This hatchling appears to be... dead?

Perhaps not. It seems to be active during the night.

Young dragons are relatively defenseless. They are born with relatively soft scales, which are shed and replaced with harder ones as the hatchling matures. Once a hatchling’s wings grow in, it typically marks the beginning of maturation. At this point they are often capable of hunting on their own and are usually left alone by their mother.

Countess Talitha loves being a hatchling. She blends with the dark almost completely, feeding from mints and pumpkins and pygmies to sate her thirst. A pale shadow in the night, a flash of scarlet wings. She has no regrets for having her 'mother' chant the spell to keep her this way—she is a little night demon now.