milo0
Hatchling Dragon
- Messages
- 92
Hey all,
I was hoping I could get a few opinions on an issue that has bothered me since it's happened and hasn't really healed. I lost my first bearded dragon last May due to... well, I don't know. He wasn't even 2 years old when he passed away which saddens me to this day. I honestly just want to know if you guys think what was wrong with him was due to my care, or something I couldn't control.
Basically he went lethargic months prior to his passing, and at one point didn't poop for nearly a month. I thought it was brumation since he was sleeping a lot. However he had gotten to the point where even when bathing him, he'd be so completely lethargic to where he wouldn't hold himself up. He always kept his eyes closed, even when not asleep, and was rarely active. Brought him to the vet, everything checked out fine- poop sample was fine, physical body was fine, eyes, ears, mouth- everything was perfect. Yet something was going on that we didn't know about. I spent another $200 (already spent a good $150 on testing and antibiotics/vit shot) to do a blood test which guess what? Turned out 100% healthy. All the vet recommended to do was leave him outside in a container to get natural UVB.
I did this everyday for 2 weeks, usually when I got home for a 2-3 hour time frame. The container had a small opening at the top because the screen didn't fit, but we don't have those lighting bugs here so I wasn't worried of him consuming anything dangerous. The container was half shaded half sun, so I thought I was doing everything right until the day where everything fell. I went to bring him inside and he was in a corner on the container, completely black, eyes closed, and breathing in short gasps. I panicked and brought him inside and tried bathing him. It was only in the 80's with a slight breeze so I never would have thought it COULD have been heat stroke but I didn't know what else to do. The vet was closed, so I bathed him and gave him "CPR" through a straw. He went into a coma soon after, with his head tilted up, body still black, but stopped breathing visibly. He passed over night when I saw the color was gone and his head was down.
It's so hard to talk about this because I still feel like I did this. If I hadn't put him outside, I feel like he would still be alive. But then I think back on the weeks of him acting so sick and lethargic to where even the vet was puzzled, and I question if it was something out of my control that just took place when he was outside. Was this some sort of genetic problem that caused his death? I don't know, I honestly just need to find peace with this because I'm so paranoid and scared of losing my 2nd little guy the same way. I really just want to hear what you all think and if you've gone through something similar.
Here's the last picture I got of him. He was an incredible 23 inches long with beautiful colors and an amazing personality. I still miss him
I was hoping I could get a few opinions on an issue that has bothered me since it's happened and hasn't really healed. I lost my first bearded dragon last May due to... well, I don't know. He wasn't even 2 years old when he passed away which saddens me to this day. I honestly just want to know if you guys think what was wrong with him was due to my care, or something I couldn't control.
Basically he went lethargic months prior to his passing, and at one point didn't poop for nearly a month. I thought it was brumation since he was sleeping a lot. However he had gotten to the point where even when bathing him, he'd be so completely lethargic to where he wouldn't hold himself up. He always kept his eyes closed, even when not asleep, and was rarely active. Brought him to the vet, everything checked out fine- poop sample was fine, physical body was fine, eyes, ears, mouth- everything was perfect. Yet something was going on that we didn't know about. I spent another $200 (already spent a good $150 on testing and antibiotics/vit shot) to do a blood test which guess what? Turned out 100% healthy. All the vet recommended to do was leave him outside in a container to get natural UVB.
I did this everyday for 2 weeks, usually when I got home for a 2-3 hour time frame. The container had a small opening at the top because the screen didn't fit, but we don't have those lighting bugs here so I wasn't worried of him consuming anything dangerous. The container was half shaded half sun, so I thought I was doing everything right until the day where everything fell. I went to bring him inside and he was in a corner on the container, completely black, eyes closed, and breathing in short gasps. I panicked and brought him inside and tried bathing him. It was only in the 80's with a slight breeze so I never would have thought it COULD have been heat stroke but I didn't know what else to do. The vet was closed, so I bathed him and gave him "CPR" through a straw. He went into a coma soon after, with his head tilted up, body still black, but stopped breathing visibly. He passed over night when I saw the color was gone and his head was down.
It's so hard to talk about this because I still feel like I did this. If I hadn't put him outside, I feel like he would still be alive. But then I think back on the weeks of him acting so sick and lethargic to where even the vet was puzzled, and I question if it was something out of my control that just took place when he was outside. Was this some sort of genetic problem that caused his death? I don't know, I honestly just need to find peace with this because I'm so paranoid and scared of losing my 2nd little guy the same way. I really just want to hear what you all think and if you've gone through something similar.
Here's the last picture I got of him. He was an incredible 23 inches long with beautiful colors and an amazing personality. I still miss him
