Baby bearded dragon eating habits

Hi, my 4 month old bearded dragon, Jervus, is a strange eater. He (or she) will eat a lot one week (18-20 bugs daily) and then very little the next week (0-10 bugs daily). I dust his food with calcium five times a week and multivitamin twice a month. He has reptisun 10.0 t5 HO UVB 15 inches away from him, and a basking spot with multiple levels. The hottest is 105 degrees and the coolest is 96 degrees. His substrate is non-adhesive shelf liner. He weighs 53 grams and has not shed since we got him (2.5 months ago) but has gained 5 grams since I started weighing his last month. He has been to the vet for a check up (no fecal exam) and has a clean health record. Is this eating behavior normal? If not, do you have any suggestions? Also, is his weight normal for his age? Thank you!

A taller basking spot will be beneficial .

At 15" (38cm) from the T5 10% UVB tube , the UVA flux and UVB flux is INADEQUATE @ ~ 60% what your hatchling needs.

UVA promotes metabolism and appetite in reptiles, optimal level for a bearded dragon is ~ 1 milliW UVA flux / sq.cm.
UVB is required to photosynthesis VitD3 and metabolise dietary Ca , optimal level for a bearded dragon 160 to 200 microW UVB flux / sq.cm @ basking spot, and 80 microW / sq.cm in cool zone.

The optimum distance for a T5 10% UVB tube is ~ 10 inches ,
Assuming
1) the T5 tube in a reflector hood or has a proper parabolic slip on reflector attached
2) the T5 tube is UNDER the lid of the tank NOT sitting ONTOP a mesh lid.



From chart , take T5 12% UVB curve
Min = 10 x 26cm / 12 = 22.5cm ==> 8.5"
max = 10 x 31cm / 12 = 25.8cm ==> 10.2"

If changing the T5 tube to basking spot distance is too hard , I suggest uping the UVB output by swapping the T5 10% tube for an Arcadia T5 12% UVB tube (which will provide adequate UVA & UVB at 38cm when unobstructed and in an reflector hood).

Thanks for your input! The closest he can get is 9 inches but only in one small spot if his tank. The usual distance is about 12 inches because he spends most oh his day on his branches and logs. From the ground to light is 15 inches. Thanks again

JervusJean":1kx8yf60 said:

Thanks for your input! The closest he can get is 9 inches but only in one small spot if his tank. The usual distance is about 12 inches because he spends most oh his day on his branches and logs. From the ground to light is 15 inches. Thanks again

Click to expand...

9" from tube to basking spot for your tube ( if it's unobstructed ( under lid ) & in an reflector hood is fine.


You could install a lower wattage basking globe to nudge the basking temperature down by 5 to 6 degF , this will encourage him to bask longer in the high UV zone and get a better levels of UVA & UVB irradiation.
If you have a mesh lid with the basking globe over top this , simply move the basking globe higher , can calc the distance using the inverse square law


intensity <==> temperature