Bearded dragon eating his tail!

Hello,

I have a 12 week old beardie that has some issues. I couldn't find him the other day, and when I lifted up a piece of driftwood up, I found him underneath hyperventilating and making noise with his tail fully in his mouth. This is the first instance he's ever done something like this, he is normally very gentle and calm.

Some background information:
40 gallon breeder tank
T8 24" uvb light (I received this from a friend who had in sitting in a garage, I was not aware the UVB can run out)
75 watt infrared light
Ceramic tile substrate
Light stays on about 8 hours a day
Lights were on top of the mesh screen
He eats about 15-20 crickets a day depending on how many he leaves behind.


After posting this on another forum, I was told it could be a combination of calcium deficiency, not eating enough, incorrect lighting, and maybe neurological issues. They sent me here for more information. I've made some adjustments to his setup since, but I wanted to make sure my setup is good for my friend!

Now:
I switched out the t8 bulb and the infrared light for a powersun 100 watt mercury bulb. It says it provides uva, uvb, heat, and refular light.

I was told he should be eating between 50-100 crickets a day and he is severely malnourished. I leave plenty in there for him, he just doesn't eat that many! Also, I've tried to dust crickets but he refuses to eat them if they have any amount of the calcium on them. What can I do to stop/prevent all this? Thank you for your help! Sorry if this isnt considered an emergency, it seemed like one to me!

Old setup http://i43.tinypic.com/23uomk3.jpg
New setup http://i41.tinypic.com/w0iagm.jpg
Dragon himself http://i40.tinypic.com/1zef57n.jpg

Hi there....just a few thoughts, and I'm sure others will offer suggestions as well. Is it possible that his tail was hurt, maybe pinched under the log,and he bit at it ? Another possibility is that he saw his tail as a prey item . Is the picture of him before he bit it , or is the tail mangled in any way ? He looks good in that pic. As for how many crix he eats, not all beardies will eat the 50 -100, especially if they were from a pet store where they may have been only fed 5-6 crix a day. Just be sure to dust with calcium powder. The Powersun should be fine, just keep an eye on how he does.

The picture was of him before, but I haven't noticed anything out of the ordinary on his tail. A little darker towards the end of it, but nothing that I would say is noticeable. I flipped the driftwood over so hopefully that prevents him from getting caught.

Good to know on the crickets, I was being told I was basically starving him...not a good feeling to have . I simplified his setup a little bit to make it easier for him to hunt crickets, hopefully that will help. Thank you for the input!

Hello,

He sure is a cutie in that picture!
The new setup looks much better. The mercury vapor bulbs should be angled straight down to prevent glare on their eyes as well as provide stability for the light. It decreases the life of the bulb if they are angled.
What are the temperatures of his basking spot?
How often does he get calcium?
How is his tail doing?

Tracie

A couple other things , I forgot to mention that his lights should be on for about 12 hours. Also, he really needs calcium so if he won't eat crickets with calcium powder, try a bit of baby food squash or unsweetened applesauce to mix the powder in. They usually like the taste.

I've been told in these forums too, that its ok to feed them whatever they will eat in 15-20 minutes.. so if its 20 ok.. 40.. ok...

Maybe the tail has some rot on it? I don't know from looking at the picture, but if he keeps biting at it, I'd have a vet check him out to be safe.