Bearded dragon death

Hello I’m new to this website and my bearded dragon died somewhere between last night and this morning. He/ she was 2, about 21 inches in length, housed in a 36”x 20” terrarium, the temperatures were 100 in the hot area and 75-80 in the low area, used to be a sand substrate but I changed it to a soil yesterday. My beardie stopped eating at the start of winter and stopped moving around as if he were in brumation. It wasn’t until a couple of weeks ago that his underside started getting black. Last week he started defecating solid white pieces. I turned on his lights this morning to find him with a slightly open mouth and stiff. I would like to know what was the cause of death. I recently changed the sand out for soil but I don’t think this was it because he had been showing these signs for a while. Thank you

I'm sorry to hear your dragon died. I know that's rough to deal with. It's hard to say what happened for sure. It sounds like something that has been wrong for a while rather than the substrate change. Possibly organ failure. A necropsy done by a vet might shed some more light on what went wrong through.

I wouldn’t know if there are any reptile vets around I moved to council bluffs Iowa just last year and havnt even thought about a vet.. I don’t think it was an impaction, I checked his stomach for lumps everyday since I’ve heard that was a big problem with bearded dragons.

As Cooper said, there's no way to know why such a young dragon passed away, it could have been improper husbandry such as lighting, temps, diet, etc., it could have been either loose substrate, or it could have been a congenital issue or illness/infection that had nothing to do with anything in his habitat or diet. The only way to know for sure is to have a necropsy done by a Reptile Vet, just like when a person dies suddenly for an unknown reason.

I'm very sorry you lost your dragon, that's never easy and I feel for you. What I will say just for your future reference if you happen to get another dragon is that it is not worth using ANY loose substrate in a Bearded Dragon's enclosure or tank, it's unnatural, as they come from the Australian Desert which is hard, rocky terrain, not sandy at all, they lick everything as almost a sense of touch and they always ingest little bits of the loose substrate all day long, every day, whether you see them do it or not, and more importantly and something that owners who use loose substrates never think about, Dragons are prone to Respiratory Infections, Skin/Scale Infections, and eye infections, and ANY loose substrate is an instant breeding ground for all types of bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc. So no matter how often you change out the loose substrate, they are constantly breathing-in and walking around in microbes that are harmful to them. This is how a lot of cases of Yellow Fungus and other fungal infections get started, along with a ton of Upper Respiratory Infections. And I don't know what you mean by "soil", but again, no loose substrate is appropriate, and more importantly it's just not worth the risks and not natural, so if the only reason you use them is because you like how they look, then it's just not worth it. Solid substrates such as tiles, carpet, non-adhesive shelf liner, or even just paper towels or newspaper are so much easier, safer, and the tiles also hold heat and keep their toenails trim, plus you can just spot-clean them with vinegar/water.

That all being said, I am sorry you lost your dragon, and I suggest getting a necropsy done if it will help you get some closure...

Joshlance":2owvxl10 said:

I wouldn’t know if there are any reptile vets around I moved to council bluffs Iowa just last year and havnt even thought about a vet.. I don’t think it was an impaction, I checked his stomach for lumps everyday since I’ve heard that was a big problem with bearded dragons.

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Need not be a reptile vet to do the necropsy , the vet simply opens up the dead reptile and examines the organs and even dissects any suspect looking organs to make a determination of a likely cause of death.
An impaction wont always be something easy to feel by hand, if it's a hidden blockage you may not be able to feel it and the effort of continuously trying to pass it can result in a rupture or even a reptile suffering a heart attack .

Sooner the vet can examine the corpse, the more likely they can find the cause. But this is a hard call and will be of no benefit to the now dead dragon who may have had a birth defect that caused a fatal organ failure which was undetectable until things went pear shaped.

Knobbys, while a necropsy is of no benefit to the dead dragon, I obviously agree with that, I myself personally have found this to provide both some closure to the sudden death, and also some educational value, if something like a bowel obstruction caused the death.

Something else that might be a really good idea if you ever think about getting another Dragon or any reptile pet is to locate the closest Board-Certified Reptile Vet or experienced Reptile Specialist Vet who ONLY sees reptiles/amphibians, so that you'll know exactly who to call and where to go if they become ill or injured in the future. Well-educated and trained, experienced Reptile Specialist Vets are few and far between, and Board-Certified Vets even more rare, usually all you find are "exotics" vets and "exotics" hospitals, which are simply general vets who are "willing to see" all pets, not just dogs and cats. They see reptiles, amphibians, birds, rodents, livestock and farm animals, etc. If you can avoid these vets you're usually much better off, as they often make the "exotic" pets worse, or in a recent case on this board, they kill them due to their inexperience.

Again, I'm very sorry you lost your Dragon, again, a necropsy can be done by ANY vet, as Knobbys said, and if you have a University close to you that has a Veterinary Medicine Department/School they will certainly do it. Sometimes they can tell right away what the problem was, as in the case of a tumor or growth internally, a bowel obstruction, an enlarged heart, liver, kidneys, etc., or in the case of very obvious issues that show up in the blood/toxicology testing.

Right across the state from me. All Creatures clinic in Omaha has a reptile vet on staff I believe. They will be the closest option. There is a herp society and reptile vet up in Sioux Falls too but that's a bit more of a hike for you.