Sudden Death :(

Hi everyone.
We lost our 2.5yr old female bearded dragon very unexpectedly a few days ago. We are crushed and our 12 yr old is absolutely devastated. He was holding her in the morning on the day she died and she seemed fine. She ate that day, temperatures & thermostat normal. Our son found her dead around 11pm (about 12 hrs after he had her out and she seemed find and probably 9 hrs since she was last fed). Substrate was reptile carpet. Had a UVB bulb on a timer. Thermostat was working when we found her, temp set at 105 hot side daytime and 72 at night. Diet was salad in the am (kale, peppers, carrots, peas, apples - we tried to vary it weekly) plus crickets in the afternoons. She had seen the vet about a year ago and had low-level coccidia then but they said it was near impossible to eradicate it completely and at the level she had it was considered okay. How often do people here see the vet? What are your time frames for new UVB bulbs? Im concerned that we may have missed important deadlines on these things (thanks 2020 pandemic nightmare hell).
Im hoping someone here can shed light on what might have gone wrong in such a short timeframe? If there was a husbandry issue going on, I want to make sure I know what that was before we consider getting another bearded dragon in the future. Do people with female beardies normally provide nesting substrate just in case?
Thanks for any info or insight. I am just heartbroken and feeling horribly guilty that I overlooked or neglected something.

Hi there,

Forgetting to change the UVB bulb wouldn't have caused a sudden death like that. So don't be worried about that.
As to your other question, I basically never take my dragons to the vet. Only when there is a need to. And in 20 years, there has been a need to maybe 2 or 3 times.

How was your dragon acting this week? Normal and active or a little off?

Parasites wouldn't have caused a sudden death either. Not without their being other signs and symptoms of illness first.

If your dragon was perfectly healthy one day, and the next day dead, the most logical explanation would be that it ingested something it shouldn't have while it was out. Barring a true medical anomaly such as a stroke, heart attack, etc.

-Brandon

Your question about UVB depending on what your bulb was tube or coil--- tubes are 6 months for a T 8 and one year for a T 5- its always good to change them out about a month before due date--- and yes w/ out a necropsy being done there really is no way to actually find out why she died
I am sorry to hear tho --- since you dont know exactly why she died and IF and when you decide to get another one make sure you sanitize your tank really good ---- F 10 or some Zoo Med Wipe Out
Karrie

Hello,

Oh I am so sorry you lost your girl so suddenly. I know it is extremely traumatizing.
None of your husbandry would have caused sudden death like that.
I agree, if she ingested something toxic or had a stroke, those would cause sudden death.
The only sure way of finding out any information for cause of death would be to have a
necropsy done.
I am sorry for your loss of your precious dragon.

Tracie

Probably just a freak anomaly like her heart just randomly stopped. It happens to people. It's extremely rare and no one can prevent it because it is purely genetics.