Lighting, heating and temperatures

I have the 13W 10.0UVB Reptisun and the 75W basking spot lamp with the dome fixture from ZooMed in my beardies viv. I also have a heat pad attached to the outside corner on his basking spot but i still can't get the temperature to be correct. I just bought a new ZooMed digital thermometer and humidity gage which was recommended in this forum, i'm not sure if it is really the most accurate thermometer. His temps stay at 78-82 degrees, he is fully grown, possibly two years old so i know he needs at least 90 degrees in basking and 80 on cooler side. Does anyone have any opinions on the lighting or the ZooMed thermometer? I know he reaches his maximum heat because he opens his mouth often to cool down, i'm just very worried about his health without proper heating.

The vet told me he's in perfect health but there are some things that alarm me. He often lays on his log with a flat belly and his beard black and he refuses to eat any veggies or fruit. I've tried giving him collard greens and kale, different melons, blueberries, strawberry, watermelon, peach, carrot and bell pepper. The pet store said they never had a problem giving him salads. I've tried wiggling the plants and moving them around to attract him and he just runs off, i've tried putting them on a white plate for contrast and it doesn't work, i've put them in a bowl in his viv, gave him some privacy and all he did was knock the bowl over. All he will eat is crickets and super worms, it's been a month and a half since i've had him and he's only eating one piece of kale. Has anyone had problems with this and have actually found something that worked?

The 13w UVB Light isn't powerful enough for a bearded dragon. What are the dimensions of his tank? He's likely better off with a T8 or a T5 tube but that depends on the size of the tank. An adult should have at least a 4'x2'x2'.

Are you using the analog gauge or a digital thermometer with a probe? That will make a big difference as the probe will read surface temps which are used to set the lighting. I would get a couple of these (or similar) one for each side of the tank mounted right on the basking and cool side surfaces https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0017N8W90/ or an IR temp gun like this to spot check surface temps https://www.amazon.com/Nubee-Temperature-Non-contact-Infrared-Thermometer/dp/B00CVHIJDK

Once space and lighting are addressed I'd work on his diet. At his age he should be eating mostly veges. I'd offer 2-3 items from this list in each salad and rotate depending on what's fresh at the market each week http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html Once or twice a week I'd give him a meal of bugs. Dubia roaches, crickets, silk worms, horn worms, and black soldier fly larvae are good options to rotate in to give some variety.

His viv is a 40 gallon long so yes, it is the measurement you listed. Where i live, it would be $50 just to ship those, plus the cost of the worms and larvae themselves from the nearest breeder, which i cannot afford and my parents will not allow any roaches near the house. There are no stores or breeders near me that carry anything but superworms, mealworms and crickets and they cannot eat mealworms. I will continue to try with the salads and mix it up like you suggested. Do you know of any businesses in the US that sell superworms and crickets that are fed with a high fiber and nutrient diet?

He has the ZooMed digital thermometer with probe and humidity gauge, like you listed. He has one on the warm side and the cool side. I will find the new bulb, i just bought what the pet store was using for him.

If you are in the US you have a lot of options for shipping feeders. I used to order crickets from premiumcrickets in Georgia and had good luck. They cost about $30 w/shipping for 1,000 which lasted about a month. I get my black soldier fly larvae from symtonbsf in Texas. I get hornworms and silkworms from either great lakes hornworm or coastal silkworms.

I calculated my shipping from a few breeders, it was $50 to ship and $48 for the actual feeders and that was only for their max shipment of 100 hornworms and the $4 food that goes with them, without the extra pay for a live guarantee and i live in Kentucky. What websites do you use from Texas? I also adjusted the probe a bit closer to his heat source and it is now 84 degrees, if i got the T8 bulb, what temperature would it be? He already reaches his maximum body heat, i don't want him to be too hot.

Basking surface should be about 100-105 with areas around that in the 90s and the cool side should be about 75-80 or so, creating a nice gradient across the tank. A T8 should sit 6-8'' directly above the basking area. They don't produce much heat and are mounted based on the intensity of the UVB they emit.

https://symtonbsf.com/products/large-feeding-grade-grubs is the site I use for black soldier fly larvae. 100 hornworms is a LOT. They grow very quickly so I usually just get 12 at a time and they ship in a container along with their food. The container lasts about a week. https://www.greatlakeshornworm.com/product-category/hornworm-cups/

https://www.coastalsilkworms.com/silkworm-pod.html

http://www.premiumcrickets.com/products/1000-crickets__1000.aspx