Dead Bearded Dragon Rescue, Trying to See What Happened

[Bogertophis]

I'm late to this thread, & just want to say I'm so sorry for your loss. Under the circumstances, you have some good guesses in the posts above, but that's really all we can do anyway here is guess. A necropsy, while expensive, would have provided more answers, but without a good herp. vet near you, you'll never be sure what caused his sudden death.

I've only had one bearded dragon that I took in as an unwanted (about to be illegally dumped!) sickly rescue many years back, & I was able to get him healthy. He was both starving & totally blocked up from having eaten an improper diet for some time of only crickets, which were too large for him, so the numerous undigestible back legs created his problem. (If you ever have another beardie & are curious as to how I saved him, it was by giving doses of mineral oil that my vet suggested, accompanied by lukewarm water bathtub soaks to hydrate him & facilitate his massive & multiple defecations, and by keeping him going on small amounts of Gerber's baby food, which was very easily digested, plus he liked it- until he was completely cleaned out & able to resume normal foods- which he did so with great gusto.) After a few years with me, I rehomed him because snakes were really my focus, & I had a house full, with not enough time for an unplanned bearded dragon that needed so much daily attention.

The beard darkening suggests some stress to me, so choking actually makes some sense to me, but by no means does that make it true, nor does it mean he choked on sand (or the dubia he was fed): I can remember the bearded dragon I had trying to eat small pebbles & also the buttons off my shirt- so anything could have been the cause- I hope that eases your conscience some, if he actually did choke?

Beardies can harbor various pathogens that may stay under the radar until the stress of being rehomed makes them a significant threat, so that's another possibility, as is the off-chance that the dragon's death was related to the snake's passing. Not knowing how well you were able to separate (quarantine) this dragon from the previously sick ball python, that's unfortunately also a possibility IMO, if there was any cross-contamination.

Again, I'm sorry for your loss; "rescuing" pets in need has rewards but also downsides. You did the best you could, it sounds like, but if you have no exotic (herp) vet available, you should probably re-think trying to rescue herps- as they often need medical care that you're not able to provide & that could make all the difference, at least for some of them. Vets aren't perfect, nor any guarantee of success, but having the option tilts the odds in your favor.