Cranky Beardie?

[Venomous_RBB]

Hey Guys,
So I have had my female Beardie since April, 2012.
She was born: December, 2011
She has always been a very calm lizard, she used to sleep on me, relax, enjoy life.
However, she started to change at the start of winter, so put it down to the temps not being hot enough, so I uped her temps and they now sit 42 degrees basking spot and 26 degrees cool end.
She is in a 3 sided wooden enclosure, with a glass front, opening top, 10.0 UVB Tube and a 150W Red Heat Globe.
Since she has been in that enclosure (was in a 2ft before hand, she quickly outgrew it so we bought her a 4ft), she has been quite cranky. She was at first skittish, a bit of hissing every now and then, and once she opened her mouth displaying her beard and her belly flattened out (I know this a defensive display so I backed off real quick, not wanting to stress her out to much) Anyway, she then came back to normal, wanting to sleep on me, having "cuddles" etc. In the last 2 weeks she is getting worse and worse, she is doing a masive defensive display, she hides a lot, she only comes out at night when no one is around. She doesnt want to be patted, only sprayed with the water bottle. I am pretty sure she is currently shedding her back, still not sure though? She sheds her tail, then head/legs but it has been 3 weeks since she shed those? Is it normal for them to have a delayed shed of the back?

She is still eating, if anything she eats all of her vegies and I have been putting crickets in the enclosure so I dont stress her out and have caught her a few times, looking quite happy at catching them. She still basks under the light, when we are not there, as soon as she sees her, she scurries into her hide?

I am not sure what to do, her temps have stayed the same? At night they drop 2 degrees but thats it?
Would love some help, I am just hoping she is okay and isn't playing up because she is sick or I am just being paranoid and she is just a bit annoyed with shedding etc?

Thanks for anyone who can help

 

[sanna]

I don't know heaps about beardies, but I'm fairly sure that they know when it is winter regardless of how well you keep the temps. Just give her time, if she is eating/basking well she should be fine once the cooler months are over Wouldn't know about the shedding though, sorry.

 

[Venomous_RBB]

Thats okay, she is such a sweet lizard normally, its horrible to see her so stressed and cranky.
Thank you for your reply
I was just thinking of waiting until the cooler months are over, hence why it has been 2 weeks, this has been going on but she is getting worse? That is what I am concerned about.
The breeder I got her off of, I got her sister with her. Her sister died from a fit, she had an actual fit, her whole body shook and poor thing had blood coming out of her ears etc, I rushed her to the vet, we got there and she was dead . So we got a autopsy performed, they found that she had a not right brain, most likely bad breeding, I think that is why I am so concerned with my girl

 

[Chris1]

with normal beardies that would most likely be puberty,....for a month or 2 they see what they can get away with, if you just ignore the displays and handle as normal she'll get over it.

however if shes possibly defective in some way maybe theres something more,...


shedding bits and pieces is perfectly fine.

 

[Venomous_RBB]

She was "milky" or "blue" for 4 days, she has come back to her colour now, so hopefully will be shedding soon, she gets sprayed twice, three times daily with rain water/tank water in a spary bottle which on the fine mist spray, she loves it and normally stops the display.

 

[sanna]

that's horrible to hear about your other girl good luck with this one! I'm sure she will be fine

 

[Venomous_RBB]

Hi guys.... nevermind this thread, she went the same way as her sister....
She was fine this morning but this afternoon, she had a fit, I had her booked in to see the vet on monday.... she is now deceased and thats it for beardies... we have had 2 now die from a neauro disorder, her sister had a fit and was told that it was nothing we had done. I am getting an autopsy on this girl.... Monday.
I cant believe it, I am sitting here crying while typing this... R.I.P Eragon, you were the best lizard and I will always miss you Love you always <3

 

[oOLaurenOo]

:'( Oh no, I am so sorry for your loss. It would be heartbreaking. All I can say is don't let this horrible situation put you off, it sounds like you did everything right for your girl and her sister. Maybe one day you might get some more, from a reputable breeder to save you going through this pain again.

