New to the forum, lost my beardie a few days ago...

[SammySimon]

I've always read posts from the forum, I had Simon from May 2009 until his death 3 days ago.
He was like my child, and I'm still very distraught over the loss. He stopped eating and would vomit anything I tried to syringe feed. His setup/temps/lighting hasn't changed since I got him in 2009. His substrate has always been newspaper. I replaced the bulbs as needed and fed him crickets and turnip greens as a staple, with a few treats like squash and fruit every so often. I don't believe his death was a result of poor care, because I pampered him. I had been in a financial bind for a few months due to hospital bills, but I've got the funds and I finally made an appointment with the herp vet (Several hours away from me, I was willing to travel) only for him to die a few days prior.
He was so loved by everyone. His death has really devastated me.
Has anyone experienced a loss like this? If so, how long did it take you before you could bring yourself to get another dragon?
Simon was my companion, and I would like to EVENTUALLY have another beardie.
Sorry for the long winded post, I'm just admiring everyone's beardies and wishing I still had my baby with me.

 

[Loganator]

So sorry for your loss. My heart goes out to you. We have not experienced this, but I can imagine the pain if/when our Izzy passes. He is 6 years old now and we've had him since he was 6 weeks. So we are very attached. I'm sure that Simon could feel your love for him and he passed knowing you did all that you could for him.

 

[SammySimon]

Simon knew who "mom" was, that's for sure. He loved me in his own scaly way. He had such strange little mannerisms and personality quirks, like he tried to eat EVERYTHING colored green, and he would NOT eat/drink anything if I tried dripping it on his nose (Which was frustrating at times!).
Thank you, I appreciate it

 

[ClydesGirl]

I had a similar situation with my Clyde who passed away on July 18. He stopped eating altogether. I tried syringe feeding him baby food, but it got to the point where even that wasn't working. I finally found a local vet that is familiar with bearded dragons (you have NO IDEA how hard that was!), but it was too late. Even though I'd tried to mentally prepare myself for the inevitability of his death, I still took it SUPER hard. I pretty much cried for three days straight. I was completely useless at work. They should give bereavement leave for pets like they do for family members!

I decided fairly quickly that I wanted to get another beardie. They are such amazing pets and we'd invested a lot of time and care into customizing a viv for Clyde, so I didn't want that to go to waste. We ended up getting Bert just a week after Clyde passed. I love Bert to death already! Then, in a fit of pure impulse, I got a SECOND beardie last week. His name is Stanely and he's just a baby. He's deathly afraid of me still, so I can't say we've really bonded yet. Right now I'm just worried about getting him to trust me enough that he doesn't starve to death.

Here are some pics to cheer you up! And you can always check out Bert on my live web stream in my sig. (Working on getting a cam set up for Stanley.)

Bert:

Stanley:

This thread has a whole bunch of pictures of my Clyde from when he was a baby all the way until he was grown:
http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=37&t=173870

 

[SammySimon]

Beardies are such amazing companions, so I most definitely want another, but god I've been so horribly depressed for the past three days!
I'm so happy you've got such cute/healthy babies now!
Your picture thread for Clyde looks just like pictures I've got ALL over my wall of Simon. I've never spent more than a few days away from him for the past 3 years. So now I feel like I'm missing my other half. It's horrible. Also, upon further reading/research, I believe his MVB is what initiated the downward spiral. I bought a Powersun UV and had it about 12" from his basking spot. This bulb has caused problems with other beardie owners, and I had only had it for a month before Simon went. The only reason I even bought it is because I originally bought a MegaRay (Which I heard great things about) and they were on back order. Yet here I am 2 months later, and I have yet to receive that bulb! I've already emailed them demanding a refund or the bulb I bought well over two months ago...
There's a reptile show coming up in Tampa in October that I'm strongly considering getting my new baby at. I like shows because most breeders will let you check out/hold beardies if you're considering buying. I'm going to take the time until then to mourn Simon. I called him my Man, he was the scaly love of my life!
Your post did cheer me up a little, I'm just at the hardest part of the loss right now. Life without Simon is dull at best.

 

[BeardieMommy3991]

I went through the same thing about a year ago, when we lost our dragon to cancer. I could barely look at his Viv without remembering him in it. It wasn't until May 5th of this year when I got my new baby, but that was more because school and things had us too busy for another one.

While It is good to mourn, I think another dragon can help to heal the wound, with it's little bobble-head tilts and snugglebutts.

*hugs* from toothless and I.

 

[ClydesGirl]

I know EXACTLY how you feel. I found that getting everything ready for Bert's arrival (obviously had a lot of cleaning and disinfecting to do) and the excitement of getting Bert, then just the incredible amount of work involved with taking care of Bert (he's an eating MACHINE plus he has coccidia and pin worms) really helped distract me from the loss of Clyde. I know it might seem terrible and that I "replaced" Clyde, but I still miss him every single day. I kind of jokingly say that I got Stanley because it's going to take two beardies to fill the Clyde-shaped hole in my heart, but it's sort of half true...

 

[XtinaBeardieMom]

I'm so sorry for your loss I can't go into too much detail concerning my own experience with losing a beardie without getting really upset, but you can read the story of my little Monster's death here >>> viewtopic.php?f=1&t=171311 if you want. She passed away on 6/12/12 (RIP my sweet baby girl) and I was pretty incapacitated for several weeks. I just brought home another beardie, Captain, last Friday - 2 months after Monster passed. I don't think there's any standard timelines for these kinds of things. Just give yourself time to grieve, however long it takes. Some people get a new beardie almost immediately because it helps to heal their hearts. Some people wait several months or even years before they can bring themselves to get another dragon. The pain never fully goes away, but only you will know when you're ready to bring another beardie home. Again, I'm so sorry for your loss and I wish you the best in recovering from this traumatic experience. You'll be in my thoughts...

 

[lauraj1055]

Reading these posts make me sad, as I am watching my Ollie slip away everyday. I am trying so hard to keep him alive, but right now I am the only thing keeping him alive. He won't eat anything, is anorexic, his eyes are sunken in, fat pads on his head and tail depleted. I know it's going to be hard when he goes.. but right now it is really hard as he stays, and I have to watch him like this everyday

 

[bunnyrut]

i am so sorry about Simon.

I agree with everyone here, you'll know when you are ready to bring home a new baby to care for. They really have a way of digging into your heart.

there is a memorial section in the thread if you wanted to post up a tribute to him.

 

[Ozzybaby]

My boyfriend and I lost our little boy on August 13th. His name was Ozzy and we adored him. He was out exploring and he came across a coat hook and swallowed it. We rushed him to our vet, but sadly he passed away a couple of hours after surgery. He had suffered too much internal bleeding from the sharp edges on the hook. We were devastated. He was our baby, and he was just a year old.

My boyfriend and i differed in what to do about getting another one. I wanted to wait, but he wanted to go ahead and get another so he had something to focus on and pour his love into. So we got a baby girl who we have called "Nya". She is beautiful and i don't regret our decision at all. She can't replace Ozzy, but already she has won my heart.

Im sorry for your loss, I know your pain.