Why did my pygmy beardie die?

[Ali]

Hey all
i have just discovered that Draco my male pygmy beardie is dead. I was wondering if anyone ahd any answers.
He is approx 2yrs old and has been active and healthy until now. Last night (about 6) I fed him as usual - 6 woodies. He normally eats 5 but as these were smaller I decided to give him more. he refused the 7th so I left it at that. I gave him fresh water and misted his enclosure with water as well. He seemed fine but did leave his mouth open for a little longer after i finished feeding.

Does anyone have any ideas?
thanx ali

[Chris1]

when was the last time he crapped?
what kind of substrate is in his tank?

what are his temps?

has he been acting funny/shaky or anything lately??

did u have him the full 2 years or only get him recently?

why do u mist his enclosure?
Could he have and a respritary infection to have been leaving his mouth open?

so my ideas are either impaction or RI, i think MBD (calcium deficiency) would have been slower and he would have been weak and acting off for a while first.

sorry to hear he died, that must really suck.

[redbellybite]

AWWWW poor you but it would be hard to find out on here why he died maybe a vet could help u more......as chris said so many possibillities...................

[JasonL]

from that post, I noticed you said "misted his enclosure" and mentioned he left his mouth open longer? How often do you mist ? and what is the humidity level in the enclosure? humid enclosures will cause a respiratory infection which will cause them to "gape" he should only have his mouth open whilst basking during hot weather, though saying that, symptoms of RI usually go for some time before death, and the most common cause for quick deaths from dragons is calcium related.

[Ali]

mayb it was the calcium thing... i do dust his woodies but havent lately as i thought he was getting too much...
i misted his enclosure because i thought it was the right thing to do... i only mist once every few weeks not often. temps at about 28C. i dont know exact humidity but it doesnt feel like any at all.
thanx for the responses..
ali

[Ali]

does any1 else ahve any ideas?

[midnightserval]

Might have been something as simple as food stuck in his throat and inhibited breathing. Dont blame yourself, sometimes these things happen.

[Repz]

Do you have any big rocks stacked up together in an enclosure as he could of wedged himself between them and they could of slipped on him and suffocated because the rocks were to heavy ?
Thats what happened to my brothers adult centralian last year

[Ali]

no rocks together...
k well thanx for the kind words guys!

[dragon lady]

sorry for your loss....xo's to your dragon now with wings..

temps...28* ...is that at the hot end under basking light & U.V
at cool end or mid range?

i mist my tank when ive changed the tank....to flatten the sand
i bath mine during spring/summer weekly....autumn/winter when they get too grubby,individually (unless brumating)
this & other desert dwellers dont need the thick air caused by misting ...
the other species like Boyds Forest Dragon could take a bit higher humidity...liken to their environment

im really glad you are asking what went wrong.....none of us will probably have a 100% answer
only a reptile vet with knowledge of his full history may have,maybe not?
as we all do,you feel responsible......need answers......
unfortunately.....you may not get all of them...& they wont bring him back
it can happen to anyone....not just you ....

if your thinking of getting another....start fresh....from the beginning
read all you can ...see if you can correct anything you did previously
asking questions is great

smile when you think of him...im sure he is with you!