I cannot figure out if my Lucy is dead or in Brumation?

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Hello I am new to this site but the previous parent of my beardie (my deceased best friend whom I inherited Lucy from) used this site for help often. I have had Lucy under my care for almost 4 years now and just 2 days ago she seemed in perfect health and then yesterday morning I woke up to find her in her water dish which I keep very shallow for her to drink from only and i only bath her in it after I've pulled it out and have her sit with me at the table as she baths weve done this for years but I found her in it with her mouth gaping open and she was so stiff my heart broke it felt like but when I reached in and pulled her out she took a big gasp for air then started to throw her head back in a spinning motion then just started in a climbing motion, I didn't know what to do for her and her water tub is on the colder side of her tank so she felt soo cold I immediately turned on the sink with warm water and proceeded to warm her up as best I could without shocking her it calmed her for a few minutes but then it got soo much worse she would gasp for air only about every 2-5 minutes sometimes longer this went on for about an hour realizing something is seriously wrong I immediately started to call all the exotic vets in my area and sadly just to see her they wanted much much more than I can afford I feel horrible but I did manage to speak to some very friendly and helpful people that work for petco and he after I explained vaguely what was going on said he felt that she may have gotten water in somewhere it shouldn't be, at first we thought possibly a sinus infection but there was no mucus coming from anywhere no drool or swelling of any kind her only symptoms were gasping or gaping for air, a blacker beard than I've ever seen, and being very lethargic she had literally just eaten and had a bowel movement prior to this day and seemed fine, this all happened so suddenly and it felt like I was losing my best friend all over again of course I'm in tears writing this so I apologize if I seem like I'm giving more info than needed or not enough I'm just at a medical loss because last night I would not let her out of my sight and I had slept with her next to me in a wrapped blanket close enough to a heater to keep her perfectly warm without over heating her and kept the humidity very low as what the petco reptile section guy had said to do and I also had finally gotten a hold of and spoke to a vet I could afford but they couldn't get her in till 8am so I just had to get her thru the night myself but sadly at 5:30 am this morning her legs had stiffened and all life she had left in her I was sure had diminished... so I wrapped her up balled my eyes out and laid her in her tank then called vet explaining what happened, they gave me my condolences and then my husband asked me to help him at work trying to distract me from the mess I was.. so here comes the odd part I'm at a loss with like I said 5:30am she had stiffened in her arms and i could feel no breaths being taken nor any movement at all i tried laying her on her back and everything i could think of to get a reaction but she was dead i was sure of it so i had wrapped her up in her blanket and set her back in her tank while i was gone at work thinking i would bury her when i got home and explain what happened to her to my kids then.. but when i got home from work and went to get her she was no longer stiff no signs whatsoever of rigor mortis had set in her eyes when i opened them looked normal no glaze or haze but sadly she still has not moved at all or given me any signs of life. It has been almost 16 hours since I presumed her dead and she still shows no signs of rigor mortis or stiffness no fluids have come out anywhere except when I opened her eyes she had tears from which of course made me ball some more... I called the petco again knowing with this snow there was no way I could make it to the vet as driving home from work was a task in itself in the snow and that specific Petco genuinely seemed to want to help and this time I was able to speak with there exotic on call vet and of course he wanted me to bring her in and I wanted to badly but it snowed too much and I dont have 4 wheel drive so I began to explain to him everything and he seemed to believe she may be going into Brumation and to be completely honest I have never heard of this before as Lucy is the only beardie I've ever owned and she has never done this before she had been very happy and healthy all these years and this came so quickly.. so to let you know how she seems right now she is still soft and her skin still feels like normal though her beard is still black and her head had turned grayish black and sunken (she is normally orange in color) her eyes have not sunken in and when I open them they appear to look normal but no movement or reaction to light. Her belly is still soft and warm though she has been sitting on her heating pad thats under her tank and I have her night light on her atm which has kept her nice and warm I've been trying to keep her tank at exactly 80 degrees Fahrenheit which is what the petco vet told me to do sadly I feel as though she has passed away and I dont know if I'm writing all of this to vent or pray that someone can help me and give me some kind of hope that she may still be alive. If she is still soft and has no signs of rigor mortis tomorrow I will be rushing her to the vet immediately but sadly I feel there is nothing I can do right now and am kicking myself over and over again for not taking her this morning and canceling her appointment thinking she was already dead. I would greatly appreciate any input anyone has to offer as I feel like I just lost my child and another best friend as I adopted Lucy after my best friend Anna had passed away as she was her previous mama..
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am so sorry you have had to go through all of this. :cry: Unfortunately, if you haven't
seen any signs of breathing, or life, she has passed. They sometimes don't exhibit rigor
right away, depending on their body temperature, etc. It is really the most difficult thing I
feel one can go through, is to have to deal with losing one.
There is no telling what happened, egg issues, liver or kidney problems.
You haven't seen any breathing, at all? You can watch her for a couple of minutes or so,
to see if you can hear any breathing. You can also try a warm bath to see if you get any
response at all. Have you turned her on her back too?
I am sorry you lost your best friend, as well.

Tracie
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
My heart goes out to you -- :( --I am sorry you went thru such an ordeal and it is traumatizing and feeling so helpless not knowing what to do for them --- it is hard to say what happened to her -- like Tracie said it could of been any of those things - again I am sorry to hear of her passing -
Karrie
 

KmKrizzle89

Member
Original Poster
Thank you Karrie and Tracie,

I truly appreciate your words and yes sadly she is gone, when I checked on her this morning she had swollen up and it's now time to finally bury her so she may rest in peace with her mama! I know Anna has been waiting for her patiently and now there reunited. I feel at ease knowing I gave her the best 4 years I could. Thank you again for taking the time to read this not many people care for there Beardies like we all do so please keep up the great work you guys do here helping others with theirs!.. Thank you!.. :)
 

Drache613

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Hello,

I am so sorry to hear that Lucy is gone, it is such a horrible ordeal going through a loss. :cry: She
was not alone & knew how much you loved her, bless her.
If there is anything we can do let us know.

Tracie
 

Claudiusx

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I'm a little late, but wanted to send my condolences to you too. We all know how hard it can be. We are here if you need anyone to talk to.

-Brandon
 

Elliecordelia

New member
My bearded dragon is just now going through the same thing. I'm sitting here watching him waiting for him to breathe. I've poked his mouth and eyes which usually gets a response from him but he is still. I'm not sure what happened to either of our dragons. But this post made me feel not so alone and less like it was my fault. My Storm has been dealing with an eye infection over the past month. I've been medicating his eyes, feeding him (by force), and giving him baths so he could drink water. He seemed fine yesterday but I think he couldn't fight his infection anymore. And similar to you I couldn't afford the vets here who arent even specialists.

In short, I'm sorry for your loss. I can feel your pain currently and know how hard it hurts to watch the pet you love pass in front of you. Maybe our beardies will be friends wherever they are.

Thank you for your post, it helped me a lot.
-Ellie
 
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