dragon dying

[diamc]

It certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to discuss what might have possibly been going on to try to help this owner or perhaps even others, now that we're over the initial shock. I did want to let the OP know that having a jet black beard is not typical and they don't do that when in ordinary brumation. So, there is quite a bit to discuss and cover.

 

[jazzibells82]

not too be weird or anything but I could almost swear that when I clicked into this thread a couple hours ago "help" had made a post with a link in it to a picture that said successful troll?? Maybe I'm wrong but I could swear...

 

[babyelvissocute]

It certainly wouldn't be a bad idea to discuss what might have possibly been going on to try to help this owner or perhaps even others, now that we're over the initial shock. I did want to let the OP know that having a jet black beard is not typical and they don't do that when in ordinary brumation. So, there is quite a bit to discuss and cover.

Yeah I know, it is shocking to hear of somebody freezing their beardie, and a jet black beard is not normal, ecspecially since he was sick. Its gotta be something way more than brumation, your right.

 

[help]

before he was in a 50ish gal breeder but recentlyi moved him into a 50 gal fish tank because my breeder broke originally i had a mvbs but for the last 6ish months (havent really been keeping track) months ive been using normal incandescent light bulbs because they generate good heat. I fed him primarily dandilion leafs and superworms i would spray the superworms with both vitamins and calcium spray about twice a week. This last week i was giving him crickets instead of superworms to mix it up. His flooring was brown paper bags> is there anything else i should mention?
Oh and i am planing to get another bearded dragon in the near future

 

[Beardednoob]

rotest:

 

[babyelvissocute]

What MVBs were you using, and how often did you change them? When you switched the mvbs out, did you get a uvb? What were the temps in his cage? Do you have any pics of him?

 

[help]

the basking temp area hovered around 100. I did not have a uvb with the incandescents. Sorry i dont have any pictures of him

 

[quigleysmom]

I know I am new and no expert, but they have to have uvb light all the time. If I understand you information you have only been using a regular lightbulb for light and heat. Unfortunately that is not enough. I think (others with more experience correct me if I am wrong) but 6 months with out uvb could have caused medabolic bone disease which IS fatal if not corrected. The calcium alone would not be enough because they cant absorb and metabolize the calcium and D3 with out uvb light.

Sorry you beardie died. I know that must have been hard to watch. When you get your next one please dont wait if you have a problem. There are a lot of really great people on this site that have many years of experience and are wonderful enough to help those of us that are learning how to take care of these great pets.

 

[Atrax]

Yes, I bet those 6 months without any UVB was the culprit for your beardies death. They can go few weeks without UVB; in the nature, as you would imagine, sun doesn't shine every day, but 6 months is too long for a beardie to be without UVB. Heat is not nearly enough for all the beardies needs, UVB is as important or even MORE important than heat only.

I'm really sorry for your loss, but when you buy a new beardie and have any kind of problems with him, please post your questions here (and wait for the answer of course) and/or call your reptile vet explaining what is wrong.


Take care,
sorry for your loss again, and I hope you won't have to freeze any more dragons in the future.

 

[Rukii]

I'm going to spare the angry comments about freezing your dragon into an excruciatingly painful death and try to help. I'm sure you loved Ziggy and were just confused.

I understand you may be new to dragons or animals in general and didn't know what to do, but like everyone said, 2 hours is not NEARLY long enough to get a response on here. Next time something like this happens, ask for opinions on here and then go to a vet, even if you can't pay, they will work out a payment plan to fit you I'm sure.

My dragon Ruki is brumating now. And even though she isn't blackbearding, you can hardly see her breathe. One would think she's dead, but she's in a deep enough sleep where I can move her box around without her even opening an eye. I can sometimes move her over and she won't even blink. Just because it looks bad doesn't mean its unconscious. There may have been something wrong with Ziggy since he was blackbearding, but only a necropsy could tell for sure, but I'm sure Ziggy is buried/disposed of already.

I would seriously consider whether or not you can handle another dragon. I know that you didn't know what to do, but if you can put a living animal in a freezer so easily, then who's to say you won't do it again? I apologize for being rude, but it was extreeeemely inhumane and unconscious or not, he probably suffered a great deal before dying. I hope that if and when you get your next dragon that you read up A LOT more on what to do, like the proper UV lighting, feeders, etc. And if ANYTHING goes wrong, do not kill your dragon to put it out of its misery. There is NO good way to euthanize something yourself, leave it to professionals if you absolutely have to do it. Like I said, post to here for opinions and answers, and if it is an extreme emergency, go to the vet.

 

[help]

would a reptisun 10 in addition to the incandescent be sufficient?
Would the florescent coil uvbs be ok? id rather use those because i have lots of dome fixtures laying around

 

[gzambran]

Reptisun 10 would be a really good UVB bulb! Usually a UVA basking bulb is used with the UVB to try to mimic natural sunlight, and they give off a bit more heat than an regular light bulb. You can also get a ceramic heat emitter (dosent give off visible light) if the bulbs dont keep the temp up enough, or if it gets cold in the house overnight.

 

[Livey]

I would seriously consider whether or not you can handle another dragon. I know that you didn't know what to do, but if you can put a living animal in a freezer so easily, then who's to say you won't do it again? I apologize for being rude, but it was extreeeemely inhumane and unconscious or not, he probably suffered a great deal before dying. I hope that if and when you get your next dragon that you read up A LOT more on what to do, like the proper UV lighting, feeders, etc. And if ANYTHING goes wrong, do not kill your dragon to put it out of its misery. There is NO good way to euthanize something yourself, leave it to professionals if you absolutely have to do it. Like I said, post to here for opinions and answers, and if it is an extreme emergency, go to the vet.

Im sorry but i have to agree,
And getting a UVB would be start,
If you decided its what you really want i would really do ALOT of research before getting another one.

 

[diamc]

would a reptisun 10 in addition to the incandescent be sufficient?
Would the florescent coil uvbs be ok? id rather use those because i have lots of dome fixtures laying around

The Repti-Sun 10.0 fluorescent (strip bulb) is the one you would want to get as there have been multiple health issues involved with using the coil/compact bulbs even if they are the Repti-Sun brand. So, you would need to get a strip light to hold the fluorescent bulb.

Were you monitoring his temperatures? If using any type of stick-on thermometer, those can be off as much as 20 degrees. The only 2 ways to get accurate readings are with either an infrared temperature gun or a digital thermometer with a long wire & probe end.

Also, it's very important to keep a beardie well hydrated because if the temperatures are too high, it can cause rapid dehydration.

With an adult beardie, his food should be dusted with calcium 2 to 3 days a wk and with vitamins 1 day a wk. A lot of us here use the Rep-Cal brand supplements. I'm not sure about the sprays but since he didn't have a UVB light, it would have prevented him from synthesizing the calcium correctly as the UVB and calcium work together.

Any other questions?

 

[fez09]

not too be weird or anything but I could almost swear that when I clicked into this thread a couple hours ago "help" had made a post with a link in it to a picture that said successful troll?? Maybe I'm wrong but I could swear...

I saw it too...