Neverland Dragons
New member
I have given this a lot of consideration and feel that although it is scary to come forward with this, it is something that needs to be done, so others might be able to avoid the heartbreak I have been through the past weeks. I also think this is a step toward controlling the spread of a virus that can be deadly within a short time in bearded dragons. I purchased my breeding stock in 2004 and spent a lot of time and effort to find big healthy animals. I had a great first season with my orange line and this does not affect them at all. I bred my orange dragons again this season. In addition, I bred my yellow male Clyde with my yellow female Maggie. The first clutch hatched out and everything seemed fine. Later, I began to notice that the yellow babies were very aggressive and I had several nips on tails and feet. They were kept 5 to a bin and fed very well. We had never had problems with this routine before.
At about 2 weeks old I lost one of the babies in the second yellow clutch. I had a lot of family in from out of town and thought maybe I had not been hydrating them enough due to my busy schedule. Well, I had two more die and then I had an orange baby from the second clutch die. I IMMEDIATELY closed down my colony and did not sell any more dragons. I started to think they may have been exposed to something from their food. I went to the vet and he mentioned adenovirus. I felt certain that was not the cause. All of my adults were healthy and well over 500 grams. I had gotten them all from reputable breeders and did not even entertain the thought. I sent in a fecal to be viewed under the electron microscope. In addition, one of the sick babies died and I sent it in for a necropsy. When I received the results I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. They tested positive for adenovirus.
I thought it came from Maggie, my yellow female, because the first clutch of orange babies from another mother was fine and it started with the yellow second clutch. I talked with Cheri Smith of ReptileRooms.com and got in touch with Dr. Dan Wentz per her suggestion. He is considered by many as the leading authority on this virus in bearded dragons. He referred me to the University of IL lab to get the appropriate testing for my breeders. I chose to use this lab because they follow a protocol he developed and it is not available elsewhere yet and is considered cutting edge. It uses a fixative to stop the virus from breaking down immediately so it can be detected. Other methods have proved to be less accurate. I have proof that this is the case. I had the fecals run with a local lab here. They do not use a fixative and they said they did not see the virus in any of the samples I submitted. I had too much riding on the results, so I had extensive tests done through the University. All of my breeders came back clear of any types of virus (it detects others, besides adenovirus) except for Clyde and he was positive, so the carrier. He is my yellow male that I purchased from Dragons by Nature in October of 2004 as a baby. His Parents were Tango and Jewel. His levels were very low, but they were detected, so he can infect others. My vet feels that this is something he has most likely had since he was a hatchling. He has not been exposed to other dragons, except for the two females he mated with this season, and as I said earlier, they have tested clear. It is amazing that he did not infect Maggie or Zelda. It is most likely due to him shedding such low levels of the virus and that adults tend to not be as susceptible to it as hatchlings, which have almost no immune system. Both these girls have always been very healthy and have good immune systems.
I have spent over $1500 in testing in the past month and vet bills to find that all of my orange and yellow babies were infected through handling and equipment. I have euthanized about 140 babies and froze 71 eggs that had been developing. In addition, I have sent Clyde and 22 babies to Dr. Wentz in an effort to help with further studies and to hopefully help future dragons.
I have handled this as responsibly as I know how. It has been heartbreaking to have to put so many beautiful seemingly healthy babies down. I know it was the right thing to do. It would be a disservice and injustice to not bring this public. I am aware that other individuals and breeders are also dealing with the same viral issues. I believe the bearded dragon community needs to know this is happening. They also need to know they have the option of testing if there is any doubt or they have a dragon that may have been exposed. Even if exposure was years ago they may still be harboring it. Once a dragon incubates the virus they will be carriers for life, which is why infected dragons can not be sold or around any others. I am hoping to alert people who may have purchased dragons around the same time I did, that their dragons may have been exposed and be infected. This may help someone else avoid what I have been through. This should serve as a wake up call to all breeders. If this happened to me, it could happen to you. It is so easy to have your animals tested. You can be assured that any dragon I breed from this day forth will be tested and adenovirus free. The contact information for testing is as follows:
Lou Ann Miller, MT(ASCP)
Service Supervisor
Center for Microscopic Imaging
College of Veterinary Medicine
Rm 1204 VMBSB
2001 S Lincoln Ave
Urbana, IL 61802
Ph#: 217-244-1567
Website: http://treefrog.cvm.uiuc.edu
Email: [email protected]
I appreciate you all taking the time to read this. I am going to post it on a few of the forums so you may see it more than once. Fear has produced a code of silence that has only enabled this virus to spread that much quicker. I took a risk to let you all know about this, but I could not sit by and knowingly let this possibly happen to others. You can be certain any dragons purchased from me will be healthy and adenovirus free, as mine have all been tested now and are clear. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Wendy Thomas
Neverland Dragons
At about 2 weeks old I lost one of the babies in the second yellow clutch. I had a lot of family in from out of town and thought maybe I had not been hydrating them enough due to my busy schedule. Well, I had two more die and then I had an orange baby from the second clutch die. I IMMEDIATELY closed down my colony and did not sell any more dragons. I started to think they may have been exposed to something from their food. I went to the vet and he mentioned adenovirus. I felt certain that was not the cause. All of my adults were healthy and well over 500 grams. I had gotten them all from reputable breeders and did not even entertain the thought. I sent in a fecal to be viewed under the electron microscope. In addition, one of the sick babies died and I sent it in for a necropsy. When I received the results I felt as though the wind had been knocked out of me. They tested positive for adenovirus.
