Beardies Randomly Dieing

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r_boy2251

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IMG_0751.jpgIMG_0755.jpgPicture 299.jpgHey guys a few months ago i had 3 beardies 2 males and 1 female they were 3 and 4 years old first the male (he's usually yellow) turns black and is falling over cant walk or eat i talk him to a reptile specialist and she tells me he had an infection that had spread to the brain next day he's dead :'( then my other male gets an infection in his lip and mouth i take him to the vet 3 or 4 times and pay about $300-400 for antibiotics he gets better then he gets worse again 2 weeks later hes dead then 1 week after that my female drops dead for no reason at all they were all very healthy and stunning lizards they lived in a pit outside i have a shingle back and some blue tongues in there and i havent had a problem with them i want to try again and get a few more at the reptile expo this weekend and just keep them indoors this time but im worried about it happening again should i or should i not??? thanks Jordan
 
Probably give the dragons a miss, brother. At least until you know what caused them to suddenly die...'no reason at all' usually isn't fatal.
 
i had 7 pythons in outside avairy and next to it but about 5 feet away i had a few catch and release pythons waiting to go, 2 days after i released wild snakes my seven started to drop dead one after the other vets had no idea and put it down to no reason at all
 
could it have had something to do with all the cold and wet we've been having,...?
beardies need higher temps than bluies and shingles,....the wrong temps would have left their immune systems functioning poorly and open to anything.
were they centrals? (3rd pic looks like centrals) ive only heard of easterns being recommended in pits.

did you leave the sick one outside while it was on antibiotics?

did the vet say what kind of infection it was?


im surprised the shingle is doing well in this weather, apparently humidity is really bad for them,...

if you do try again, i would definately recommend keeping them indoors, basking spot of 40-45C.
 
they were all centrals, the sick one was on my electric blanket for 2 weeks and i had to syringe feed it a high protein food the vet gave me and the vet didnt say what type of infection it was?
 
2 weeks or heat isnt really long enough to recover from anything once theyre run down,...how long was the course of antibiotics? ive only ever been prescribed a month as a minimum.


the infection could be from food rotting in their stomachs since the temps to digest havent been there.

sorry to hear you lost your guys, im pretty sure if you set them up properly indoors (with the intention of keeping them inside except for nice sunny days outside) you'll do fine with them.

Keep an eye on your shingleback,...if it starts showing any signs of trouble bring it straight inside.
 
Might have better luck with Eastern Beardies rather than Centrals considering your location.

As above, i wouldn't recommend keeping the Shingleback outside or it may suffer the same fate as the Centrals.
 
Yep sounds to me like they didnt get enough heat. When we turn our heat lights off during winter our beardies go really dark.

You can try again but we keep all our reps inside and not leave them to the fate of Sydney weather.
 
Firstly, reptiles do not tend to show signs of illness until it gets severe. Lizards are probably the worst for this. So if you have only had them for a few months, they may well have been going slowly down hill from the start.

Analysing the Situation
You basically need to go through a checklist of husbandry plus other possible environmental factors. It may be a combination of factors.

Some of the other possible environmental factors I can think of that should be considered are...
· Introduction of a virulent disease. This can occur where another reptile is introduced to or near the living area without being quarantined first.
· Reptiles in pits require a perfectly dry retreat that is protected from temperature extremes, regardless of the weather.
· Consistent presence of predators. Large birds, cats or dogs on the cover or barking from the sides of an outside cage, on a regular basis, can keep inmates in a constant state of stress. Dragons are particularly prone in this respect.

Some of the husbandry issues to consider...
· Heat: Been mentioned – affects health in general and digestion in particular.
· UVB access: Does not appear to be an issue here
· Humidity: Animals from semi-arid or arid zone must always be provided with an extensive dry area. They cannot cope with prolonged exposure to wet substrate and their health will suffer accordingly.
· Feeding: Are they getting a balanced diet that is correct for them, not necessarily you think they should have?
· Space: Bearded Dragons are territorial and males are dominant towards females and antagonistic towards other males. They establish and assert their dominance through a complex system of head bobbing and arm waving. Where there is limited room and virtually no visual barriers, this will result in submissive animals become highly stressed. Even a dominant male can become stressed where it is constantly having to exert its dominance. To successfully house males with others you need lots of space and plenty of visual barriers e.g. rock piles, bushy plants, elevated and sunken areas. Prolonged stress from on-going dominance behaviours can affect the immune system to the point where death results.
· Privacy: Each animal requires more than one retreat that is screened from other animals and allows each animal to feel secure.
· Fresh water: Access to fresh water on a regular basis.
· Cleaning: Removal of wastes ASAP so they do not provide a breeding refuge for noxious bacteria.

Diagnosing an Infection
To determine if there is an infection present, the vet will take a blood sample. By examining this under the microscope, the vet can see and count the number of red blood cells (RBC) and the number of white blood cells (WBC). In humans, for example, the normal RBC:WBC is 600:1. The body's response to infection is to produce lots of WBCs to fight the foreign invader. Consequently, a blood count such as 600:50 would indicate a severe infection.

To determine the type of infection, several samples of blood are required and they are sent to a pathologist. The pathologist uses the blood to grow the infective agent on plates of agar or other media. As different bugs need different conditions to grow outside the human body, the pathologists has to grow a whole range under different conditions to hopefully get one to grow. The pathologist will utilise information from vet about the signs associated with the disease, in order to narrow the field. If nothing grows first time around he will ask for a further blood sample and set up culture conditions for disease agents that he has not tired to culture yet. Once the pathologist gets something growing, he/she will look at it under a microscope and may have to prepare several specially stained slides to determine the ultimate identity of the bug. This is why getting the particular disease causing organism identified is so expensive.

Blue
 
Thanks for all your help guys, The Shingle Backs fine i bring him in every night he's got his own cage inside but is usually out in the day time when it's sunny
 
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