Losing a Dragon to Egg Yolk Peritonitis

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RioReptiles

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This is not meant to be a memorial, but a detailed account of the events that have recently taken place.

For those who follow Rio Reptiles on facebook, you know that we recently lost the prettiest, sweetest dragon anyone could ever ask for. Embyr was my beautiful red female who recently lost her front arm, but she overcame her disability and was happy and healthy as ever. The Tueday before last was like any other day, I go to work around noon and feed all the dragons before I go. She ate a few worms and then took a big poo just like she does every day. She had a bath the day before and was basking on "her" big slate rock. I got home late, around 9pm to find her super brightly colored, black beard/tail, fat pads sunken, eyes dialated and slightly puffed up. I immediately put her in a half inch of warm water but she didn't respond, I grabbed the stethoscope to get a heart beat to find only a bump every three to four seconds. Her belly was puffed up as if something ruptured, I knew it wasnt right. I wrapped her in a blanket knowing she probably wouldn't make it through the night. The next day I didn't want to get out of bed because I knew what I would find, I thought maybe, but she passed in the night.

The next morning I called my vet, she is so into dragons and reptiles I knew she would like the opportunity to do a necropsy for her own self enrichment. I took her in and signed the donation form, by donating her I don't have to pay for the necropsy and we all get to learn from the experience. It's been just over a week and a half and she called this morning. Embyr had a belly full of eggs, some undevelped follicles, some partially matured eggs, that had burst in her belly filling it with blood and yolk. Dragons bodies reject the proteins in the yolks of their own eggs, their cells fight the substance as if it were an infection, thus the belly full of liquid. She did not breed this year but still cycled her eggs, possibly brought on by other dominant females, and there was now way of knowing this was even happening. Why they would burst, I don't know, but it could happen to anyone this time of year. Just one egg is enough to be fatal. I'm sure most vets won't do necropsies for free and most people won't pay the money to find out what happened. I know I can't be the only person this could happen to so I wanted to share my story and information. Unfortunately, there is no way to detect such an event is even taking place. I'm hoping that anyone who has lost a dragon with some of these symptoms may be able to get some closure. This has happened to me twice in two years, so it can't be all that uncommon, I just happen to have more dragons than most people so the chances are higher for me. I will always share my stories to help others learn, thank you for reading.
 

beardie parents

BD.org Sicko
Cheryl, I'm sorry this happened to you. I know how much loosing a dragon hurts. It does help when you know that you couldn't have done anything to stop it, tho it still hurts.
 

ziggy23

Gray-bearded Member
I'm so sorry you lost your dragon. Thank you so much for sharing your story so that we may all learn from it.
 

RioReptiles

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
Thanks guys, I'm sure that plenty of people lose their dragons suddenly and never know why. This is just one of those things that can happen without warning. I didn't ask the vet, but she was showing signs of wanting to breed the week before. I'm wondering if she would have bred and the eggs developed, if this would have still happened. It's just so unfair, I feel so cheated.
 

jeritta

Sub-Adult Member
Cheryl,
I am so sorry this happened. Thank you so much for sharing your story. Hopefully we can all learn from it.
 

RioReptiles

Sub-Adult Member
Original Poster
I don't know if you guys remember, but I lost a female to the same thing, but in a different way, last year. The girl last year had already laid a clutch of eggs, but I guess one didn't come out and burst inside her. Four months after laying she got lethargic and we lost her. We found a hard mass the size of a chicken egg inside her where her body had put hundreds of layers around the egg in an attempt to reject it. If I would have detected it early on, she could have had surgery to remove it, but its hard to distinguish it from a poo. I recommend palpating your girls from time to time, like a monthly breast exam, and get to know them this way. Unfortunately, this time was prior to laying and before the eggs ever had a chance to develop, she was the picture of perfect health. Maybe one day we can learn how to help prevent this.
 
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