My Bearded dragon has died. Can anyone tell me why?

[mylizard]

Today me BD has died. He had a UV light that was not due to be changed. He was fed on crickets, mealworms, pepper, tomato, cucumber, round lettuce, dandelion leaves. It had ARKVITS a premix of Nutrobal and ACE-High for routine use as a dietary supplement dust. The hot end was 35 degrees C and the cool end was about 25-27 degrees C and the basking spot about 38-40 degrees C. He had fresh water every day and had calci sand as a substrate. He was 8 months old and had a 5 feet long but 2 feet high and wide wooden vivarium. It was not right next to the window (about 50cm or more away) he got 13hr of UV a day and the heat bulb had a temp thing so if the middle of the vivarium reached 32 degrees C then it goes off and if it gets below 18 degrees C then it goes on. Then recently he stopped eating and had shedding problems. Then he started to dribble poo. He was then sick and we were going to phone the vets the next morning. Then he started to get better so me and mum thought he had something mildly wrong and was getting better. He was getting better but about a week later he stopped eating. Today when I got him out he had goo in his eye and was very weak but we could not phone the vets as it’s the Jubilee. So we were going to phone first thing tomorrow. Then he died. His mouth looks fine and overall he looks fine apart from being a bit underweight and his bottom was a bit swollen. Does anyone have any ideas why he died.

 

[Pat B]

I am sorry your beardie died. We can really get attached to them. May your little dragon RIP. I don't know why he died....sounds like you were doing everything right.

 

[sircactuscat]

Sorry your Beardie died You seemed to have done everything right however I don't think Tomatoes are good for them. Sorry for your loss!

 

[mylizard]

The only reason I gave him tomatoes was because someone said it’s ok for them. But when I get another I won’t to be safe. We have taken out the sand and disinfected the vivarium and logs and branches and stones. Tomorrow where going to look for a new one as it does not appear anything we did was wrong. I did really like him. His name was Albus and he would get a bit angry at the archer fish and puff his beard. And he would puff out his beard and turn it black and start gaping if Erick my tire track eel came out of his cave. Erick would gap and show his spines. Albus would then hiss and charge of my bed at Erick so then I would pick him up. I got Albus for Christmas and Erick for my birthday nearly a month ago. But in his vivarium his routine was wake up at 7am when the lights go on. Then have a poo and have some food and fall asleep under the heat bulb until 2pm. Then I would tack him out for about half a hr. then I would put him back where he would move on to his branch and sleep till he lights go of. Then reposition himself on the branch and sleep all night. Could this have been a sign that something was wrong or him being lazy? And humidity was 20-40 and he had a warm bath once a week.

 

[Dubya11]

Yeah, don't ever use Calcium Sand.. Could your Dragon maybe have died due to Impaction from the Sand.

 

[mylizard]

Yeah, don't ever use Calcium Sand.. Could your Dragon maybe have died due to Impaction from the Sand.

I thought the point of calci sand is to prevent impaction. And in practical reptile keeping the July 2011 one when they talked about this guy who was breeding Tibetan frog eyed geckos. It said “At first Jason kept them on sand but even though their food was supplemented with mineral powder and some was left in a dish for them, they would still consume sand and this could be found in their faeces. As a result, he switched to Calci-sand and mixed in some ProReptile mineral powder. After the switch, no more of the substrate was present in their droppings...” so how could his have impacted. And there was no sign of sand in his poo and ate ether from a dish or from my hand.

 

[mylizard]

I have been looking on the forum and now understand that’s its bad. I don’t think that is what killed him as I would have thought there would have been some sand in the poo it that was the case. At the moment we have put in reptile carpet. What good natural looking substrate would anyone recommend? Whenever I get a reptile, amphibian, fish or invertebrate I like it to look as natural as possible. Would a play sand soil mix work? I believe they are from dry scrub rather than desert’s is that right?

 

[jessica domke]

awwww that's sad!!! i'm sorry 2 hear bout ur loss!!!!! in my opinion, i wud stay away from ne sand all 2gether. i just don't see the point in taking the possible risk of impaction. some wud argue, saying certain children's playsand is fine, but in my honest opinion...i wud stay away from the sand just 2 be on the safe side. doesn't sound like that wud have been the cause of death, cuz if so, i don't believe ur beardie's poo wud have been runny. there are many factors 2 consider regarding the cause of ur beardie's death. i think repti-carpet, indoor/outdoor carpet & tile are some of the better choices 4 substrate! beardie's are from australia & i believe most of the australian substrate they're use 2 in the wild is not so much sand, but more so kind of a clay material.

 

[drgnfly2265]

Sorry for your loss My first guess would have been the sand that caused it.

