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Thread: RIP my beardie =(

  1. #1
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    160

    Default RIP my beardie =(

    My bearded dragon, Riley, died today.
    I bought him as a gift for my boyfriend at the Sarasota, FL Repticon in April of 2010.

    We discovered that his UVB light expired about a month prior. During that month, my boyfriend broke his leg and had to take a leave of absence from work, leaving us with no money to replace the lights.
    It breaks my heart that he had to suffer a death like this...
    We still have our Uro and B/W Tegu, who are all getting brand new lights tomorrow.

    I just hope everyone who becomes a first time reptile owner does their research and realizes how much money it takes for their up-keep. =(

  2. #2
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Central FL
    Posts
    4,349

    Default

    Sorry to hear about the loss of your pet. Very good message that you are passing forward. Thanks for sharing.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

  3. #3
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
    160

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    this was him as a baby


    this was him a few months ago


  4. #4
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Canada, Québec, Pointe-Calumet.
    Posts
    1,493

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    hmmm I'm not sure...If I understood correctly...but are you saying that your bearded dragon died because the UVB light was expired for a couple of week?
    Ben
    0.1.0, 2007, Bearded Dragon (Uresaii)
    1.0.0, 1999, Hermann Tortoise (Tama-chan)
    0.1.0, 2007, Redfoot Tortoise (Kame-chan)


    Got msn? If you want to talk to me just leave me a private message !

  5. #5
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa, FL
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    Default

    For about two months =(

  6. #6
    Join Date
    Nov 2007
    Location
    Canada, Québec, Pointe-Calumet.
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    I don't think that 2 month with a ''expired'' uva/uvb light might be the cause of his death. If you still have the beardie in a freezer you could bring him to a vet so he could do a necropsy on the animal. It could release you a lot of relief knowing that maybe his death is caused by a birth defiency/malformation.
    Ben
    0.1.0, 2007, Bearded Dragon (Uresaii)
    1.0.0, 1999, Hermann Tortoise (Tama-chan)
    0.1.0, 2007, Redfoot Tortoise (Kame-chan)


    Got msn? If you want to talk to me just leave me a private message !

  7. #7
    Join Date
    Jan 2010
    Location
    Tampa, FL
    Posts
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    Default

    we already buried him, plus we don't have the money for a necropsy...it could be a birth defiency, but our money is on it being our own fault.
    we fell on hard times - his light and some of his nutrition needs were sacrificed due to our struggle (we could only afford to give him one veggie, squash, during the last two month and that's only because the one we got was huge so we froze some of it)

  8. #8
    Join Date
    Sep 2007
    Posts
    1,210

    Default

    I'm so sorry you lost your beardie.

    It sounds like there were a couple of contributing factors, and I know how bad it feels when you realize you weren't able to come through for your pet. Thank you very much for posting that difficult message so others can take it into consideration.

    Here's some ideas for anyone finding themselves in a budget crunch (this isn't specific to bearded dragons, which I know little about):

    * When possible, supplement a fading UVB bulb with natural sunlight outdoors. You don't have to have a calm lizard to do this -- get a big cardboard box, test that the sides can't be jumped over or crawled up, and set it in a place with part shade and part sun. You might have to sit right there and monitor the temperature and the reptile's activity, but even an hour a day helps tremendously. If ambient weather is too cool, you can pre-warm the bottom of the box by laying something plastic, preferably black, in the bottom to collect rays before adding reptile. Avoid using a glass tank outdoors -- overheats too fast.

    * Look around your local produce market, especially the small specialty shops, and see if they have a "raunchy rack." If some fruits and vegetables have gotten too ripe, some retailers will bag up several in a bunch and sell at a deep discount. You won't see this in a big chain supermarket, but I'm sure it's not just a California custom.

    * The late, great Bert Langerwerf made a home movie showing the early days of his reptile farm. His family would go out and basically dumpster dive for expired poultry and other food you wouldn't want to eat, but could be trimmed down for the lizards.

    * if you are fortunate enough to have a fruit tree in your yard, or your neighbor does, there's always something a bird pecked or a squirrel discarded that can be cleaned and trimmed for a pet. You can sometimes barter & trade with your neighbors for variety.

