As pet owners, we need to face the reality that these creatures will at one point die. Pet owners must answer one question when the inevitable happens is; what should they do with a dead bearded dragon?
You can do a few things with your dead bearded dragon’s body. You can get it cremated, bury it, take it back to the breeder, or take it to your vet to perform a necropsy and help you with the disposal.
However, before you pronounce your bearded dragon dead, you need to be sure that it’s actually dead and not bromating or just playing dead. This piece will discuss the various options to deal with a dead bearded dragon. We’ll also look at the signs and symptoms of a bearded dragon that’s about to die and the signs that it’s already dead.
But first, let’s look at the bearded dragon lifecycle.
How Long Do Bearded Dragons Live?
Bearded dragons’ life cycle is estimated to be around 10-15 years in captivity. However, actual data shows that your bearded dragon can live for at least 7-10 years when provided with adequate care.
Once your beardie hits six years, it has entered the last stage of its life. The bearded dragon will start to eat less, sleep more, and be generally inactive during this period. Therefore, you should start preparing for the demise of your bearded dragon when it hits seven years.
Is My Bearded Dragon Brumating or Dead?
Brumation is basically a period of inactivity when reptiles stay still to conserve energy during the winter months. The lizard will be sluggish, won’t eat, and maybe inactive during this period.
Due to the lack of activity, sometimes it may seem like the bearded dragon is dead. However, a few signs and symptoms will help determine whether your bearded dragon is dead or brumating.
Often, bearded dragons maintain shallow breathing and have subtle movements when bromating. However, if a bearded dragon’s body turns white, the lizard doesn’t react when you flip them over, and if the body is cold and stiff when you touch it, this might indicate that it might be dead.
Which Are the Signs of Brumation?
While the signs and indicators of a beardie brumating differ from one animal to the next, here are the most common signs:
1. Loss of Appetite
When a bearded dragon is about to get into brumation, it will start eating less. When winter kicks in, plants start dying, and insects are nowhere to be found.
In response to food scarcity, bearded dragons will try to conserve the energy in their bodies to ensure that they survive through the winter.
2. Lethargy
In addition to lacking appetite, your bearded dragon will become extremely sluggish and lethargic. Your beardie will not want you to touch or handle it during this period.
Since these creatures are entering a phase where they are using less energy, they’ll constrain themselves in hidden places, sleep a lot, and minimize movement.
3. They Won’t Bask
One of the most common rituals for virtually all reptiles is basking. If your beardie isn’t spending enough time in the basking area or doesn’t bask at all, this is a sign that it’s about to go into brumation.
When the cold season kicks in, bearded dragons will avoid the basking areas and will typically stay hidden in their enclosures for long periods.
How Long Will Bearded Dragons Brumate?
The length of the bearded dragon’s brumation period will sharply differ from one lizard to the other. While some beardies will stay in brumation for a week or two, others will brumate for three to four months.
Since you can’t control how long your beardie stays in brumation, the best thing is to leave it alone and ensure that it is well hydrated. Since sickness may also make the bearded dragon avoid basking, lose appetite, and be lethargic, you need to be sure that your cute friend is bromating and not sick.
More importantly, you need to remember that bearded dragons will start to brumate once they are above one year. So, if you observe the signs and symptoms of brumation before beardies reach one year, this might indicate something else, such as sickness.
Now that we have seen the signs to look out for to know whether your bearded dragon is in brumation let’s discuss the symptoms that indicate that a bearded dragon is dying.
8 Signs To Tell That Your Bearded Dragon Is About to Die
We might know what to do with a dead bearded dragon’s body, but what if we could save it from this predicament.
Understanding signs and symptoms that indicate that your beardie is about to die can allow you to take action, such as taking it to an experienced veterinarian right away.
Here are a few indicators that your bearded dragon is about to kick the bucket:
1. Sudden Loss of Appetite
It’s normal for your bearded dragon to skip some meals for several days. However, you should be worried if the loss of appetite goes on for weeks or is followed by other symptoms. Your bearded dragon may lose appetite due to various reasons.
First, your beardie will not eat when they’re feeling stressed. This may happen when a new bearded dragon is brought home, and if there are disturbances, such as noise, the bearded dragons will not eat if their enclosures don’t have enough warmth.
Conversely, others will lose appetite if they aren’t getting adequate UVB light.
Once you discover that your beardie doesn’t have an appetite, you should check whether it’s due to the aforementioned reasons. Suppose you manage to eliminate them, and still, the lizard doesn’t regain its appetite.
This might indicate that the beardie has a more severe condition, such as impaction or a parasitic infection, leading to death.
2. Bloody Stool and Diarrhea
Another sign that your bearded dragon suffers from a severe ailment that can lead to its demise is when it produces watery or bloody stool.
