Am I doing something wrong?

This is probably going to be an essay but I want to give you guys as much info as possible so you know what I'm working with. My bearded dragon, Blade, is around 3 months old. I got him in July of this year. He's grown about 3 inches since I first got him (he's 9 inches now) but I'm a little concerned about his growth rate as it's been 2 months and he hasn't grown all that much. Is this normal? I'm a first time beardie mom so I don't know what the 'norm' is. He's a 'regular' bearded dragon, no special morphs or anything.

I feed him mealworms twice a day (about 8-10 per feeding) (I know I'm probably going to get slammed for that - but he loves them, and poops just fine, theyre also small). He won't eat crickets. I've got them for him multiple times and he eats about 2 and then perches on his log to get away from them (I've even tried one at a time in hopes I won't scare him and he still won't touch them). They're the correct size for his age, too. Note: I live in Canada so dubia roaches aren't an option here unfortunately because they're illegal. I'm not sure what else to feed him as he's still small, and SLOWLY growing. I also give him wax worms and veggies like celery, arugula, kale, and small bits of apple.

He's in a 20 gallon tank right now (temporarily until he gets bigger - then I will be upgrading) with tile as the 'substrate'. He has an 100W bulb for basking that reaches around 101.1F on the warm end and a compact Reptisun UVB light (which I'm looking to change for the longer tube light as I've heard that's best). I got most of his things in the Zoo Med 20 Gallon Bearded Dragon starter kit so I didn't pick and choose any of these things individually (it came with a red light, too, that I have never used as I've heard it's bad for their eyes).

This is my first time owning a bearded dragon and I want to give him the best life possible so PLEASE go easy on me. I've done copious amounts of research prior to getting him as well as after but it's hard when there seems to be so many conflicting things online. One website says something is okay and the other says not. I've never posted on here, either, so if this is in the wrong area I apologize but I am concerned for my little beardies health. Any help is greatly appreciated! I will update with pictures if that helps, as well.

I would get rid of this compact Reptisun UVB light as ASAP- this is one of the reasons hes not growing
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia--- look into getting this to feed him it will take alot because they are so small BSFL--- here is a website you can order from -- https://symtonbsf.com/ they are full of calcium and wont need to be dusted-- please no more meal worms for him they can cause impaction because hes so young and w/ basically NO UVB light hes not digesting his food very well --look at this website for nutrition --- please no more kale or celery--- give him greens like mustard collard or turnip squash zuchinni or yellow or butternut--- but you need to get that UVB changed out right away
Karrie

KarrieRee":3oqsofrl said:

I would get rid of this compact Reptisun UVB light as ASAP- this is one of the reasons hes not growing
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia--- look into getting this to feed him it will take alot because they are so small BSFL--- here is a website you can order from -- https://symtonbsf.com/ they are full of calcium and wont need to be dusted-- please no more meal worms for him they can cause impaction because hes so young and w/ basically NO UVB light hes not digesting his food very well --look at this website for nutrition --- please no more kale or celery--- give him greens like mustard collard or turnip squash zuchinni or yellow or butternut--- but you need to get that UVB changed out right away
Karrie

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Thank you for your reply and the info! I'll definitely be getting rid of the UVB light he has now. That website only ships within the United States though and I'm in Canada I will switch up the veggies as well. I appreciate all this (and thank you for not ripping my head off, lol).

Hi there,

They do all grow at different rates, but upgrading your lighting and diet a bit should help!
Does he only want to eat 10 mealworms or so, or are you limiting him to that.
My 2 month olds will eat many more mealworms than that at a time, but they are also are a bit bigger than yours is.

Growth will mainly come down to diet. So if you could find additional feeders to offer, and offer more feeders that will help. Also offering healthier salad options will do some good too.
Updating the lighting usually increases their appetites and activity levels, which in turn allows them to eat more. But like I said, it mainly comes down to diet.

-Brandon

What about phoenix worms--- see if you can get those --- and I wondering about discoids --- have you tried getting those ? I am sorry I forgot to send this website http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Karrie

claudiusx":wf9hjpuf said:

Hi there,

They do all grow at different rates, but upgrading your lighting and diet a bit should help!
Does he only want to eat 10 mealworms or so, or are you limiting him to that.
My 2 month olds will eat many more mealworms than that at a time, but they are also are a bit bigger than yours is.

Growth will mainly come down to diet. So if you could find additional feeders to offer, and offer more feeders that will help. Also offering healthier salad options will do some good too.
Updating the lighting usually increases their appetites and activity levels, which in turn allows them to eat more. But like I said, it mainly comes down to diet.

-Brandon

Click to expand...

Thank you for your info! I offer him mealworms and other worms until he closes his mouth at me and refuses to eat anymore lol. He looooves wax worms but I try to limit that because I know they're high in fat. I've only been offering them to him just to bulk him up a little bit at least. I think the lighting is probably one of the issues, like others here have said. I've been informed to upgrade the UVB bulb and that should help as well. My only concern is that it's only a 20 gallon tank right now and I don't know if the tube is going to fit on top along with his basking light. I'll have to figure something out I guess.

I will definitely change up his diet and try offering him more variety. I can't wait till he's old enough so I can watch him gobble down the horn worms lol.

Superworms should not be a staple, but I give them to mine as variety and they might be another way to bulk up your little one if you can get them. In the U.S., you can get them in the Petx stores as well as reptile stores. I get mine in the latter because they are generally fed better quality foods than the superworms in the cans in chain stores. Feeder nutrition is important, too, because what they eat ends up in your beardie eventually in some form.

A T 8 will sit width wise across the top w/ no screen --- 18" fixture -- but I would the next length up and I am not sure if its a 20" or what --- just make sure the cover is off the bulb and the fixture has a reflector in it ---
Karrie