Newbie looking for some advice (Now she passed away)

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Dubah

Member
Hello, my wife got me a bearded dragon for my birthday from Petsmart. Now when I first got the dragon on March 5th, she was great, never had too many problems, got her a good basking spot and everything. But for some reason over the last week she has become very abnormal, started laying down really lazy, not like she usually does. Usually she basks on all 4 legs, recently she is just dead looking, granted I can still see her breathing. She has still been eating, maybe about 10 crickets a day, small ones. And every once in a while I give her some worms. The mistake I made was I gave her some iceberg lettuce one day, luckily she didn't eat it, so i cut up some grapes and gave them to her with some cabbage, she doesn't eat much greens, which as I've been reading is pretty normal for young dragons.

Anyways, I was really concerned for her today, she was lifeless as ever but this time she looked dead, so i picked her up and she moved, but not much, she sat on my shoulder for a bit like she always does, but even then she went back to looking lifeless, so I took her outside, just to see how she would act and she got up and ran off, I let her run around for a little bit, have some fun I was just glad to see her up and moving again, but when I went to get her she opened her mouth at me like she was ready to attack, literally the only time she has ever done that to me. Luckily I got her calm, brought her back inside put her on her cage and she looked lifeless again. So I went and bought some new stuff, got her a new basking bulb (I checked the temp and it was only at 97 degrees) thinking that was the problem, set it all up and hours later she still just sits there lifeless. This is really concerning me.

Sadly I do not know her age, I know bearded dragons can brumate, but would her behaviour have completely changed when i brought her outside if she was brumating? I'm really concerned for her and never struggled this much with any type of lizard. I used to have an iguana, he was awesome, but he never had problems like this, well, until my dads stupid girlfriend pulled the plug on his heat rock. But that was a long time ago. Any help would be awesome. Also, she is really tiny compared to all the other dragons I see. IDK if that can also be a symptom of something. Any thoughts?
 

Mysty

Juvie Member
If he/she's tiny then it is likely that they are very young. Measuring the length and weighing will help people give an estimate age.

Do you have a UVB light tube as this is essential to health?

Also, are you offering 3 live meals a day?
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
I responded on your other thread about eating, but as Mysty had mentioned, I'm not seeing anything mentioned regarding a UVB light which is absolutely crucial for them to live.

If you do not have one, this is very likely what is causing trouble to your little buddy.
I linked some good bulbs on your other thread, but I'll link them here as well.
http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/arcadia-d3-t-5-22-inch-24-watt-12-desert-uvb-the-original-reptile-ho-t5-in-north-america/
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=25696

Please pickup a quality UVB light as soon as you can, especially if you do not already have one.
If it's sunny out, take her outside to soak up natural UVB in the meantime.
 

Dubah

Member
Original Poster
I do have a UVB light, I just bought a better one yesterday thinking that was the problem, I'm gonna give her some time and see how she does. Still trying to figure out how to mount it in her cage, but so far she seems to be doing a little better, still not eating much. I just fed her 10 crickets she didn't eat one. But at least she is up and moving around. I just bought a 24'' 10.0 UVB bulb and a new lamp for the dragon, so I guess we will see how she does.
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
Dubah":259iyawu said:
I do have a UVB light, I just bought a better one yesterday thinking that was the problem, I'm gonna give her some time and see how she does. Still trying to figure out how to mount it in her cage, but so far she seems to be doing a little better, still not eating much. I just fed her 10 crickets she didn't eat one. But at least she is up and moving around. I just bought a 24'' 10.0 UVB bulb and a new lamp for the dragon, so I guess we will see how she does.

Awesome, I'm glad to hear it.
Have you at all taken her to the vet? She could have some parasites affecting her, or possibly a virus if you see no real improvements with the new light
 

Dubah

Member
Original Poster
Yeah vet is the next stop, but she seems to be doing a lot better, she isn't basking all sluggishly or anything like that. I think I am on the right path now, will post updates as I can, I am sadly leaving town for a few days but my neighbor is going to watch her in the meantime. Looking forward to continuing my life with the beardie, and I hope hers get's better!
 

Crowley

Member
Beardie name(s)
Crowley
Is she doing okay now? Love how committed you are to improving her life :) She's in great hands for sure.
 

Dubah

Member
Original Poster
I mean, she seems to be doing good, she still isn't eating very much. Trying to figure that out. I went and bought more crickets today but only 20 to see if she will eat them, put them in the cage she went for them really fast, but still only ate about 8 of them, and that's all she has eaten today.

Now I talked to a vet over the phone yesterday, told him she isn't eating and all that, he said he has seen babies do that, and it's actually pretty normal for them to eat small amounts, more common to eat in large amounts, but he said she will eat when she is ready. He said to just leave about 5-10 crickets in there, and see if she eats them over a couple of hours, which i dropped 20 in for 2 hours and recovered 12 of them, so I will give him a call tomorrow and see what he thinks.

