Eastern Water Dragon death

[ebonza]

Folks, I put my 1yr EWD in the yard for his daily bask. Temp was about 27c, slight breeze. I use an Exo-Terra 1m portable mesh enclosure for this in part shade. He seemed his normal, active self when I left him. Then when I returned home a few hours later he was dead! He'd been gone long enough for his eyes to decicate. He did have some mucus from his nostrils when I rubbed his throat.

No sign of injury, parasites, choking etc - a mystery. However, there were 4-5 finger nail sized beetles in the enclosure - not roaches/woodies, and I cant work out how they got in. Unless they sensed the death and worked their way in.

My only guess is overheating in direct sunlight but surely he would have moved into the sheltered spot? Any ideas? I'm really p1ssed off that he died in my care.

 

[Mr.James]

Heat would have been the most likely cause if he had no symptoms before you left.

Don't beat yourself up over it, these things happen..I know its happened with bluetongues to people.

The best advice I can give you is, if you house a reptile indoors you should take great care when putting them outside for basking, I mean don't leave home, check on them every 20mins. They are not used to the extreme's of the weather if kept indoors under optimal conditions.

 

[Gibblore]

Would be interisting to find out what type of bugs they were & if he had eaten any?

 

[$NaKe PiMp]

they cant thermoregulate if they are stuck in sunlight they cant escape from, body temp rises past there preferred optimum range for too long and they die.

 

[contos]

i hear that they can die from a european wasp sting. are they in your area?

 

[ebonza]

Lesson learned

No doubt, I made a bad judgement on the suns movement/shadow. It's a harsh lesson, considering the meticulous care over the past year.

Poor little fella. He had a great character for an EWD.

Thanks for the replies.

 

[mike83]

Really sorry to hear about your loss mate. Such a sad thing when it happens I know when 1 of my turtles died was really sad.

 

[ebonza]

EWD - Chaz

 

[mike83]

Awwwww he looked awesome that really suxs that u lost him.

 

[ebonza]

Yeah, I ****ed up, big time!

Awwwww he looked awesome that really suxs that u lost him.

 

[Mr.James]

That's a very nice enclosure, great work! You'll need to find a suitable replacement for him, don't stare at an empty enclosure kicking yourself, get back on that horse!

 

[richardsc]

my guess would be over heated,even with a bit of shade it can still be hotter than he wanted,i raise my juvie waterys in mesh cages and have a foot of mulch in the bottom and lots of hiding spots so they can escape the heat on hot days,even last season when we had temps of 47 degrees here in melb,in hot spells i put a sprinkler on to help cool them down,one of the twirling single spray jobbies so it hits up to half of the mesh cages and also the large outdoor cages,and yes its legal for me as we have bore water,the problem with mesh cages though is if u dont fill them with suitable substrate and furnishing,where do they escape the heat

sorry for your loss

 

[ebonza]

Looking for 2 juvy EWDs

I will get straight back on that horse! EWD hatchie season is upon us, so I'll be looking for a duo hopefully soon.

 

[bigi]

sorry to hear that, awsome enclosure

 

[lizardjasper]

So sorry to hear. Don't blame yourself though. He was a wonderful looking boy. I don't know how I'm going to cope with all of my babies deaths, hopefully many many years from now. I'll be thinking of you!

 

[mouse_has_faith]

Sorry for your loss. We used to have EWDs, they're great lizards. Don't beat yourself up about it too much, these things happen.
That setup is awesome by the way.

 

[ebonza]

Back on that horse

Just got myself x2 1yr old Eastern Water Dragons, after the tragic death of Chaz. Settled in really well in first week. Still a bit flighty when I'm getting them out of the enclosure but quite calm when being handled.

It's difficult to confirm the sex at this age but one is clealy male - darker eye stripe and larger crest, obvious red chest. The other is lighter with just a pinkish tinge and it maybe another year before I can be sure.

Interesting difference in personalities - the lighter one being a more assertive feeder but both have a spell of head bobbing and waving after some food.

Rest assured I'm very much aware of the care needed when letting them bask in the back yard area - lots of shade is essential.

 

[ebonza]

Zero & Lola (although I suspect Lola is a male!)