RIP Beardie

[Psycho]

I woke up this morning and all was fine in the beardie tank. I have about a 12'' beardie and my older 6'' beardie in there together. About 2 hours later I went back and my little beardies eyes were VERY swollen and full of the substrate. It looked as if someone held his eyes open and shoved the stuff in there. It also looked like his head exploded through his eyes or something. Well needless to say I washed him off and put him by himself in a critter keeper with extra warmth, but he passed away. This was our first lizard ever. Poor guy. I dont know if he got in a fight with the other beardie, but they were doing just fine. Sleeping together ect. He was also slimy around his mouth. Like a lot of beardie spit or something. I miss they poor baby already. I'll tell you one thing. If my baby Tiny (the burm) dies I'm givin up on buying any more reptiles. My heart hurts

~~~Psycho's wife~~~

 

[Psycho]

Upon closer inspection he's not dead... yet..... I gave him some water, but his eyes arent there anymore I dont think... and some of his teeth seem crushed. Like a couple sections of them are ripped out.. Should I just put him out of his misery? If so how do I do it? Should I freeze him?

 

[scorpio]

From your description, it sounds like hes on his last leg. At this point, id freeze him to end his suffering. Ive never done this with reptiles, but its seems like a humane thing to do.

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

It almost sounds like his head was crushed. Is he bleeding? Maybe the larger one bit him. Can he move his jaws, and will his eyes open? I do not know what to tell you about euthanizing him, as I am not able to see the injuries that he has sustained, but it does not sound good for him. Can you post any pictures if he is still alive? I am very sorry that this had to happen to you, I just had a young female reverse striped/banana kingsnake die suddenly. She had been active and normal all day, and I found that she had regurgitated her pinkie mouse that had been in her stomach for a week and had barely been digested and there was tan diarrhea all over the tank. She had died. That was a complete shock, because she had eaten readily, been normally active, and had normal stools untill she died. Nonetheless, I would like to hear what happens with your dragon regardless of the outcome.

Aubrey

 

[Love to Foxtrot]

I hate to contradict, but I have heard that freezing is a very painful death. Is this true?

Aubrey

 

[MrT]

Bearded dragons are known for killing smaller cage mates.
It happened to me.
Sorry bout your dragon.

Ern

This is from my B.dragon book by Vosjoli, Mailloux, Donoghue, V.M.D
Baby bearded dragons raised in groups are very competitive and early on will form hierarchies in which the tougher and usually larger animals will intimidate smaller ones, eat most of the food, and grow faster, making them even more intimidating and dominating. If small specimens are not segregated from the larger specimens, the small ones will often hide, fare poorly, or eventually become food for their bigger brothers and sisters.

Ern

 

[Valael]

My guess would be the larger one attacked the littler one also.

It doesn't seem overly rare that the larger one bites the littler one.

 

[Ravnos]

Beardies are very territorial, especially if they both happen to be male. The sheer size difference would automatically have made the smaller one be intimidated and stressed. I'm sorry for your loss, but it stresses the importance of researching.

Freezing is a very painful way to die, but unfortunately being able to just put an animal in a dark box and walk away - not having to directly do it yourself is easier, mentally for most people put in a euthanasia situation. Beardies are remarkably tough, its hard to say - he may come around. A very difficult decision to make.

Rav

 

[Psycho]

well to let every one know our little beardie died this morning:8o
The thing that hurts the most is we raised him from a baby and Beth was very attached to the little guy...but life must continue and a lesson learned...thanx for all the support guys and we still love the big guy, maybe one day we will get another beardie but for now we are satisfied..and again thanx for your support


~~~Psycho~~~

 

[atavuss]

Originally posted by Psycho
well to let every one know our little beardie died this morning:8o
The thing that hurts the most is we raised him from a baby and Beth was very attached to the little guy...but life must continue and a lesson learned...thanx for all the support guys and we still love the big guy, maybe one day we will get another beardie but for now we are satisfied..and again thanx for your support


~~~Psycho~~~

I had a male and female Beardie that were raised from hatchlings into adulthood. the male killed the female, they had plenty of room, both were well fed also. goes to show that it is always best to house herps one to an enclosure IMO.
BTW, my male beardie is getting wobbly.......he is probably around 8 years old now. anyone else have beardies that are in their "golden" years?
Ed

 

[stu]

Ed,

My oldest beardy is apparantly going on 10 years old now - I cant be sure of the age as I only got him a few years back from a friend, but i was told he was about 7/8 years when I got him.

How long do they live for on average? and whats the oldest beardy anyone has had?

I know ill be gutted when the old fella pops off, he is without a doubt my favorite.

cheers,

Stu.

 

[Ravnos]

The literature says that bearded dragon life span is around 7 to 10 years... but with good care and good diet, I don't see why they may not live a little longer. I seem to recall reading a zoo manual a while back that said 15 years though I've never heard of one that age myself.

Rav