I have been looking on the forum and now understand that’s its bad. I don’t think that is what killed him as I would have thought there would have been some sand in the poo it that was the case. At the moment we have put in reptile carpet. What good natural looking substrate would anyone recommend? Whenever I get a reptile, amphibian, fish or invertebrate I like it to look as natural as possible. Would a play sand soil mix work? I believe they are from dry scrub rather than desert’s is that right?

You wouldn't have found the sand in the poo because it was getting impacted in the stomach.

Try using paper towl, non-adhesive shelf liner, tile, newspaper, or reptile carpet. Those are other options that are a lot safer for beardies.

 

[Josh]

So awfully sorry to hear you lost your dragon My thoughts are with you

 

[Meighan]

I am so sorry for your loss. I doubt it was caused by the sand though so don't beat yourself up. You say he pooped regularly, so this means he wasn't impacted. The concern is that he was 'dribbling poo' and had a gunky eye, which to me sounds like he may have been infected with parasites. Depending on the type of parasite, his little body could have simply become overwhelmed by them. Especially if he had stopped eating and basking. How regularly did you clean out his viv? Also, did you removed his poops as he did them and clean off that area of sand? Sometimes you can do everything right and these things just happen. Nature punches you in the balls for no good reason. Rest in peace little Albus.

 

[mylizard]

Yeah he did a normal poo every day in the morning. We think it may have been some kind of infection or parasite as in the morning he was like how he has been recently. Then at about 11am he started getting a bit weaker. At about 12:30pm he was so weak he could not stay on his log. About 12:50pm he dragged himself in the corner and then about 1:05pm he died. He did bask a lot. Whenever we sore a poo we would tack it out along with the sand and we read that it said to do a full viv clean once every 6 months. So we were planning to do it this Saturday. On the day he died we cleaned out the viv and disinfected it. We have put in repti carpet and got an 8 week old one called Arthur yesterday. I am wondering if there was something wrong when we got Albus because this one is very active. Exploring the cage climbing on the rock pile going in to the cave and running on the branches at the top of the viv. I don’t know if it’s just because he is young or whether there was something was wrong with Albus as all he did was sleep. He was not keen on his veg and only had one bit out of the veg about twice every two weeks will this one is happily eating the veg. some people said cucumber and lettuce is not the best and can give them diorea so this one will get broccoli once a week, pepper twice a week, water cress two times a week and spineg and curly kale three times a week and with each servings he will have two different vegetables and four times a week he will have ARKVITS a premix of Nutrobal and ACE-High for routine use as a dietary supplement dust sprinkled on it and three times a week he will have nutrobal calcium powder three times a week. Does that sound ok or is that two much of the powders? Also he was two months when we got him and we had him for six months so that meant he was about 8 months but he looked like the 4 month old in the photo. Could that have been a sign of something?

 

[jessica domke]

babies are always active lil buggers, when acquiring a new beardie, it's always best 2 get the most active 1. this means it's a healthy lil bugger. i wud stay away from spinach. it binds calcium & that is NOT good 4 beardies!!!! from my experience, a baby shud get calcium powder every day & multi-vitamin powder every other day. than as he gets older, u shud change it up 2 calcium powder every other day & multi-vitamin powder once a week. here is a list of goodies i feed my beardie that maybe u shud look in2 instead of wut u have listed: mustard greens, collard greens, dandelion greens, turnip greens, kale(occasionally), watercress(when the grocery stores have it available)cactus pads, mango, peas, green beans, just bout ne type of squash, red/green peppers(occasionally), blueberries(occasionally), apples(very occasionally), watermelon(very occasionally). 2 much fruit can make a dragon's poo runny. so i wud only advice feeding fruit once or twice a week. others on this forum may have different feelings bout wut i said, but that's wut i've always done w/my beardie & he's a happy, healthy fattie w/no problems!!!

 

[Germ]

Hear is a good Nutrition Chart for what is good & not so good to feed that you may find helpful.

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

 

[mylizard]

Thanks for the help. I do find it annoying that there is so much confusion on what plant material to feed them. You read on internet websites that it’s then different in the book. You then ask the pet shop they say different things I just find it annoying that everywhere you look the info is different. I think all the top people in beaded dragon breeding and stuff should get to gather and make a website saying exactly what’s good and what’s bad. The only reason I don’t want to give it dandelion leaves is because every year we have a massive ant problem so mum puts the poison everywhere and I am scared he/she might get poisoned.

 

[mylizard]

I don’t know if I should have one. I think I am doing the right thing like have the calci sand but that’s bad. Then with the veg I feed it what it said on the internet then I feed what it said in the book. Then the pet shop (pets at home) say they feed theirs different stuff. I hoped to be a herp breeder like Brian Barczyk when I was older all my life but it seems I can’t even feed a BD properly which is one of the easiest reptiles to keep so how can I look after the other things I would like when I am older. I know looking after reptiles is not easy but I don’t want this one to die because of me. Should I take it back and just give up on reptiles? Be honest I don’t mind.

