Pogona vitticeps mystery death

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BlueGecko

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Hi all,

Sad post for me to make. My two bearded dragon sisters died within weeks of each other.

I am hoping for help figuring out what killed them, so as to better control for it next time (if possible).

They were approx. 5 years old. One died without any marks or symptoms described in respiratory infections and other illnesses. She hadn't eaten in 2 days, but that wasn't an unusual time frame for them to not eat. She wasn't particularly active, but was still alert and not lethargic. The temperatures were carefully controlled (was a hot summer), water always present, food carefully prepared and offered daily. No changes to diet or environment.

2 weeks later her sister had died also.

Important to know that they shared a very large tank with a friendly blue-tongue (the 3 had grown up together and had never bothered each other), and a snake is in a nearby tank. Both blue-tongue and snake are fine.

Any useful information would be great. Would love to have some idea as to what caused this.

Please read this post carefully before accusing me of neglect.
 
I am hoping for help figuring out what killed them, so as to better control for it next time (if possible)

Impossible to tell with the info given.Even then,looking for answers online is a stab in the dark at best.
A vet may of been able to tell what happened but unless you take it to one right away for a necropsy it will most likely be of no use also.
 
Sorry for your losses.

Anyone's guess without a vet doing necropsy on the dead beardies including bloodwork and cultures.Any chance that poisoned roaches from outside (a neighbour who might have used surface spray or had the man from Flick over) that came into your house and found their way into the enclosure and were eaten my the beardies.
 
Sorry for your losses.

Anyone's guess without a vet doing necropsy on the dead beardies including bloodwork and cultures.Any chance that poisoned roaches from outside (a neighbour who might have used surface spray or had the man from Flick over) that came into your house and found their way into the enclosure and were eaten my the beardies.

Thankyou to both replies.

I had thought it was a long shot to find out what had happened. I thought maybe someone else may have had a similar experience.

I don't think any bugs got into the tank, although there were some crawlies in the last tub of crickets they had - I had separated them but possibly a few got through? They were fed crickets in a separate tank so the bluetongue wouldn't have had any.

Otherwise we thought maybe an internal infection such as respiratory, although most seem to present external symptoms as well, where our dragons had none.

Seems unlikely to be a fluke incident, as both were affected.
 
Sorry for your loss. As others have said only a hasty trip to the vet for a biopsy will give you the facts,.The crawlies (as you describe them) shouldn't be a problem,I feed them to mine with no problem
 
Stating the obvious - I suggest putting the BTS into an cleaned isolation enclosure and watching it VERY CLOSELY for a while, a vet check might be in order for it too, maybe bloodwork and cultures in-case it's something infectious amongst lizards.

In the meantime good idea to take everything out of the old enclosure for a very thorough cleanout and a good sterilisation using F10 of it and everything in it, replace the bedding too.
 
Stating the obvious - I suggest putting the BTS into an cleaned isolation enclosure and watching it VERY CLOSELY for a while, a vet check might be in order for it too, maybe bloodwork and cultures in-case it's something infectious amongst lizards.

In the meantime good idea to take everything out of the old enclosure for a very thorough cleanout and a good sterilisation using F10 of it and everything in it, replace the bedding too.

Thankyou everyone for our input.

This actually happened a couple of weeks ago, although probably wouldn't have done a necropsy anyway until the second dragon died. Enclosure was thoroughly cleaned after both deaths. Blue tongue has been carefully watched and is absolutely fine - better, probably, now that she's not got dragons basking on top of her. Still concerning as to why they died, but I guess that will just remain a mystery.
 
Hello,

I am sorry to hear your two dragons passed so close to each other.
I agree, it is impossible to determine the cause of death without a necropsy. It could have just been a genetic
issue, possibly renal or liver dysfunction. Since they were related, inbreeding is always a possibility, too.
My condolences for your losses.

Tracie
 
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