If your beardie is experiencing unhealthy bowel movements, especially diarrhea, and bloody stool, this may indicate that it has parasites or a diet problem that needs immediate vet’s attention.
If your bearded dragon produces feces with a foul smell, this may be a sign that it’s sick. Problems observed in a bearded dragon stool are usually due to parasites, poor diet, improper hydration, and poor lighting and heating.
If you don’t take action when your beardie starts producing watery or bloody stool, it might not survive.
3. Lack of Bowel Movements
One crucial part of keeping your bearded dragon healthy is to track its bowel movement. If your beardie hasn’t passed stool for days or weeks, it might indicate that they suffer from impaction, a severe condition that can lead to death.
Although you can relieve your beardie of impaction by giving it a bath or plain pumpkin, you must consult a veterinarian if you discover that your lizard isn’t passing stool.
4. Difficulties in Movement
Metabolic Bone Disease is one condition that affects bearded dragons and other reptiles. One of its symptoms is difficulty in movement, tremors, and twitching. These may be followed by a lack of appetite, bone deformation, and lethargy.
Since beardies survive by eating insects, maneuvering difficulties make it hard to trap and catch insects.
If your bearded dragon cannot move, it won’t manage to reach the basking area or the feeding area. This will lead to starvation, which can kill the bearded dragon.
5. Skin Problems
At times deterioration of a bearded dragon’s health can be vividly seen on the skin. You may notice yellow fungus on various skin parts, tail rot, and mouth rot.
Other common signs are discolored patches, mainly around the mouth, open wounds on the skin, rot patches, inflammation, or swelling.
A gray or pale skin may also signal an existing condition affecting the lizard. While skin problems may not necessarily lead to the death of your bearded dragon, they always point to underlying health conditions.
Any skin problems should be reported to a professional reptile vet so that they can make a diagnosis and tell you the condition that is ailing your bearded dragon.
6. Lethargy
Reptiles are known for basking and lounging around, but you should be concerned if they remain in one area without moving.
While bearded dragons are sluggish when about to brumate, being lethargic sometimes means being seriously ill.
Often, this is caused by improper tank temperature and poor lighting. If you correct, the heat and lighting in your bearded dragon is still lethargic; this may indicate that it’s suffering from another condition.
Visit a vet if you determine that your bearded dragon is becoming sluggish and lazier than usual.
7. Sunken Eyes
You can sometimes know when your bearded dragon is suffering by looking at its eyes. Droopy or sunken eyes that don’t seem to be focused and clear, it might be dehydrated.
Considering the lengths that bearded dragons go to stay hydrated, dehydration is one condition that can kill them quickly.
To hydrate their bodies, you need to give your beardies a clean bath or water spray them from a bottle. Once you see signs of sinking or unfocused eyes, you need to take quick action before it succumbs to dehydration.
8. Respiratory Issues
Shallow breathing, wide-open mouth, and labored breaths indicate that your beardie has a respiratory infection. Overheating also leads to similar symptoms and can lead to stroke or dehydration.
Suppose you notice that the bearded dragon is uncomfortable in its enclosure, either by digging, trying to escape, or staying in corners. In that case, you should swing in and try to see if the temperature setting has been altered.
Ensure that you report any difficulties in breathing to a veterinary officer, as it can quickly escalate and become fatal. Breathing problems are hazardous and shouldn’t be taken lightly.
4 Signs that a Bearded Dragon is Already Dead
In the above section, we have covered the signs of your bearded dragon that might indicate that a bearded dragon is about to die.
However, you need to ensure that your lizard is dead before you bury or dispose of its carcass. If you want to know whether your bearded dragon has already kicked the bucket, check out for these signs:
1. Stiffening of the Body
One thing that will help you know that your bearded dragon is dead and not brumating is stiffening of the body. When in brumation, the beardie’s limbs are usually soft. If limbs and the tail are stiff, your bearded dragon is already dead.
2. Whitening of the Bearded Dragon’s Body
Although there’s a slight color change when a bearded dragon sheds its exoskeleton, it will never change its color in any other situation, besides when it’s dead.
Even during brumation, your beardie will maintain its original color. Therefore, if a bearded dragon spends a lot of time motionless and starts to change to white or gray, there’s a high probability that it’s dead.
3. Not Breathing
Bearded dragons still maintain shallow breathing even when in hibernation (brumation).
Although it’s hard to know if a brumating beardie is breathing, there are a few tests that you can do to confirm. If your tests prove that your bearded dragon is not breathing, you can pronounce it dead.
4. Being Motionless
A brumating bearded dragon will always squirm or move some parts of its body when hoisted up. However, a dead beardie remains motionless no matter what you do.
Try to pick up your lizard, and if it flips onto its belly and doesn’t exhibit even the slightest movement, it’s probably dead.
