Question about my bearded dragon diet

Question
QUESTION: I hope u can help me in answering my question... I just found my bearded dragon dead in his tank... he is a 20 gallon tank with 100 degree heat during the day  and 75 at night...

Ok now for him diet ...i have been giving him romaine and red lettuce and sometimes dozen of crickets here and there as well as dandelion ..

this past Thursday i gave him another dozen crickets along with a reptile special, a multi vitamin and mineral.

He got very limp the next day and i did some research on them and it said that bearded dragons hibernate in october.. so i thought thats what he was doing.

I would appreciate it if you could get back to me if you have any ideas what i could of done to prevent this...because my daughters are heartbroken as i am..

thank you for ur time
Marie


ANSWER: Hello Marie, I do not beleive it had anything to do with the vitamin supplement but I do have to tell you that many people advise that romaine lettuce can make Bearded Dragons sick. Others argue that Romaine is fine. I have not read any trusting documents that show proof so I can not say for sure. So I am going to need a little bit more information

Setup, UV lighting, substrate, age of dragon, how long you have had him, any odd behavior prior besides being extremely docile?  Was he defecating regularly? Any known falls or injuries? Anything else suspicious?

I cant be of very much help until I know the entire situation. So let me know on those things and I can get back to you. Sorry I couldn't be of more help as it is.
And I am also sorry for your loss. I hope together we can figure out the cause of this misfortunate event

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QUESTION: i had him since february and started out with romaine lettuce.  Every other week i would get him crickets

As far as the set up of the tank..it is a 20 gallon tank . I used sand for the bedding, a rock with a tunnel for him to hide or crawl on top..

the uv lighting was 100 during the day and 75 during the night... i honestly thought that maybe the crickets were bad and that is what made him sick. Could that be a possiblilty. The reason also why i think that is because i didnt feed him crickets since the end of august.

He was about 11 months old:(

thank you for the quick response i really appreciate it.



ANSWER: Hello Marie, he needed to be fed crickets every day. Crickets are supposed to be the main food item. They need the protein especially when young. That is probably what happened. The fact that he didn't have the correct food. Crickets every day and at least 15 a day when young. It can be spendy but these are the things that you should know before getting him. Lettuce is still supposed to be offered everyday and fresh everyday but he needs the protein. How big were the crickets that you did feed?
Another thing is sand can be fatal especially for young dragons as well as older ones. If they ingest it then they need to be taken to a vet. It can cause impaction and gum up their digestive system. It really isn't pretty and it causes a lot of suffering. Slate and Tile are the best that I have found. Papertowels, newspaper and reptile carpet are safest. I don't think the crickets made him sick but it might have given him too much of a dose of protein after not having some for so long.
UV lighting is actually a special and somewhat expensive light that is usually in the style of a fish tank bulb (long and pole like) it puts off special UV rays that the dragon needs in order to digest food. If he didn't have one then that could also have been a problem. Your temperatures sound ok and those I am guessing you obtained through a heat lamp which is great.

Let me know if you want more information on this or would like some care sheets or if you are interested in a new lizard I would like to make sure I help out however possible in order to help you give a new guy a happy and healthy life. Again I am sorry for your loss R.I.P Little Bearded Dragon.

Anything else let me know.
-Yex

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QUESTION: Yex,
 I might get another one in the future just not right now as it just happened yesterday. Any information in care sheets would be greatly appreciated.

Basically no sand and crickets everyday.. what else can i do so this never happens again..

One more question...on average how long is a bearded dragons life span?

Thanks again,
Marie


Answer
I understand that finding a "replacement" is hard at first and that everybody needs time but sense you are waiting I suggest saving the links I am about to give you in your favorites so it doesn't get lost.

Good links

(my fav beardie website LOTS of info general care and nutrients and everything is helpful it takes some time to find everything but once you do its a life saver!)
http://www.beautifuldragons.com

http://www.repticzone.com/caresheets/48.html

http://www.anapsid.org/bearded.html

http://www.beardeddragon.org

Those should keep you busy. Remember to do lots of research. You will find lots of neat facts about them too!

Food items should be NO bigger then the space between his eyes, dont house him with other lizards, clean his tank often, bath him at least once a week (bathing info is on the first link under general care)

I think everything else is covered by the care links.
If you need clarification on anything or need anything else let me know.
Oh and they live about 5-8 years in captivity and some have been recorded to live around 12 years in captivity. (wild beardies don't usually live as long)
Oh and remember to get him a good sized tank!

Good luck when you venture to getting another one. Have a nice day!
-Yex