RIP.

I am planning on getting one that is mid to full grown now, I hate to sound cheap, but will his sand bedding be good still? He isn't laying on it, he is in a open box. I only mean because it is brand new sand, I put it in a week or so ago.

Beardie2012":3causvvs said:

I think he passed last night or this morning, looks like he is swelling up.

RIP.

I am planning on getting one that is mid to full grown now, I hate to sound cheap, but will his sand bedding be good still? He isn't laying on it, he is in a open box. I only mean because it is brand new sand, I put it in a week or so ago.

Click to expand...

Im so srry for ur loss. I recently lost one too, I know how hard it is...

Sand is BAD.. Please use a different substrate, u can use tiles, non adhesive shelf liner, paper towels, newspaper... Dont use any type of sand, mulch, chips anything that is loose... your beardie may accidently ingest some and become impacted, which can result in paralyzing and/or killing ur beardie. Also you dont know why this beardie passed. He may if been sick with something contagious and you surely wouldnt want that to spread to another beardie.

I do think its a good idea to get another, I was so upset when I lost Dobby my hubby was looking at breeders b4 the night was out, it was torture at the time. But seeing an empty tank hurt soo bad. And I love my new babies just as much.

Should have worded the bedding better, it isn't sand, it is a strange super fine sand-ish calcium stuff, I can check the packaging then if I still have it, it said about it was great for Bearded dragons and it (allegedly) won't cause impactation. But if I am not supposed to use it I won't. Does $60 sound good for one? The petstore I got mine from has them on sale for $30 at the moment, but they are babies, and for the $60 at the other place I can get an adult one. I'd rather just get an adult because they are easier to take car of, and I'd imagine funner to have as well since you can hold them without worrying about it getting out of your hand and getting lost.

Beardie2012":j6d7a0gw said:

Should have worded the bedding better, it isn't sand, it is a strange super fine sand-ish calcium stuff, I can check the packaging then if I still have it, it said about it was great for Bearded dragons and it (allegedly) won't cause impactation. But if I am not supposed to use it I won't. Does $60 sound good for one? The petstore I got mine from has them on sale for $30 at the moment, but they are babies, and for the $60 at the other place I can get an adult one. I'd rather just get an adult because they are easier to take car of, and I'd imagine funner to have as well since you can hold them without worrying about it getting out of your hand and getting lost.

Click to expand...

The cali-sand (yes the one with the big pic of a beardie on the front) is also bad... ANY type of loose substrate carries an impaction risk. $60 seems reasonable. Make sure he/she is alert and healthy tho. Hate for you to get one that you have to rehab to get back to health. Look for signs of MBD.. ask to see him/her eat...ask about bowel movements..etc, you get the point. Do your homework and find out what your buying b4 you buy it.