Tragic Baby Beardie Death Question...

I have a question about my late baby bearded dragon and her unfortunate passing..

I bought Mushu around a month and a half ago from a pet store (regardless of my anti sentiments, there are no reptile rescues or access to breeders around me in the middle of Missouri) She was very young when I bought her, about a month or so, and she had just finished a shed. So, when I took her home I immediately noticed she was doing something odd with her eyes, one eye open and the other closed, not one particular eye either. So I thought that it was her way of relaxing or focusing and I didn't think much. 2 weeks later she was still doing it but still seemed very normal. I then started to notice cricket carcasses all over her tank and her color turned very dark. I though "Oh she is about to shed." But she never did. She stayed dark and began to become very lethargic and skinny. After a couple days she got noticeably skinnier so I decided to begin force feeding her. At this point I thought she was just having a really bad shed, as it would be her first one. Now she didn't always stay dark, she would become light when I put her in her daily 20 minute bath AND when I force fed her, her color would lighten significantly but didn't last long after the act was over. After 3 days of force feeding, she began to move a lot more and it looked like things were looking up! Well that night, she unfortunately passed..

Her poop was very very normal, as she pooped on me when I fed her and it was perfect. She had no swelling anywhere on her body, and her eyes/mouth were perfectly clear.

I still have 0 idea what happened and I do not want to be discouraged from owning another Beardie because I love them.

Setup & Care:
Zilla Slimline UVB (T-18.0 i believe it said)
Reptisun 75w Basking spot (I started with 150w then worked my way down because 150 and 100 were way too hot)
Repticarpet as her substrate
2 hides (warm and cool)
Only fed small crickets, calcium dusted (I was going to work with greens as she got a bit older because the store was only feeding crickets so I wanted her to settle in before I forced a new food onto her)
Warm water baths every day for 20 minutes

I'm sorry to hear your little buddy didn't make it. It's possible she was sick when you got her but it could have been an environmental issue. How far did you have your T8 UVB light from her basking spot? Did you remove the clear plastic cover from in front of the bulb?

I did remove it immediately, and her basking spot is a very tall, elevated log with a few "levels" for her to move as she pleases if she gets too hot or cold, but the highest point where she hung out the most was about 6-8 inches from the UVB.

OK good. That should have provided adequate UVB. Did you dust the crickets with calcium powder when you offered them? You mentioned cricket carcasses in the tank. Were the crickets left in the tank after feeding time? They are known to hide out and bite a dragon overnight which can do some damage if they are in large numbers. That usually leaves visible wounds from the bites though. If your temperature range was good across the tank and you had adequate UVB and calcium supplementation she may just have been sick from the start without there being much you could have done about it unfortunately.

I dusted every feeding, do her symptoms sound familiar at all? Any sickness that you may know of? I looked up so many and she had very basic symptoms but not the tell-tale ones of any one sickness.

It's hard to say without having a necropsy done. It could have been atadenovirus or some genetic problem due to sloppy breeding. Perhaps a tumor/cancer of some kind. Those are just guesses based on some of the inherent issues I've seen in the past.

Hello,

I am sorry to hear your little baby passed suddenly. I agree, it honestly sounds like he
was most likely ill when you brought him home. There is so much inbreeding that it is really
cutting the lifespans down. Organ issues are a huge problem.
The only true way to try & find the cause of death would be an autopsy, unfortunately. I
know that is not a pleasant thought, at all.
I am sorry for your loss.

Tracie

Where were the live feeder insects bought ?

If from a bait shop .... they add fish attractants to the insect food which are toxic / poisonous if allowed to accumulate in the flesh of the animal who eats them and can cause problems .

Or did someone use insect spray inside the house ? .... we don't have insect poisons because we have per insects and feeder insects in the house - so we tolerate a few roaches, flies, mosquitos, moths and spiders.

Only way to know is a necropsy by a vet , but even then there is no guarantee the vet can identify the cause of death.