Blackbeardie
Member
I recently lost my four year old beardie after a very rapid illness, with no specific signs that I could identify regarding a cause. Obviously, it’s too late for her, but I’m curious if anyone might have any insight into what had happened here.
About two weeks before, she had gone into her hide and slept for days at a time. This was not unusual for her; she goes into light brumation around the start of fall each year. As I have done every year, I pulled her out about every 7 to 10 days, gave her a bath, and offered her water and food. She typically stays up for a day or two, and goes back to sleep.
This time, I pulled her out after about seven or eight days down, and other than her usual “why did you pull me out of bed?” glare, she seemed to be her normal self. She had her bath, drank a bit, and even ate a couple of Dubias (no encouragement needed). I expected her to go back to her usual pattern.
However, the next day she had not gone into her hide and looked terrible. She was laying with her mouth slightly open, which I’d never seen do before, and she seemed swollen around her eyes. There was nothing visibly wrong inside her mouth, and there was no redness, crusting, or swelling of the eyes themselves. She was blackbearding even before I took her out of her cage.
She was very sluggish, and had trouble keeping her eyes open. Her abdomen was not tender, hard, or distended, and she was not coughing, or struggling to breathe. She did not have any skin rashes, ulcers, wounds, or any other identifiable abnormality, other than looking really sick in general and swollen around her eyes. I put her under her basking lamp, and gave her water.
The next day, she looked even worse. She was hanging off her perch and halted partway through a bowel movement. She was almost completely limp, and only intermittently responsive. Again, she looked terrible, but no local identifiable abnormality other than the nonspecific eye swelling. I listened to her heart and lungs with a stethoscope (I’m a human physician), and they were clear. She took a few drops of water from a syringe, but that was it.
She died the next day. I wasn’t able to get her to see her vet in time, and based on my experience with humans, the way she looked before she died leads me to doubt it would’ve made any difference.
I’m assuming this was sepsis from an infection, but I’m at a loss of the cause or source. I’m posting a few pictures of her shortly before she died, in case anyone here recognizes something.
About two weeks before, she had gone into her hide and slept for days at a time. This was not unusual for her; she goes into light brumation around the start of fall each year. As I have done every year, I pulled her out about every 7 to 10 days, gave her a bath, and offered her water and food. She typically stays up for a day or two, and goes back to sleep.
This time, I pulled her out after about seven or eight days down, and other than her usual “why did you pull me out of bed?” glare, she seemed to be her normal self. She had her bath, drank a bit, and even ate a couple of Dubias (no encouragement needed). I expected her to go back to her usual pattern.
However, the next day she had not gone into her hide and looked terrible. She was laying with her mouth slightly open, which I’d never seen do before, and she seemed swollen around her eyes. There was nothing visibly wrong inside her mouth, and there was no redness, crusting, or swelling of the eyes themselves. She was blackbearding even before I took her out of her cage.
She was very sluggish, and had trouble keeping her eyes open. Her abdomen was not tender, hard, or distended, and she was not coughing, or struggling to breathe. She did not have any skin rashes, ulcers, wounds, or any other identifiable abnormality, other than looking really sick in general and swollen around her eyes. I put her under her basking lamp, and gave her water.
The next day, she looked even worse. She was hanging off her perch and halted partway through a bowel movement. She was almost completely limp, and only intermittently responsive. Again, she looked terrible, but no local identifiable abnormality other than the nonspecific eye swelling. I listened to her heart and lungs with a stethoscope (I’m a human physician), and they were clear. She took a few drops of water from a syringe, but that was it.
She died the next day. I wasn’t able to get her to see her vet in time, and based on my experience with humans, the way she looked before she died leads me to doubt it would’ve made any difference.
I’m assuming this was sepsis from an infection, but I’m at a loss of the cause or source. I’m posting a few pictures of her shortly before she died, in case anyone here recognizes something.
