Snips - Aging help?

Hello!


I'm the happy owner of a very grumpy and sleepy dragon named Snips. Snips is too young to be sexed yet but I'll be calling him "he" for simplicity. I had just cleaned his tank and his basking rock was still drying when I took this picture!

I got Snips about two months ago from a pet store (I know, I know but he was calling out to me) and he's slowly turning out to be a very big personality, but also a lovely boy. He's not too friendly yet, but he did crawl on my hand of his own accord today! From what I can tell, he hates everything bearded dragons normally like. He hates baths, he hates most fruits, he hates being stroked on his beard (back is fine!), he hates free roaming around the bedroom, and he never, ever, ever goes to the cool side unless he wants salad (the warm side is between 99-105F during the day). Balls and other toys are a no too.

The few things he does like? Watching me work on my bed, protein, yellow squash, and snap peas, being high up, dark places, and car rides (maybe).

I've been lurking on this site since before I got Snips (I've wanted a beardie for years!) and I'm posting because I was hoping to get some aging help? Solely for the purpose of making sure I'm feeding him enough (and also not too much).

When I got him, all the pet store knew was that he was under 3 months. Here's his growth chart:


For anyone who wants the math: He's grown 7 inches and 119.5 g in two months. That's almost an inch and 15 grams a week!

Based on when I first got him, I thought he was 2 months old? That would mean he's 4 months now. But based on other beardie growth charts his current size would suggest 5-6 months old and possibly underweight.

I free feed him salad (dandelion greens, yellow squash/zucchini, and some other beardie safe fruits and veggies I switch out, along with Fluker's Juvenile Bearded Dragon Veggie Blend) all day and he gets as many "medium" crickets as he can eat in 10 minutes at 7am and 5pm. I dust the morning crickets in calcium 5 days a week, and reptivitamins 2 days a week. Lately he's been eating anywhere between 80-125 crickets a day. Not to mention he does eat a good bit of his veggies and I use dried grasshoppers (broken into pieces) as treats for training. This equals about 1-2 adult sized (legless) grasshoppers a day. I will occasionally feed him dubias (his favorite!) and when the holidays are over, I'll order more Phoenix worms.

When he isn't pancaked out, he's pretty wrinkly, but I know it's not dehydration as his urates are fairly watery (I may have overwatered him this week in response to on and off diarrhea - he's just finished a month long parasite treatment). I am hoping to go out and find him a proper probiotic once I'm done quarantining for the holidays, but for now I've been dusting his veggies with crested gecko feed that has probiotics every few days. He doesn't super like it and tends to avoid the more densely coated veggies so I'm not worried about him getting too much sugar.

So any guesses on age? Or suggestions on feeding?

Here is a website for nutrition http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html'
Ignore the kale thing its a great staple feeder
The age I am guessing between 4-6 months and we can look and see what sex he is post a pic of his vent from behind w/ the tail in the air please
What are you using for a UVB? No coils please
basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? No stick ons they are inaccurate

KarrieRee":pt1k1rax said:

What are you using for a UVB? No coils please
basking temps what are they and how are you taking them? No stick ons they are inaccurate

Click to expand...

Thanks for the site!

I use a ReptisunT8 24" lamp. Unfortunately it does sit on my screened lid because I still haven't found a mountable undercounter led light holder that's the proper size or has the proper wattage. I guess my local Walmarts aren't up to snuff.

I do use digital stick-on thermometers that came with the tank for a constant read out but I've checked them with a digital probe and they typically agree. The most I've seen them differ is 3 degrees.

As I said the basking spot is between 100-105°F using a 100w lamp. I tried the 150w lamp but the temp jumped to 117°F and I was worried about him getting burns. He does sleep in his hide for 2-3 hours in the afternoon but his basking rock is a hide duo so he's sleeping right above an undertank heating pad.

With the UVB sitting on top of the screen hes getting little to NO UVB you are not going to find a fixture specifically for mounting - at least I have never seen one or heard of one - your fixture needs a reflector in it if you dont have one in it -- you can use these to mount
3 M command Velcro fasteners- picture hanging wire – long plastic zip ties-- potted plant wire hangers -- fishing line-- or these they work really good they look like velcro straps
https://www.homedepot.com/p/GE-15-ft-Cable-Ties-Hook-and-Loop-Spool-Black-10375/304220195
distance for the T 8 needs to be 6-8 directly over the basking decor - you need to mount the fixture first then adjust your basking decor
Karrie

His weight seems fine as my dragon is right around 4 months old and a very similar size.
I agree with Karrie though in that you should be making sure he’s getting proper UVB and a T8 would need to be nosed the tank. A T5 you would probably be able to keep on top of the screen depending on how far it is from the basking spot.

117 is a bit hot but if that’s only at a very specific spot he will move slightly to thermoregulate.

Mine also eats a lot but I’ve tried to stick to dubias as they seem to be more filling.

Hi there

You can order Bene-Bac gel online if you’re looking for a good probiotic. Just google it - I get mine from the Chewy app and it comes within 2 or 3 days. I usually give my girl some Bene Bac gel on the tip of her nose when she comes out of burnation - both my dragons have seemed to actually like licking it off over the years ... must be a little tasty ? - and I have had good results with it. I think it’s BeneBac Plus I get - birds and reptiles.

Hey y'all!

Thanks for all the help! I have finally mounted the UV Bulb inside of the tank! Snips has another vet appointment in a week so hopefully we are finally parasite free and I can get her weigh in on his growth. I've also got probiotics on the way!!!

In more fun news! We've finally gotten to the point where he trusts me to hold him! We're working on learning his name now! And he's starting to enjoy his exploration time outside the tank instead of just running for somewhere to hide.

Here's a photo of him chilling. The lamp looks closer than it actually is.

He's a great looking boy. Keep working with him the trust will come. My rescue bit me in the face the first time I held him and now he's my little puppy. Time and patience. But now I have to ask. Is Snips named after a certain Star Wars character? Because that would be awesome!!
Good luck to you two!!