Beardie Sudden Death —

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Hkohl

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Hello,
I’m utterly crushed. I came home from being out for the day and our 3.5 year old beardie was dead. It was like nothing I’ve ever seen before and his body was completely swollen , mouth agape, organs coming up into mouth, eyes bulging under his uvb lamp, and very dead. He was no longer alive, was beginning to smell, and standing up, looked like he was in pain with a bulging beard, but I can’t be certain if this was the rigor mortis or not. He looked water logged and I’m not sure if he was swollen like this when he was still alive (my worst nightmare) or if this happened post mortum. I also don’t understand the timeline unless something happened quickly after I saw him as this was a 24-36 hour period. Additionally there was black liquid dripping from the mouth. It was horrific to say the least and given he was very much himself A day and a half days ago, pooping normally, nothing noticeable I am out of my mind intermittently sobbing trying to figure out what happened or what I could’ve done differently— mostly concerned he was suffering and I wasn’t in the room to know. ?

Is it possible this was a long term infection or are respiratory infections or parasites that quick of a response ? Or could this have been because I misted him before I went out the door? Or if his night bulb stayed too long into the day ? I’ve been home 24/7 for months and the other night was one of the few nights I left to stay somewhere else. He’s been shedding so he’s not been as amped up and I caught him laying down in a way I had a concerned mom feeling about so I made sure I misted him and I thought to give him more attention when I came home the next day... I am constantly always worried about the beardie and reading all the time to learn how to handle him as best as possible so this really is a blow if this happened because of something I failed to do or incorrectly. That would crush me but I would rather know then not. I also usually sit with him after I mist and feed. The other day, I misted him, grabbed some carrots leaves and shredded carrots, misted his food and left for the evening. I didn’t think of anything at the time because we live on a city corner, but I heard banging around and I assumed it was my roommate and now I’m wondering if he was choking or glass climbing asking for help and If this is all my fault or wouldn’t have happened if I understood that might’ve been him or If I was home like usual for morning check ups. The only noteworthy things to mention is that I inherited this beardie for a while and he has seemed stronger and happier than ever, but was not under the utmost care before... I’ve done a significant amount of research for how to care for him and we have really bonded where I have never established anything like that with a reptile before, his bulbs were fine, I give him a balanced diet, he was overdue for crickets, but had salads and didn’t seem to me he was impacted... the bedding might’ve been sneaky, I have walnut turf and now I’m reading that you should absolutely not... A few days ago I noticed his fingers looked slightly puffy but nothing to be fully concerned over As he was shedding and it had not been in his arms or anything

Any info is appreciated. I also appreciate honesty but please explain with a sense of respect that I am utterly broken over this loss. I can provide death photos of how I found him upon request if it’s needed but it is an awful sight I don’t want to just drop it here without a trigger warning. His body has been buried already and before I knew you could take in for a service to let you know cause of death. I wish I had been home. Any help appreciated ?
 

ComicBookMama

Sub-Adult Member
What an awful thing to have to deal with! I'm very sorry to hear about this, and wish I could offer some assistance... one of the veteran posters will need to look into this for you, perhaps AHBD or Drache. Please try not to feel too badly... our reptiles hide their conditions from us very well, and this sounds like a very quick onset of something truly awful. Sending warm wishes for healing.
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Oh no, that's really rough :( I really doubt this was caused by anything you did or could have been easily prevented. Without having a necropsy done, it will be hard to say what happened, unfortunately. It sounds like perhaps organ failure for some reason. It may have been something like cancer that was slowly (and silently) building and just caused organ failure.
 
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