I thought it came from Maggie, my yellow female, because the first clutch of orange babies from another mother was fine and it started with the yellow second clutch. I talked with Cheri Smith of ReptileRooms.com and got in touch with Dr. Dan Wentz per her suggestion. He is considered by many as the leading authority on this virus in bearded dragons. He referred me to the University of IL lab to get the appropriate testing for my breeders. I chose to use this lab because they follow a protocol he developed and it is not available elsewhere yet and is considered cutting edge. It uses a fixative to stop the virus from breaking down immediately so it can be detected. Other methods have proved to be less accurate. I have proof that this is the case. I had the fecals run with a local lab here. They do not use a fixative and they said they did not see the virus in any of the samples I submitted. I had too much riding on the results, so I had extensive tests done through the University. All of my breeders came back clear of any types of virus (it detects others, besides adenovirus) except for Clyde and he was positive, so the carrier. He is my yellow male that I purchased from Dragons by Nature in October of 2004 as a baby. His Parents were Tango and Jewel. His levels were very low, but they were detected, so he can infect others. My vet feels that this is something he has most likely had since he was a hatchling. He has not been exposed to other dragons, except for the two females he mated with this season, and as I said earlier, they have tested clear. It is amazing that he did not infect Maggie or Zelda. It is most likely due to him shedding such low levels of the virus and that adults tend to not be as susceptible to it as hatchlings, which have almost no immune system. Both these girls have always been very healthy and have good immune systems.
I have spent over $1500 in testing in the past month and vet bills to find that all of my orange and yellow babies were infected through handling and equipment. I have euthanized about 140 babies and froze 71 eggs that had been developing. In addition, I have sent Clyde and 22 babies to Dr. Wentz in an effort to help with further studies and to hopefully help future dragons.
I have handled this as responsibly as I know how. It has been heartbreaking to have to put so many beautiful seemingly healthy babies down. I know it was the right thing to do. It would be a disservice and injustice to not bring this public. I am aware that other individuals and breeders are also dealing with the same viral issues. I believe the bearded dragon community needs to know this is happening. They also need to know they have the option of testing if there is any doubt or they have a dragon that may have been exposed. Even if exposure was years ago they may still be harboring it. Once a dragon incubates the virus they will be carriers for life, which is why infected dragons can not be sold or around any others. I am hoping to alert people who may have purchased dragons around the same time I did, that their dragons may have been exposed and be infected. This may help someone else avoid what I have been through. This should serve as a wake up call to all breeders. If this happened to me, it could happen to you. It is so easy to have your animals tested. You can be assured that any dragon I breed from this day forth will be tested and adenovirus free. The contact information for testing is as follows:
Lou Ann Miller, MT(ASCP)
Service Supervisor
Center for Microscopic Imaging
College of Veterinary Medicine
Rm 1204 VMBSB
2001 S Lincoln Ave
Urbana, IL 61802
Ph#: 217-244-1567
Website: http://treefrog.cvm.uiuc.edu
Email: [email protected]
I appreciate you all taking the time to read this. I am going to post it on a few of the forums so you may see it more than once. Fear has produced a code of silence that has only enabled this virus to spread that much quicker. I took a risk to let you all know about this, but I could not sit by and knowingly let this possibly happen to others. You can be certain any dragons purchased from me will be healthy and adenovirus free, as mine have all been tested now and are clear. Please feel free to contact me with any questions.
Wendy Thomas
Neverland Dragons
Wendy, thank you for all that you are doing!! 
