# Baby bearded died today.



## axbrown (May 30, 2011)

So I posted like a week ago about a baby bearded dragon I bought from my work. (petsmart) and a couple days ago it stopped eating and today it died. I'm gonna list everything that happened and I would appreciate it if you guys would tell me if it was my fault, or if she may have been sick already. Well at first I got her, she was eating fine, three times a day, and I had a heating pad and a 50 watt basking bulb for a 5 and a half gallon tank, with a half log hide, a water dish, a climbing stick, and reptile carpet. Now the heating pad covered the whole underside of the tank, and I put too layers of carpet over one half of the tank, for a cooler side. About 4 days later I ran out of small crickets, and gave her the smallest large cricket I had, just one, which she downed in a second. Then I got back from work with small meal worms and fed her a couple of those. She ate them fine, but the next morning wouldn't eat em. I went to work since we got small crickets in stock, and she ate them fine. She was pooping normal in the meen time as well. Then she just stopped, wouldn't eat crickets, mealworms, nothing. Over the next few days, she wouldn't eat or move, so yesterday I hand fed her crickets, and water. Did the same this morning, and she pooped but was so lethargic it dried to her bottom side. I also gave her baths to soak a couple times during the process. So today she wasn't getting any better, and livin in this part of Georgia, there are no exotic vets... So I called pender vet clinic in D.C where I used to live, and they said to get a UVB bulb to help her digest her food. When I got back, I put something to get closer to the bulb, a bigger water dish, and the UVB bulb. She started perking up and looking around, and when I got back from work later she was dead. All this happened in a 10 day period. Any ideas what went wrong? Please let me know since I'm using my exchange 14 day guarantee tomorrow to replace her. I also know to feed them veggies like collards and kale, I just didn't have time to get any ghz past week. And thought she would be fine until my family left town tomorrow. Also, last thing, I'm moving the next one to a 40 gallon tank to help him/her thermoregulate easier. Please let me know your opinions. Thanks.


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## super-pede (May 30, 2011)

not to be harsh but the first wrong move was buying it from petsmart.
 never buy exotic animals from petsmart or petco.

 please don't replace her using petsmart.
 petco is great for dogs and cats. that's it. most of their exotics aren't cared for properly in the first place.


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## axbrown (May 30, 2011)

yea i can understand why you would say that. The ones at my store are nice and healthy, got good size to em, shedding, eating great. I take pretty good care of them. When I bought her, she was also the smallest one there, if that helps anyone else. And super-pede, thanks for the answer, but as you read I'm getting another one from there for free no matter what. Advice on how my other one died, and how to set up the 40 gallon tank is what I need right now. Thanks.


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## Cuddly Cobalt (May 30, 2011)

axbrown said:


> yea i can understand why you would say that. The ones at my store are nice and healthy, got good size to em, shedding, eating great. I take pretty good care of them. When I bought her, she was also the smallest one there, if that helps anyone else. And super-pede, thanks for the answer, but as you read I'm getting another one from there for free no matter what. Advice on how my other one died, and how to set up the 40 gallon tank is what I need right now. Thanks.


most of the time its just that they were already sick when you got them, i have had an exact situation to yours except with a leopard gecko and a baby chamealion (forgive me for misspelling), I both got them from petco and they both were doing well for a week then died. It could be the drastic environment change? But those events sadly threw me off reptiles for two years and now after starting a collection of tarantulas, i am getting an adult bearded dragon from a guy who is on this forum.


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## axbrown (May 30, 2011)

Good for you man  If this next one dies too, which I doubt it will cus the one I'm getting is already alot bigger than mine was, (they were from the same litter) I'm gonna by a sunburst or something from a breeder, and preferably a young adult, just so I don't have to go through with another baby death. I know this may sound whimpy, but I cried, which I don't usually do.. Not even when I broke my back.


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## Cuddly Cobalt (May 30, 2011)

axbrown said:


> Good for you man  If this next one dies too, which I doubt it will cus the one I'm getting is already alot bigger than mine was, (they were from the same litter) I'm gonna by a sunburst or something from a breeder, and preferably a young adult, just so I don't have to go through with another baby death. I know this may sound whimpy, but I cried, which I don't usually do.. Not even when I broke my back.


i understand bro  i cried when my lizards died, heck i almost cried when my rose haired got injured


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## Crysta (May 30, 2011)

What were the temperatures of the enclosure? If it isn't hot enough beardies won't be able to digest their food properly, and usually a 50w bulb isn't enough for that.