    * Catching worms and insects in the wild for prey is always a dicey proposition, especially in a residential suburb, because of heavy pesticide usage and concern about disease vectors and parasites. But if you are desperate, this might be an option. The further away from civilization, including farms, that you can get to do your collecting, the better, and keep away from stagnant pools. I would not do this at all if you have very young children, very old grandparents, or immune compromised people living in your home. Germs and vermin can become quite concentrated in a pet enclosure.

  9. #9
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    Central FL
    Posts
    4,349

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    For beardies in the south, hibiscus flowers and leaves have a higher calcium content than fruit and can be found in a lot of places.
    Laura R (FL)
    1.0.0 Colombian Tegu
    1.4.0 Argentine B&W Tegu
    1.2.0 Red Tegu
    1.2.0 B/WxRed Tegu
    1.0.0 Green Ameiva (yet another teiid)
    7 other lizards
    1 little gator
    3 FL box turtle
    1 Sulcata tortoise
    16 snakes
    5 fuzzy pets
    4 little frogs
    a bunch of creepy bugs
    and a partridge in a pear tree

  10. #10
    Join Date
    Jun 2010
    Location
    Citrus Heights, CA
    Posts
    815

    Default

    I'm so, so sorry for your loss. And I also think it takes a lot of courage to post a story like this, especially if you think it was an inadequate level of husbandry that caused it. This forum is one of (if not THE) nicest and most courteous ones that I've come across, but you always run the risk of someone publicly berating you for something that they feel you did "wrong". So kudos to you for taking that chance, and sharing your story so that others may learn from it.

    When I met The Fiance, he had a beardie named Knuckles (aka Kitteh). I knew absolutely NOTHING about the care of reptiles, and so assumed that the level of husbandry that he was providing was what was required. Well, time passed, and I began to get into reptiles myself. True to my OCD nature, I researched reptile husbandry until my eyes felt like they were going to fall out of my head. Then The Fiance bought me my first beardie. Spaz was a craigslist find, and not in the best of health. Well, with proper care, she plumped right up (actually, she's on a diet now), and became a beloved companion. About the time that I bought my second beardie, Leo, Knuckles had gotten very sick. Against The Fiance's recommendation (we didn't have the money at the time), I took her into the Vet, armed with only my credit cards. $400 later, the Vet couldn't figure out what was going wrong (if you want to read about the whole ordeal, here's the link to the thread: http://www.thetegu.com/showthread.ph...th-this-before). Anyway, The Fiance made the call to put her down, as he couldn't bear to see her suffer. Fast-forward about six months... I had to take both Spaz and Leo into the Vet for pinworms, one right after the other. I was assured by my Vet that it's very common for beardies to get them, and that the treatment is very simple. Both are doing fine now. During that time though, The Fiance had told me (repeatedly) that I was being overly worrisome, and that they were fine. He said that sometimes beardies just hide away for a few days, because that's what Knuckles used to do. I disagreed with him, and said that no, they just seemed... off. Well, there came a point, after Spaz and Leo had gotten all of the required meds, and after they seemed to be back to their gregarious selves, that The Fiance said something that broke my heart. He told me that after seeing how I care for my beardies, he was convinced that his lack of attention to Knuckles was what killed her. He now thinks that she had developed some kind of normal parasitic infection, but because it was left untreated for so long, it was the source of her demise. I know that he's been beating himself up ever since that realization, and even I feel guilty for not doing... something.

    I share that story only to let you know that I empathize with what you're feeling.

    HM listed a lot of great, money-shaving ideas for you, to use in the future. If your boyfriend is still stuck at home with the broken leg, I'd suggest having him take out your remaining reptiles into the sun for an hour or so a day, at least for a little bit. It will help to counter any UVB-related hidden health problems that they may have developed during their time without proper UV levels.

    Once again, I'm so sorry. *hugs*
    "Why do blessings always come in disguises? If I were a blessing, I'd run around naked."

    0.1.0 Bearded Dragon; Spaz (aka "Monkey")
    1.0.0 Bearded Dragon; Leonidas (aka "Jaba" aka "Fatty)
    0.0.1 Ball Pythons; Lil' Bit

    0.1.0 Argentine B/W Tegu; Bozski - *rehome*
    1.0.0 Argentine A/A Tegu; Oscar - *rehome*
    1.0.0 Ball Python; Moose - *rehome*

    0.1.0 Bearded Dragon; Knuckles (aka "Kitteh"), RIP
    0.0.1 Baby B/W Tegu; unnamed, RIP

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