 

[Venomous_RBB]

Thank you Lauren, she was the best lizard... I cant believe it, I am honestly beside myself... my animals are my life basically and she was part of our family <3

 

[Sissy]

Ohh poor Eragon sorry to hear you've lost her... although when I read you were misting her 3 times a day I became worried because they can be susceptible to lung infection and the humidity is no good for them.... I lost one little one this way Safira and since I've been very careful to bath early in the morning, dry them off and put them back under heat - and to spray every other day... Hope the vet can shed some light on what was happening for her... don't give up on Beardies they are beautiful even if they are sooo much more work than our other slithery friends...

 

[Renenet]

Hi guys.... nevermind this thread, she went the same way as her sister....
She was fine this morning but this afternoon, she had a fit, I had her booked in to see the vet on monday.... she is now deceased and thats it for beardies... we have had 2 now die from a neauro disorder, her sister had a fit and was told that it was nothing we had done. I am getting an autopsy on this girl.... Monday.
I cant believe it, I am sitting here crying while typing this... R.I.P Eragon, you were the best lizard and I will always miss you Love you always <3

I am so sorry to hear you lost Eragon, especially after you lost her sister the same way. :cry: So, so sad.

 

[Venomous_RBB]

Ohh poor Eragon sorry to hear you've lost her... although when I read you were misting her 3 times a day I became worried because they can be susceptible to lung infection and the humidity is no good for them.... I lost one little one this way Safira and since I've been very careful to bath early in the morning, dry them off and put them back under heat - and to spray every other day... Hope the vet can shed some light on what was happening for her... don't give up on Beardies they are beautiful even if they are sooo much more work than our other slithery friends...

Thanks... They are a great animal, it depends on what my mum wants to do.
In terms of the spraying, I have only been doing the three times daily while she has been shedding, she was normally sitting on her rock while I sprayed her and then she ran over to her basking spot which was her favourite place. Also I would spray her at 6:00 and then about 2:00 and then later at about 7:00.

I am so sorry to hear you lost Eragon, especially after you lost her sister the same way.

:cry: So, so sad.

Thank you Renenet, she was a sweety.

 

[damian83]

Yeah sorry to hear, must be hard when they both did it.keep at them there very friendly and Hardy animals, maybe try getting from a different breeder

 

[WomaBoy]

Sooo sorry to hear i came back onto this thread to hopefully find good news R.I.P, i just hope this doesnt put you off beardies. You were just very unlucky and im soooo sorry

 

[dragonlover1]

so sorry to hear you lost her especially since you already lost the other one but don't give up on beardies they are great critters and good friends

 

[Venomous_RBB]

I still love beardies <3
They are the best, my mum has decided she will not be getting another one, it is too heartbreaking for, I understand, she was her pet, well she was the family's pet.
I will be getting some later, when I have left home but for now, we will be Beardieless. We still have the three snakes, which are all extremely healthy and doing really well, eating, shedding, pooing and handling very well.

Thank you all, the hardest thing(apart from loosing her) is going to be cleaning her enclosure and selling it.... Just thinking about it makes me sad.

 

[disintegratus]

That's awful to hear
Assuming she has the same issue as her sister, at least you know that you did your best by her, and there was nothing you could have done.

 

[Kezza4879]

oh that is horrible news, sorry to hear this.
make sure you tell the breeder you got these guys off.

 

[Venomous_RBB]

Thanks guys, took her deceased body into the vet today, he said that it looked like what my other girl had but wont know until the results come in, probably up to 2 weeks.
He is a great vet and recommended a few breeders, however we are not going there, we are selling her enclosure and leaving it as the snakes for a while. I really miss having her, she just brightened up my day that bit more.
Anyway, thanks again guys, all I can say is cherish the time you have with your pets.. because she went downhill quickly... I didnt think she was going to die, otherwise I would have rushed her to the emergency, I am kicking myself I didnt.

 

[Womagaunt]

Hey sorry to hear about it, do you know what happend and how? But its good to hear that you still like beardies i keep two and they are fantastic pets and amazing to watch! You should get another soon!