Bearded Dragon just Died...

[RealNeoMc2]

I lost my beardie last night in his sleep... I'm not completely sure what happened. He was never a "normal" dragon, only reaching about 16 inches and 250 grams of weight. He never wanted to eat food, his last three weeks I was force-feeding him smoothies of things he liked.

My guess is I poisoned him. I think I put too much calcium in his food, and he ended up getting hypercalcemia. It just happened 4 days ago with no warning, the day before he was alive and normal. All of the sudden he went unresponsive, lethargic, left his beard black, and constantly lolled his mouth open. He also threw up 2 days ago.

I'm trying to cope with the fact that my lack of understanding of his health is the reason he is no longer with me. I would love any and all advice or tips I can get, as I currently am entirely blaming myself for his loss. He was 3 years old and I'm not sure how to live without him...

 

[KarrieRee]

I am sorry for your loss -- it is hard to say what caused it --- why do you think it was hypercalcemia? Tracie would be able to answer some questions on that --- his lack of eating the last 3 weeks could be cause of lack of UVB -- what were you using for a UVB and where was it in the tank for a long tube fixture?

 

[RealNeoMc2]

I am sorry for your loss -- it is hard to say what caused it --- why do you think it was hypercalcemia? Tracie would be able to answer some questions on that --- his lack of eating the last 3 weeks could be cause of lack of UVB -- what were you using for a UVB and where was it in the tank for a long tube fixture?

He had a ReptiSun 10.0 USB bulb on the left, and my old leopard gecko light on the right (to make his basking spot since the Reptisun doesnt get super hot). I'm sure it was hypercalcemia because I was making smoothies to feed him and I dumped in calcium alongside CriticalCare Herbivore. I googled hypercalcemia and it was 1:1 with the symptoms he gave me. Last night too I was googling for a cure, and I couldn't find anything.

I have to make sure I never hurt another dragon. The hole he left has to be filled soon with a new dragon, but now I'm unsure if I can raise them. I mean, Rex is gone because I kept filling him with poison without knowing it. He kept trying to slap my hand away, I didn't listen. He knew what was happening.

 

[KarrieRee]

ReptiSun 10.0 USB bulb on the left was this in a dome? If so your dragon was not able to absorb the calcium he was getting - the coils are bad for that --- make sure you get some advice here before getting another dragon - you want correct lighting and basking temps -- those are the most important things in the tank --- we can help you get set up correctly so this does not happen again --- again I am so sorry about him

 

[RealNeoMc2]

ReptiSun 10.0 USB bulb on the left was this in a dome? If so your dragon was not able to absorb the calcium he was getting - the coils are bad for that --- make sure you get some advice here before getting another dragon - you want correct lighting and basking temps -- those are the most important things in the tank --- we can help you get set up correctly so this does not happen again --- again I am so sorry about him

A vet told me the setup was good. He seemed healthy aside from his "never wanting to eat and having to have food pushed in" issue. https://media.discordapp.net/attachments/379799062985048080/874632121887629352/20210618_103136.jpg?width=900&height=675

I did re-arrange his tank a bit, now he has some rocks under the right lamp to get him a bit closer and he has a shoebox hide where the sand box was. This was taken before today.

I should also clarify that he hasn't ever wanted to eat. Once he hit a year old, he just stopped eating. I spent up till now trying to push food into his mouth, and his diet quickly turned into firm fruits and vegetables that could be pushed into his mouth when cut into triangle shapes. The smoothie thing was a change from 3 weeks ago, and I made the "mentally retarded" decision to sprinkle calcium into it while also putting in a vitamin supplement that also had calcium in it. His symptoms of hypercalcemia match the three feedings of smoothie he got... I wonder if he might even have been alive right now if I just left him alone yesterday. An hour after I fed him, he tried to snuggle over my heart and looked at me with the weakest expression I have ever seen. He knew he was going, and I didn't realize that was the last time I'd ever hold him.

 

[KarrieRee]

Ok so the lighting looks good - I really dont know you need to talk to Tracie Drache613 about the calcium thing -- and the not eating - sometimes they just dont want to eat and if they are not losing weight and sustaining it and doing everything else normal then there was probably nothing wrong but w/ him just up and dying something was going on --- please PM her look her up on the board click on her name and her profile will come up and on the left side find PM --- ask her questions and see if she can help you

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

I sent you a PM. I am not positive that over supplementation of calcium is the cause of
death, but it can be. I don't know whether or not it would have come on quite that quickly.
You mentioned that he had not grown a lot though, for his age?
It could be a genetic issue also, if you feel he had not been normal for awhile. They hide
illness for long periods of time, making it difficult to detect most times until it is too late.

I am very sorry for your loss, it is never easy to lose one.

Tracie