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## axbrown (May 30, 2011)

With the heating pad and the bulb, on the right side of the tank (top right) the thermometer said 105. And there was the stick to climb to that area, and on the left was the cool side. But I only had a thermometer on the right side


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## compnerd7 (May 31, 2011)

First Off, I'm real sorry for your loss... losing a lizard or snake in my house is a huge tragic event

You did alot of good things, soaking her in water, getting the UV bulb set up right ( this is very important), making sure her basking spot was HOT, but remember, they need a cool side too.

To me, it sounds like she was sick. But there were a few things that might have happened. feeding a small dragon anything but very small food can rip up their insides something fierce, i've seen it done then the dragon actually will survive for a while then die.you seemed to do all the right things, you maybe want to try a 10 gal tank so ur dragon has more of an option of too cool off and heat up.

Other then that I can't say much more, I just wish you better luck on your next beardie


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## Entomancer (May 31, 2011)

axbrown said:


> With the heating pad and the bulb, on the right side of the tank (top right) the thermometer said 105. And there was the stick to climb to that area, and on the left was the cool side. But I only had a thermometer on the right side


Did you have UVB _and_ UVA?

Diurnal reptiles that come from desert habitats often need rather intense UV light to properly absorb the nutrients from their food. For young lizards that have gotten sick, it is especially important to be providing the proper levels of heat/cool and light/shade.

I work at petsmart too, and I've had to keep an eagle eye out to make sure that the other useless retards that work there aren't screwing up with the reptiles/amphibians. 

There have been times where I've gotten to work to find that the humidity in the treefrog tanks has dropped below 40%, there are uneaten crickets running around in the leopard gecko tank, etc. 

Basically, for reptiles that need the UVB lighting, you have to have a basking/heat bulb for the heat and another bulb for the UVB, or you can choose from some other more expensive (but higher quality) bulbs that provide both. And also, like the others said, desert reptiles still need a cool spot to go to if they get too warm.

For a long time I was the only one there who knew how to take care of reptiles/inverts properly and cared enough about them to do so.


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## axbrown (Jun 1, 2011)

Yea I didn't start out with a UVB bulb at all.. I never had one with any of my leapord geckos, anoles, russian glass lizards, emerald swifts, plated lizards, snakes, etc. I always wanted a bearded dragon, and finally decided to get one. Well now I have my new beardie in a 40 gallon tank, with a hot spot at about 98 degrees, and a cool side at about 65, and in the middle about 75. And I also have three shade spots, a nice big watter dish, and reptile carpet. i'll post pics when I get home from work. Please let me know what you guys think! And thanks for the help LordRaiden  I know how you feel about keeping reptiles healthy at work. I wish I knew about the UVB bulb though  I feel like an idiot. When I get to work, I'm going to make sure we have one on there tank, or I'm gonna flip a lid


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## Crysta (Jun 1, 2011)

Your hot spot should range from 110-120 depending on the size of the beardie, so you're going to need a stronger light.
I always turned off the hot spot at night, as the desert gets quite cold around that time so it would be only natural. (Can go as low as 65f) But with the timmers set to 6am so I don't forget to turn it on.


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## H. laoticus (Jun 1, 2011)

axbrown said:


> Yea I didn't start out with a UVB bulb at all.. I never had one with any of my leapord geckos, anoles, russian glass lizards, emerald swifts, plated lizards, snakes, etc. I always wanted a bearded dragon, and finally decided to get one. Well now I have my new beardie in a 40 gallon tank, with a hot spot at about 98 degrees, and a cool side at about 65, and in the middle about 75. And I also have three shade spots, a nice big watter dish, and reptile carpet. i'll post pics when I get home from work. Please let me know what you guys think! And thanks for the help LordRaiden  I know how you feel about keeping reptiles healthy at work. I wish I knew about the UVB bulb though  I feel like an idiot. When I get to work, I'm going to make sure we have one on there tank, or I'm gonna flip a lid


I'm glad you're aware now of how essential UVB is to the health of many of your reptiles. I just got a beardie myself and he's a great little guy


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## axbrown (Jun 1, 2011)

Yea I'm glad too. This new one is acting alot more active than my first one was when I got her. She kinda just laid around all the time, where as this one is super active, and follows my movement like a motion detector  And for the hotspot, I think its fine  where it is, cus he doesn't even bask in the hotspot, He's off to the side of it, so I think he's happy the way it is.


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