My Beardie Died :( can you tell me what possibly went wrong?

[zebraflavencs]

Small breeders will work with you on price, as most only want the best home for their babies. Also, many of those same small breeders go to shows, so you can look for any we recommend !

Dragons go years without baths, and survive just fine, though the baths are the best way to rehydrate. So, with that in mind, I honestly think you adopted one that was already ill, and no one knew.

Cheer up ! Let us know where you are , and what shows you plan to attend and we can suggest reputable breeders attending !
Janie.

 

[Sj45]

I am in St. Louis and attend the St. Louis reptile show, I bought a dragon from "Karins dragons" at the last show.

Where is the best place online to buy crickets/phoenix worms?

 

[vickson420]

Hello
Sorry fpr the loss of your beardie.I dont think the bath issue was the cause completely of his passing.Babies should be bathed 2-3 per week at that age and as they get older once a week is fine but missing a bath wouldnt have done it instantly.You would have first noticed a serious decline in health and alot of lethargy.It does sound like maybe he was too young to be sold and the relocation stress may just have been too much.A beardie at that age should indeed be eating 50+ crix daily so the fact that he wasnt eating that much is cause for some concern.

 

[Sj45]

Hello
Sorry fpr the loss of your beardie.I dont think the bath issue was the cause completely of his passing.Babies should be bathed 2-3 per week at that age and as they get older once a week is fine but missing a bath wouldnt have done it instantly.You would have first noticed a serious decline in health and alot of lethargy.It does sound like maybe he was too young to be sold and the relocation stress may just have been too much.A beardie at that age should indeed be eating 50+ crix daily so the fact that he wasnt eating that much is cause for some concern.

I had him for one month+, relocation stress should have ended.

 

[vickson420]

Yes it should have however with a beardie that young relocation stress can lead to death or decline and he just may never have recovered from it.Remember relocation stress causes and actually physical response.General intestinal distress,increased coccidia count,etc. any of these things in a hatchling could easily lead to death.This is why it is very ill advised for a breeder to release hatchlings before they are 6-8 weeks old at least.Your care seems absolutely fine and while the missed bath didnt help it definately was not the sole cause of his passing.

 

[milly4lyf]

hello there
sorry u lost your baby. we know how u fell, we lost two. i don't think it was your falt. i think they die easyer when they are very young and don't really know if sometimes they are sick when u get them and would of not made it no madder how good u take care of them. i say this because we got another one alittle older and she is wonderful so i know we are taking care of them right. the only thing i can think of that we might of did wrong with the two we lost was. it was winter and they were so little i didn't want to get them sick so we didn't give them a bath everytime we felt we should have. maybey not wanting to get them sick is what what did, we fell so bad. i can tell u love the little guy, but don't blame yourself. don't be afraid to get another one they are such wonderful animal's. this website is wonderful i learded so much and i know u have too. u will be a wonderful family for another lucky guy or girl. take care friend...

 

[Sj45]

alright thanks, I agree this website is amazing for answers, hopefully it wasn't my fault and I am not doing anything extremely wrong. I may be getting another dragon this weekend.

thanks again, scott.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Scott, if you should, we require pictures
We want to ohhh and ahhh over your new Master ! Please don't feel down. As Vicky said, that young, anything could have triggered his decline. Big Hug !

We went over everything, and I really can't see anything you specifically did wrong ! So, that must mean it was the baby himself that just didn't recover.
If you need, we can all get together, and give you a Family "group" hug ! Just a warning, some of us hug hard

Cheer up, and remember to take that camera!
Janie.

 

[melissadiane7]

Hi Scott,

I lost a gecko 3 months after buying it from a pet store. I took good care of her but in the end it had to be something wrong within her from the start. It was unexplainable. I even spent a ton of money on vet bills. I will never buy another animal from a pet shop again.

