Seemingly healthy to seemingly VERY sick within minutes

sdirghalli · Jul 7, 2019

Hello,

We have a 4-5 year old bearded dragon who was by all accounts very healthy. He had a completely normal day with normal to above normal activity all day. We put him in his tank after an hour or so outside and within minutes he became totally unresponsive and his beard and neck area are jet black. He's been like this with very shallow and very intermittent breathing for several hours. To be honest, he basically looks dead. I greatly appreciate any advice or insight. Thank you.

Claudiusx · Jul 7, 2019

Since it happens after being outside it leads you to believe he most likely ingested something that is giving him an issue.

Do you have any activated charcoal you can give him just incase?

Is it possible he ate something he shouldn't have? Have pesticides or fertilizers been used recently?
Or are there any bites/stings on his body?

I really think you should administer some activated charcoal as soon as possible just in case.

-Brandon

sdirghalli · Jul 8, 2019

Thanks for the reply.

CooperDragon · Jul 8, 2019

How is he today? Was it very hot outside? While it's certainly possible he ingested something toxic like a lightning bug, it's also possible he overheated.

sdirghalli · Jul 9, 2019

The temperature was only in the low 70s, but we hadn't thought of that. We ended up taking him to a vet and they confirmed that he passed away. Her best guess was that he either ingested a toxic insect (we haven't used any pesticides/herbicides/fertilizers in many months) or was bitten/stung by something. We were with him the whole time and none of us saw him eat anything (nor did we see any insects), so it remains the saddest of mysteries. Thank you very much for your reply.

Claudiusx · Jul 9, 2019

So sorry to hear about that. I'm sorry you both had to go through this. Did they see anything of the sort that might indicate a sting or bite? Based on what you described I think I'd lean more towards ingesting something based on how he was acting.

Either way, I'm so sorry for your loss.

-Brandon

Seemingly healthy to seemingly VERY sick within minutes

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