The only real concern that he had was that she wasn't growing. But I'm assuming figuring out why she won't eat might be all she needs. So hopefully we will see soon. He also recommended to get her some freeze dried crickets and she if she would eat those.
 

Dubah

Member
Original Poster
So I took her to a vet, the vet did bloodwork and a few other tests, sadly, he said there was no reason for her to be acting this way. He said everything blood wise looked great, and that there was no reason to be alarmed, he said she may be brumating, but he also said she is too young to brumate. Well, I brought her back home, without any answers yesterday, and today she passed away. No idea why, no idea what happened, I showed the vet her cage, he said it all looked good. I don't know if it's something I did or what. I think I'm gonna try to get another one, and hopefully it will work out better.

I just wish I knew what happened, she seemed so happy over her first couple of months with me. Then just out of nowhere took a turn for the worst. Thanks for the help, hopefully a future one will be fine. I just wish there was something I could have done for her. I did notice today her eyes got really dark, and she was extra lethargic, like i tried to pick her up and she didn't move very much. So I held her as she passed away.
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
That poor thing :( I'm so sorry for your loss.
It's very hard to lose one, especially when you don't know why it happened. Please don't be too hard on yourself about it, you did all the right things, and you reached out for help.

I encourage you to bring a new little buddy into your life, but if you use the same enclosure, please sanitize everything in case she had a virus or anything like that to be sure your new one doesn't contract it.

If there's anything you want to go over prior or after another adoption, please let us know and we're always willing to help. I have a new baby I've had 2 weeks going in for her first vet checkup next week, and I'd encourage you to do the same with the new baby to make sure nothing underlying comes out later.

Again, I'm very sorry for your loss :cry:
 

Dubah

Member
Original Poster
OMG She isn't dead! I don't know if I can still nurse her into some better health, need some ideas. I went to move her from her cage to burial and she moved, not much but she moved, she doesn't even look like she is breathing.

So she is still alive and I have no idea how I can help her get better. Need some tips and fast, maybe I can still save her.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Poor girl :( .... I know you are beside yourself with worry , I would be.

only thing I can think of is call the vet , you might need to get her to them in an emergency dash right away ,she might need to get oxygen to help pull her past this crisis ..... keep her warm .... body heat under your top on your skin is good .

I hope she makes it ....
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Yeah if your vet has experience with dragons then they may be the best bet although it's a toss up between moving her to an unfamiliar environment and causing stress with better equipment available vs nursing her at home. If you keep her home I would try to keep her nice and warm. Hold her if she's used to being held. Get her out for some natural sunlight if the weather is cooperating. I wouldn't do a whole lot more than that if she isn't very responsive. You'll want to keep her as comfortable and warm as possible and see if she gains a bit of energy from that.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
An option some have had with their local Herp vet is the vet making a home visit and if he does this he may come prepared with meds and have an oxygen bottle on hand in the van/car or be able arrange one for you and special tank or big plastic tube to slip her into to give her oxygen therapy ( I've seen the celeb vets on Bondi Vet and the SuperVet (the UK show) do this snakes and lizards who were in a bad way .... no guarantee it'll work but worth asking about.)

She's probably too frail now to survive a long car trip to the vet, I expect you have come to that conclusion .... it's a really tough call , risk the car trip to get her to somewhere there's better facilities or cross your fingers and comfort her , keep her warm and as stress free as you can and maintain a watchful vigilance .

If you decide to rig your own up or have the partner set one up or someone you know , essentially all you need is medi-oxygen bottle with regulator, a 10 Litre tub oblong but shallow ( ie a Décor Tellfresh tube 143mmx203mmx373mm (Clear) 10 Litre tub maybe ) with a clip on lid , and some clear plastic tubing.
Punch two holes in the side or lid of the tub, thread the end of the plastic tube in and tape it into position (need not be an air tight seal) , attach the other end to the regulator's outlet and get pure oxygen flowing , the vet might recommend a flow rate , place beardie in on something soft , and her in the home made oxygen therapy tank under the basking light and check her regularly.... I reckon it's worth a try.
 

Dubah

Member
Original Poster
Well, the closest emergency vet was about 3 hours away, she wouldn't have made that drive, luckily i asked my vet even tho he isn't an expert on reptiles, he does know some things and does have the tools and skills to help them. He came over looked at the cage, the surroundings and i showed him the blood work results from the other vet, he said that there is no reason for her to be looking and acting like this, he said her chances of survival are very slim but told me to keep her warm and keep offering her food and she may come around. So, that's exactly what i am doing, will keep updates posted I hope she pulls through this.
 
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