Anyway, I would suggest sticking with reptile expo's to buy another one or order one online from a breeder. I was in search for so long. Either I didn't like the price or the living conditions or the fact that the breeder was mass producing them & really just didn't care all that much. I also was pickey about what I wanted in color & in age. I didn't want to get one too young because of the higher risk of death. I wanted to find one locally too because I felt shipping was too stressful on them. However, on Monday I ordered my little girl from Rainbowbeardeddragons.com. Tamara really worked with me on my concerns. She reassured me that shipping BD's is okay because when you cover them up they go to sleep. She gets them ready right before they leave to be shipped & within 12 hours I had her.

When she arrived she didn't seem stressed at all. A little chilly from not being under the lights but she was fine. She arrived yesterday morning. She is beautiful too. She ate right out of my hand last night (crickets & a few bites of apricote). She was born in April. Tamara told me exactly what she was feeding her & the percentages of everything too (very percise). I felt she really knew her dragons & cared deeply for them. She is out of Portland Orgon.

There are a ton of breeders out there so just know what you want & don't settle for anything less than what you want. Research everything. I can't begin to tell you things that shocked me that I had found & discovered that wasn't good. Just like anything, there are good breeders & their are not so good ones. Do your research.

I was buying my crickets at a pet shop too. Tamara referenced the place that she buys her's out of Georgia. Shipping cost are always a problem but considering you know that they are coming right from the supplier who is gut loading them & that they are used for reptile food, is very reasurring to me. As a matter of fact I am waiting for my box of crickets to come now. You can pick the exact size you want. They have pictures of the sizes. Mine is eating 1/2". The web site is www.ghann.com

Here is a picture of my new little girl.

 

[zebraflavencs]

Oh lookit her ! Tamera is beautiful ! And I am sure the picture doesn't do her Justice !
Congrates on the new baby girl !
Janie.

Come on Scott. Gotta find that 'just right' Master for yourself !
Oh, and if you get one a tad older, that helps out too. A 3 month old is more hardier than an 8 week old

 

[melissadiane7]

Hi Janie,

Thank you....now for the adjustment period :? Anyway, Tamara is actually the lady I bought her from. I think we are going to name her Ruby since she is a Crimson red.

Scott,

Also, in regards to the crickets. I used to buy a box of 500 from a pet store & usually about 50 to 75% of those died before I could even use them. However, when I got a box from someone at the reptile expo....I barely lost any. So when you figure the cost of wasting vs the added cost of shipping it should come out equal. Plus did you notice that there is only about $1. difference from 250 to 500? All you need to do is get a good size rubbermaid tote & put some cricket food & cricket drink in there (change the drink daily to avoid bacteria) without substrate, with cardboard egg cartons or paper towel tubes & they should last you awhile. Also, who knows maybe your baby BD picked up something from an infected cricket. Oh & that's another thing you would want to clean out the dead crickets when they do die. Just scope em up & the live one's will just run to the other side. Honestly, with how many crickets a BD eats....this is the way to go. At least it works for me.

So what area are you in? Would you mind if we would help you find a BD? It's so much fun looking at them & searching them out. What color & sex are you looking for? I am sure all of us have someone we can direct you too for you to check out. And it doesn't sound like you did anything wrong with the last one but I know the feeling of losing one (especially the first one)....you tend to be gun shy on the next one. Just stay away from those pet stores. I wish they would only sell pet supplies & not live animals. It seems the more I learn about different animals the more I cringe when I see how they are kept at a pet store. I know they are only there temporarily & this is just a quick set up until they are sold but it still really gets too me.

I have seen pet shop's that have Baby Beardies that look like they are only about 1 or 2 weeks old at best & as a matter of fact....almost always I see one or two in there that are dead. I've even seen dead one's in their water dishes

I am a little long winded but your story is just too close to what I've been through & I have done everything possible to avoid that again. Only mine was with gecko's. I've had positive experiences with BD's. You will too. Just hang in there. And Janie, I agree what that other person said about you....you are a real encouragement.

Good luck Scott.