 

[Pat B]

I only go to this site for information. It is by far the best site for beardies. The moderators and other members give very good information. I 'might' look elsewhere for something about beardies but always come back to this site and listen to what people say. There is a tremendous amount of info on the internet about beardies. It will drive you nuts. That is why I go here for the help or questions that I might have. I trust what people say here. I don't trust pet stores. Every one that works in the reptile section will have a different answer so I take whatever they say with a grain of salt. Listen to what people have to say here....they won't steer you wrong....Good luck with your new beardie....Pat B/Columbia SC

 

[Germ]

I don’t know if I should have one. I think I am doing the right thing like have the calci sand but that’s bad. Then with the veg I feed it what it said on the internet then I feed what it said in the book. Then the pet shop (pets at home) say they feed theirs different stuff. I hoped to be a herp breeder like Brian Barczyk when I was older all my life but it seems I can’t even feed a BD properly which is one of the easiest reptiles to keep so how can I look after the other things I would like when I am older. I know looking after reptiles is not easy but I don’t want this one to die because of me. Should I take it back and just give up on reptiles? Be honest I don’t mind.

It is very unfortunate about what has happened in the past. I agree, there is much confusion out there when it comes to info on these guys. Pet shops are notorious for giving misinformation, the chances of finding any, or even an employee, that is species specific knowledgeable, are few & far between. The same is true with many so called 'Herp' Vets, while they have the equipment & knowledge to check for specific ailments, very few are species specific knowledgeable in their care & give generic advice. We have to be able to pick & choose between the good info, the not so good & this can be difficult, when first starting out. Here are a couple of more links found on this site that you can trust not to steer you wrong ...

Basic BD Care Guide
Bearded Dragon - Exclusive Care Library

I think it would also be a very good idea, if you posted pics of your setup, that show all your lighting & distances, with detailed info on the temps, where they are measured from & with what, your Day\Night schedule, Feeding schedule, etc, etc.

There have been many instances, where keepers may have had all the right equipment, but improperly set up, rendering them to be effective. If you can show us & help us understand the situation, then we can point you into the right direction of raising a Happy, Healthy Dragon.

There are Many knowledgeable people on this forum, for the most part the info is true & good. While some opinions & personal preferences may vary, that's what it is, personal preferences, the basics are generally quite standard & undisputed.

Good Luck, post some pics, we'll help you out.

 

[jessica domke]

Thanks for the help. I do find it annoying that there is so much confusion on what plant material to feed them. You read on internet websites that it’s then different in the book. You then ask the pet shop they say different things I just find it annoying that everywhere you look the info is different. I think all the top people in beaded dragon breeding and stuff should get to gather and make a website saying exactly what’s good and what’s bad. The only reason I don’t want to give it dandelion leaves is because every year we have a massive ant problem so mum puts the poison everywhere and I am scared he/she might get poisoned.

well u really shudnt feed ur beardie nething u get from outside, being live food or not. u never kno wut it cud have came across. thankfully i have an organic market i purchase my dandelion greens from. but u can always buy seeds off ebay 4 very cheap & grow em urself!

 

[mylizard]

It is very unfortunate about what has happened in the past. I agree, there is much confusion out there when it comes to info on these guys. Pet shops are notorious for giving misinformation, the chances of finding any, or even an employee, that is species specific knowledgeable, are few & far between. The same is true with many so called 'Herp' Vets, while they have the equipment & knowledge to check for specific ailments, very few are species specific knowledgeable in their care & give generic advice. We have to be able to pick & choose between the good info, the not so good & this can be difficult, when first starting out. Here are a couple of more links found on this site that you can trust not to steer you wrong ...

Basic BD Care Guide
Bearded Dragon - Exclusive Care Library

I think it would also be a very good idea, if you posted pics of your setup, that show all your lighting & distances, with detailed info on the temps, where they are measured from & with what, your Day\Night schedule, Feeding schedule, etc, etc.

There have been many instances, where keepers may have had all the right equipment, but improperly set up, rendering them to be effective. If you can show us & help us understand the situation, then we can point you into the right direction of raising a Happy, Healthy Dragon.

There are Many knowledgeable people on this forum, for the most part the info is true & good. While some opinions & personal preferences may vary, that's what it is, personal preferences, the basics are generally quite standard & undisputed.

Good Luck, post some pics, we'll help you out.

I will try to get a photo of the viv up tomorrow at some point. Can’t do it now as the uv light is off and it’s so dark you can’t see anything.