We got Josie for a short time at the end of her life. She was abandoned by her previous owner in poor condition. Right when we got Josie, we could tell she was gravid and not in good shape. She started to crash quickly in her time with us. We took Josie to our vet to see if anything could be done. They did a blood test and ultrasound for the eggs, but unfortunately, Josie had an aneurysm. We were able to care for Josie and love her the last few days of her life.
Every dragon in our care makes an impact on us and our work. We were able to have a necropsy performed. We learned about her aneurysm and that nothing could have saved her. Aneurysms in bearded dragons are unfortunate and fairly common. Our hope for the future is that we can engage with research universities and help spur more research into conditions that affect bearded dragons, like this aneurysm in Josie.