These signs might help you identify when a bearded dragon is dead, but you must seek clarification before deciding that they are actually dead. Once the vet confirms that the beardie is dead, you can now choose what to do with the body.
What Should I Do With a Dead Bearded Dragon?
Bearded dragon owners have several options for disposing of the remains of their cute pets. However, what you decide to do with the bearded dragon’s dead body will depend on your circumstances.
If your beardie died of infections, you would need to ensure that it doesn’t come into contact with other bearded dragons. You might be busy with other engagements and would want the process of getting rid of the bearded dragon to end quickly.
Regardless of your circumstance, here are the options to deal with a bearded dragon that has lost its life.
1. Burry the Bearded Dragon
The most typical method of disposing of your bearded dragon is to bury it. Many pet owners prefer this method since it allows them to put a plant on, memorial stone, or something else at the burial spot. However, before you dig a hole and bury your beardie, you must consider a few things.
First, you need to know whether it’s legal to bury a pet in the location of your choice. In some states, it’s illegal to bury pets in various places.
If you live in building blocks or apartments without a privately owned garden, the local authority might prohibit you from burying your bearded dragon in such a space. Once you’re sure what is legal and what is not, you can move to the next thing.
Secondly, you’ll need to find the perfect spot to bury your bearded dragon. Find a spot that won’t be disturbed by traffic or other animals.
More importantly, you need to consider whether animals in your compound can dig up the grave. If such animals exist in your area, you’ll need to dig a deep and appropriately sized hole that will be difficult to uncover.
Finally, if you want to bury your bearded dragon in a burial box, you need to ensure that it can decompose and doesn’t produce toxins that can impact the surrounding environment.
You should opt for boxes made with materials that can decompose quickly, such as cardboard and wood. Things like plastic and polythene can take years to decompose and may release toxins that can be harmful to the environment.
2. Cremate Your Dead Bearded Dragon
In the last decade, pet cremation has become a popular way for pet owners to dispose of their dead beardies.
While many people feel that cremation should only be an option when dealing with dogs and cats, we believe that even smaller pets like bearded dragons should be accorded the same farewell.
When you search for reptile cremation services on the internet, you’ll get a comprehensive list of all reptile crematoriums. You’ll have to choose the one that is near you for convenience.
Bearded dragon owners will have to choose whether they want an individual cremation or communal cremation.
Individual Cremation
Individual cremation involves your bearded dragon being cremated alone in a clean chamber.
This process allows pet owners to take home the ashes for preservation or to scatter them in a place of their choice. This type of cremation service is usually pricier.
Communal Cremation
Communal cremation involves the cremation of your bearded dragon alongside other animals.
Your bearded dragon will be placed in the chamber alongside other dead animals, such as dogs, cats, and rabbits. This type of cremation is cheaper, but its drawback is that you won’t be given the ashes.
3. Let the Vet Do a Necropsy and Help You Dispose of the Dead Bearded Dragon
If you’re unsure what was ailing your bearded dragon before its demise, you can take it to a vet and request a necropsy. This is a complex surgical procedure where the vet opens up the bearded dragon and determines what caused its death.
Besides shedding light on the cause of the death, the procedure also acts as part of research used to help the live bearded dragons. The discoveries from the procedure can help reduce fatalities that come with similar symptoms.
Unfortunately, a necropsy isn’t a cheap procedure, and pet owners have to dig deep into their pockets. Additionally, there’s no guarantee that the vet will find out what killed your bearded dragon died of even after opening the body.
After the procedure, you can request the vet to help you dispose of the bearded dragon, or you can go ahead and bury or cremate the animal.
4. Take Your Beardie Back to the Breeder
Returning your dead bearded dragon to the breeder may seem like an extreme measure, but it might be the best option if the animal dies a few weeks or months after purchase.
The action will be more reasonable if you feel like the beardie had some underlying health complications even before you bought it.
Some breeders will have an open mind and will be willing to accept the bearded dragon back. However, others won’t be open to the idea.
If your bearded dragon came from a reputable breeder, there’s a high chance that they will accept the dead bearded dragon back and even offer you a refund or give you a new beardie.
However, they have to prove that the condition that led to the death of your lizard was present even before you bought it.
If you choose to take your bearded dragon back to its breeder, be ready for two answers. They can either accept to take back the dead beardie or ask you to deal with the animal yourself.
Conclusion
So what you should do when your bearded dragon dies? You can bury, cremate, return to the breeder or ask for your vet to help you dispose of the beardie. Check the local pet burial laws before you bury your bearded dragon to avoid finding yourself on the wrong side of the law.
However, before you decide to dispose of your bearded dragon, make sure that the animal is actually dead. You need to know whether the bearded dragon is sleeping, brumating, or dead. Check for signs such as whitening the body, stiffness, or lack of motion to confirm that the reptile is dead.
