Weird things going on with my beardie...

So, just got my beardie maybe a month ago from Petsmart. Not exactly sure of the age. But just recently, he/she got some minor swelling on the front left leg. The scales look a bit discolored as well. I then noticed a small, dark patch on the head. I also have some concerns about the tip of the tail becoming gray-ish. Its tail just shed recently and left a tiny bit behind. I've tried assisting with as much of the tail shed as possible but didnt want to injure my beardie. Any help would be greatly appreciated!!

Hi there, you have to post pics like this :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG

And it's pretty common for new owners to be worried about shed but it's usually nothing to worry about. Whatever you do, never pull the skin off, it must come off on it's own.

Thanks! My biggest concern is the time it has taken to actually start coming off of the body. The tail happened in a day or two.

O.K, the pics are showing now. Is she walking alright ? Her feet look fine, sometimes the skin starts pulling away as it begins to shed. I think the tail is fine too, but post a few more pics that are a bit closer, using a light , solid colored background.

Hope these look better than the previous photos. So the arm and the spot on the head could just be shedding? She's also falling behind the growth curve, it seems. My roommates beardie is ginormous compared to mine and they were bought at the same time. Mine doesn't have an appetite NEARLY as large as his.

He's a cutie. He's not housed with the other dragon, is he ? If so, that's your growth problem....one will often thrive while the other lays low on activity + eating due to stress. If they ARE separate, exactly what type of uvb lights do you have and what is the temp. throughout the tank ? Please post pics of the entire set up. What + how much do you feed him ?

The leg looks bigger in that pic mostly because of the angle compared to the last pics. Does he limp at all ? And is there a kink in the tail about 1.5 inches up ?

Both beardies are currently sharing a 40gal terrarium. I was told it was fine for a couple of months but its looking otherwise. I'll work on getting a second terrarium ASAP. It does seem like a little kink is present but it wasn't that noticeable until i took the pictures. There's no limp. Mobility is definitely not a problem considering I'm learning karate basically every time he's out of the cage. It does seem like the left leg is being used a little less though. I may just be paranoid. We have a 100w heat lamp and a reptisun 10.0 I believe. I'll get a pic for you soon.

Here's a picture of the current setup. They get fed small dubias. As many as they'll eat in 10 minutes twice a day. They get veggies every now and then but they aren't really big fans of them.

First of all, I would immediately remove the sand/all loose substrates, there are many reasons that they should be on a solid substrate only, but right now with any possible infections/open shedding issues, the last thing you want is for sand to cause an infection to any open areas. All loose substrates breed and harbor all types of bacteria, fungi, parasites, etc. from the minute you dump them in the tank, and dragons are prone to acquiring skin/scale infections, upper respiratory infections, eye infections, etc., so please, dump out all the sand ASAP and then completely disinfect the entire tank and the decor inside, and then just put down paper towels or newspapers in the interim, as a temporary, clean, solid substrate that can be replaced as they get soiled. You can worry about choosing a permanent solid substrate later, like nice textured, slate tiles. But for now you just want to get that sand out of there.

Obviously you already know that you need to get 2 of everything and get them separate immediately, as the domination is already starting between your two dragons, and as AHBD already wisely mentioned, what always seems to happen right from the start is you end up with one Dragon who thrives, they grow normally and are healthy, and then the other dragon is always stunted in growth and development, usually half the size of the other dragon by only 5 or 6 months old, and is sickly, usually always developing nutritional deficiencies/diseases like MBD. So even if you have to buy a 60 or so liter plastic tub from Walmart, put paper towels down in it with a basking platform, and use a clamp lamp to house a Basking Bulb, like you're setting up a temporary rearing tub, that's what you need to do for the health of your dragons. This is the time when they are doing the most growing and developing, and that's why one always ends up not thriving...

While the tail and the spot on his head look to be spots of retained shed (the tail may be a bite from the other dragon, in one photo is looks like it has an open area, but I can't really confirm that, it may just be a kink, but kinks are a sign of calcium deficiency sometimes), I am more worried about the obviously swollen front leg, especially if he's favoring it at all. I don't think that this swelling is due to the shed, it's quite swollen, and if it is in fact painful for him, then you have to be concerned about the possibility of Gout, as it's quite common in young Dragons.

I'm hoping that the moderator, Tracie (Drache613), sees this post and gives her opinion on his front leg swelling, as she's extremely knowledgeable about Gout in Dragons, and I'd really like to get her opinion, because my first thought when I saw his leg was "Damn, that looks like Gout". If so, it's very treatable, but it's important to start treatment ASAP before it gets worse. The problem with such a young baby is that he's far too small to take blood from to test his Uric Acid level, though an experienced Reptile Vet may be able to do a fine-needle aspiration from his leg and then check the fluid for Uric Acid crystals to confirm the Gout.

EDIt: I'm not actually sure if that's a loose substrate, like sand, or not now that I look at the photo again...if it's not sand or a loose substrate then I very much apologize, I really can't tell what it is now, but better safe than sorry I guess...

I've heard about loose substrate. I actually had just got a carpet for the tank. I'll be working on getting a second setup after i get out of work tonight. As far as I'm concerned, there hasn't been any violence. Not obviously anyways. I appreciate all of the info everybody has given me, I'll be working on rectifying all issues mentioned. Thanks again, all!