Rate my setup. Any tips? Beardie problems!!!

kingofnobbys":3fnqbk61 said:

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These might help you review your setup in a methodical way :
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=234738&p=1806050#p1806050
and
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611

Best feeders for a very young hatchling bearded dragon .
Good staple insects
>> BSF maggots
>> blowfly gents
and the pupae and flies , great for hatchlings and juveniles , naturally rich in calcium
>> silkworms
small (1-1.5 inch for sub 3 month olds)
medium (1.5 - 2 inch for larger hatchlings and juveniles)
large ( > 2 inch for beardies older than 12 months.
>> crickets / roaches / locusts , must be gutloaded with calcium rich foods and greens & dusted LIGHTLY with calcium powder.

Repashi GRUBPIE is acceptable as a backup food.

Hard and soft pellets , dubious , ok mixed in as softened croutons through they greens/salad (maybe).

Bites = rubbish food.

Insects suitable for treats
wax worms
and if beardie is over 12 months old
mealworms (lavae , pupae and beetles)
superworms (lavae , pupae and beetles)

basically Feeding schedules :

hatchlings
three feeds of live appropriate sized insects per day as many as they want per session offered a few at time if it's hoppy or fast moving
+ offer fresh high calcium greens daily (might not eat it).

Juveniles (6 months to 12 months)
two feeds of insects per day
+ offer fresh high calcium greens daily (might not eat it)

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EllenD":1dujqyum said:

Can you list what brand, model, color, and type (MVB, coil, compact, or tube) your lights are, along with his basking spot, hot side, and cool side temperatures are? And what type of thermometer you're using to measure the temperatures? What Calcium and multivitamin supplements are you using, and how often? And are wax worms your main staple feeder?

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MattRL":139dx92z said:

I've reformatted your images to see them properly 1280dpi size

Thats my setup. Should i clip my lights to the side of the tank with a clip on mount? Also, the problem with my beardie is about not eating a lot. Is that normal? As you stated they have to eat as much as they want in a ten minute sitting twice a day but he only eats about 2 - 3 per sitting and my light setup isnt correct which makes his appetite decrease?

Click to expand...

kingofnobbys":h44dj8u9 said:

MattRL":h44dj8u9 said:

I've reformatted your images to see them properly 1280dpi size

Thats my setup. Should i clip my lights to the side of the tank with a clip on mount? Also, the problem with my beardie is about not eating a lot. Is that normal? As you stated they have to eat as much as they want in a ten minute sitting twice a day but he only eats about 2 - 3 per sitting and my light setup isnt correct which makes his appetite decrease?

Click to expand...

Move the basking and UVB closer to each other. Beardie needs to get high levels of UVA & UVB while basking (I am for about 190 microW UVB / sq.cm).
The very fine mesh lid is blocking about 40% of the UVA & UVB as well as the UVB bulb being too far away form the floor and beardie to provide adequate UV exposure.

Move the UVB and the hood it's mounting UNDER the mesh lid, needs to be about 7-8 inches from the basking spot.
I would mount the UV globe's hood as follows.

>> large nylon cable ties wrapped around the hood (one each end)
>> make two small holes in the mesh lid (to slip small cable ties through)
>> short length of timber dowel placed on top of mesh small cable ties on each end (to avoid ties ripping mesh)
>> 2 small cable ties slipped onto the large cable ties through mesh around dowel at each end as shown
>> tighten large and small cable ties , done.

I think inadequate UVA is contributing to his small apetite , if you can increase the flux of both UVA & UVB by moving the UVB globe closer to his basking spot and the floor , this will help boost his apetite.

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EllenD":3hld3y98 said:

You also need to stop feeding him wax worms as his staple, they are not a staple feeder but should only be an occasional treat. They contain little to no protein or much needed vitamins and minerals, and are pretty much all fat and water. He will not only develop severe nutritional deficiencies from eating them, but he will end up with fatty liver disease very young. Mealworms are just as bad nutritionally, plus they tend to cause impactions.

From birth to a year old your beardie is doing most of his growing and developing, and if you're not feeding him 2-3 feeding sessions every day, each session lasting 10-15 minutes, where he's allowed to eat as many HIGH-QUALITY LIVE FEEDER INSECTS as he wants to, he's not going to grow to his full potential, possibly be stunted, and most importantly he will develop fatty liver disease. He should only have a few wax worms per week at most for a treat. And now you're going to have to completely eliminate them, at least for a while, because he will hold out for them instead of eating the nutritious live insects. You need to gutload crickets or dubia roaches, or other roaches, with lots of Calcium rich greens and beardie pellets, or use Phoenix Worms/BSFL/Calciworms/Reptiworms, or silkworms. He's far to small for any size of superworms. So you should either start ordering crickets, dubias, BSFL, or silkworms in bulk online, you'll save a fortune, or start a dubia roach colony. Either way you really need to completely stop the wax worms for now, he may not eat the crickets or dubias for a few days, that's fine, just don't give in and give him any more wax worms or mealworms, you're not doing him any favors and will be very sorry if you don't change his diet now while he's young.

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