Bearded Dragon Death

Question
QUESTION: I just had to have my beardie put down after over 9 years of a healthy life.  He started to eat less and less and I thought he may have just been preparing for the colder weather coming up.  Then he started losing a lot of weight and I got concerned so I took him to my vet (who is an exotic specialist).  She noticed a rash on the back of his neck that looked like red dots. She prescribed him an antibiotic and I got blood work done.  Nothing was improving and after she got the blood results back she decided to change the antibiotic.  I had him on the new antibiotic for about five days and then he looked really bad so I took him to an ER center who said that he was pretty much beyond hope and that he most likely would not recover.  I decided to put him down because I didn't want him suffering, but I am thinking that maybe my vet missed something or there is something I should have done differently.  Any thoughts?

ANSWER: Hello Lyndsey,

I am sorry to hear of your dragon's passing, that is never easy to have to deal with.
Were you ever able to view the blood test at all?  If you could get a copy for me, I could take a look at it for you if you would like to.  
It is a possibility, that he was having renal issues, & the antibiotic caused the renal issues to be expedited quickly.  Liver issues are also a possibility.
I would need to see a copy of the blood tests to try & determine some reason for cause of illness or death.
I do agree.  Sometimes, they are put down prematurely.  I do not fault you, as it is oftentimes the vet either doesn't know the reasons of illness or they simply don't want to spend the time in finding the causes.  

Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Tracie,
I did not get a chance to view the blood results but my vet did say something about renal disease, which is why I was soaking him in warm water 5-10 minutes every night.  I am actually going to my vet on Wednesday for a check up for my cats, so I could get the blood results then.  I would like you to take a look at them if you could.  I am trying to figure out if I am going to continue seeing my vet.  If you look at the bloodwork and tell me that there was another (better) course of action that could have been taken, I will definitely switch vets.  Where should I send a copy of the bloodwork (fax or mailing address).  I also forgot to mention in the last email that my dragon's beard was all black.  I guess this was another symptom of his illness.  Thank you so much!

Answer
Hello Lyndsey,

That sounds great if you could get a copy of the blood tests, that would be helpful.  You can send them to my email address at:  Drache_613@hotmail.com

If you want to go over your tank setup too, just to ensure everything was optimal for him in his tank.  
If you can't send them to the email, via attachment, then if you want to write me & we can discuss a mailing address that is fine too.  :-)

Yes, a black beard is severe distress & pain which is associated with disease or other health problems going on if it is persistent.  
I understand how rough this is.  Losing them is very difficult.

Tracie