Finall Stages of a Beardies life

[goofy]

Hello, I was wondering if anyone here has experienced the final stages of a beardies life. We have Goofy who is 11 years old and he has just "awakened" from his usual winter rest (hibernation). He is thinner than his normal self and seems listless. He is eating like normal but doesn't seem to be as active as usual. He also is experiencing twitching in his limbs. To answer the list of questions:
He's 11 years old + a few months.
He is 26 inches long.
He's in a 36" x 18" enclosure, I am not quite sure what that is in gallons.
Cool side is @ 60 degrees at night. Day temps @ 90 basking temps 100+. He has a heat pad on the bottom of the enclosure. He can get within 6 inches of his light.
We use the dreaded walnut substrate for over 5 years and had zero issues with it.
Diet consists of superworms, hoppers, greens, mixed veggies, apple, hibiscus flowers and dandilions.
Most of our knowledge of beardies is from books, other lizard lovers and herpatologists.
When we bought Goofy it was on a whim and we have amazingly kept him alive these past 11 years. We are curious if anyone has had a beardie this long and what we can expect when his age catches up with him.

 

[MissT]

I have no suggestions or experience to share.... just wanted to bump this up and say well done - you have obviously looked after Goofy very well!!

Just a couple questions that might help others to answer your questions.....

what is the cool side temp during the day - does he have somewhere in the region of 75 - 85 where he can go to chill out during the day? I would also be tempted to add an additional heat source at night - if the temp is dropping to 60, I would be very cautious as that is the absolute minimum requirement...

How are you measuring the temps - stick on, digital w/ probe, temp gun etc ?

Do you have any pics to share? Hehe - we love pics here!

Good luck in getting the asnwers you need.

T

 

[jscott]

its great youve kept him that long. i hope im able to keep mine around for 10 more years :shock: .

i thought id give you my two cents:

i would seriously consider removing the walnut shells. you might not have had any visible digestive problems in the past but their digestive system will only get weaker in old age. any kind of partical substrate has the chance of holding the liquid part of the dragons poop. if this contaminated substrate is ingested it will cause an infection. even if the partical substrate is clean it might get stuck in a elderly dragons gut. i use different types of tile and slate as well as outdoor carpet. let me know if your interested in seeing some pics.

now, is that hoppers as in grasshoppers or mice? if your talking about mice i would stop feeding those to your dragon(any age). hopper-stage mice have well developed bones that could easily get stuck in your dragons digestive system.

i would say lose the heat pad, they dont have any temp control and can too easily overheat. if you have a good heat bulb it will heat up their natural rocks safely and to comfortable levels.

i would also like to know what kind of thermometer your using. the majority of the thermometers that petstores recomend for reptiles are not accurate enough to trust.

what brand lighting are you using for UV-B? ZooMed, ExoTerra, R-Zilla? are you using a straight or spiral UV-B bulb(or Mercury Vapor)? it is important to know, cirtain bulbs produce dangerous types of light; if you have a dangerous bulb they shouldnt get any closer than 12". also, how long have you had that bulb?


sorry to ask so many questions. i figure im just saving some other people the trouble of typing the same thing...

 

[goofy]

We are using a EXO-TERRA Sun glo 75 Watt basking lamp. We have a dial type thermometer that you stick to the side of the enclosure. I'll be honest with you guys we really have gotten lucky with Goofy. From all that you have shared with us he should have been dead years ago :wink: . He has been a lot of fun to have and our kids (7 and 4) have REALLY enjoyed him. We're really wondering if you can give us any insight as to what to expect as he gets closer to dying because of old age. He's still eating although he doesn't chase the worms like he used to and the hoppers I commented on before are mice. They are his favorites but we usually wait until summer to give them to him when he's more active and the amount of time he receives sunlight is greater. In winter we shorten how long his light is on (especially when he is sleeping/inactive) to 12 hours. As the seasons change winter to spring we gradually add time to the light until it's on for 14.5 hours. As fall comes we do the opposite. He's been a tough dragon and when he was younger he would chase the cats around while we cleaned his cage.
To share what we have noticed recently: he seems to sleep more than he used to (kind of like all other old animals) his appetite isn't what it used to be and he likes to drink water more than before. He also doesn't like to be up basking as much. He used to spend 3/4 of his day basking now he seems to lay on the side where we have the heat pad and hang out. His legs twitch and he seems to have lost most of his body mass. The muscle definition is gone. That's all I know to share right now. We will try to get some pictures on soon.

 

[LJean]

I do not have experience with an older/aging beardie.
Just wanted to say hello and welcome.