Bearded dragon 8 months (issues)

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My bearded dragon is 8 months old and seems like he is healthy a lot of the time he is alert but seems to be not growing (just his stomach his length is fine) shedding like at all. He does not like his greens (having them very occasionally) and really the only bugs he eats are 5 large crickets everyday i do not know if im underfeeding him but i took him to the vet maybe when he was 6 months and she said 8 every-second day and that didn't sound right so i have just been sticking to 5 every day. Anyway he is on sand but he has never been constapated and usually has a temperature of around about 30°c and a basking of 35°c-40°c and UVB is normal anyway i would just like some help any would be greatly appreciated thank you
Photos: https://ibb.co/bBm51y
https://ibb.co/cMz3od
https://ibb.co/kvmuuJ
https://ibb.co/mUu3od
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
He's a bit slim , bit I think I can still see fat pads on his head and his tail is nice and full.

At 8 months old he still needs mostly live insects in his diet , two feeds of insects per day. One feed of 5 crickets per day is NOT ENOUGH.

The best bets are

Large BSFL
medium to large size silkworms

>>> crickets (he should manage medium size ( 1/3 - 1/2 size ) crickets *
>>> locusts suitable size *
>>> roaches suitable size *
* gut loaded with calcium rich greens, and carrot and beardie pellets , and dusted with calcium powder.

I'd be offering salad greens and grated veg fresh daily - if he eats some that's a bonus , if not no biggy.

I suspect the issues are due to inadequate UV . We need to know exactly what the UV source is
ie
type (compact fluorescent type ? or T8 tube ? or T5HO tube ? or MVB ? )
brand ?
Wattage ?
%UVB rating ?
in a reflector hood or dome ?
ontop a mesh lid ?
is there a lens infront of it ?
how old is it ?
how far is it from the basking spot ?
see this for proper lighting set up : viewtopic.php?f=34&t=235611

How are you measuring the temperatures ?

Photo period ?

Is he sharing a tank with another reptile ? / dragon ?
Can he see another reptile ?
Other pets ?
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Hi there, your dragon looks just a wee bit [ hardly ] on the thin side but is closer to the perfect size for his length. He has nice muscle tone but not a fat belly. He definitely does not need 2 live feedings per day at all, just a few extra bugs per feeding. Many owners, including ones on this forum have overweight, inactive dragons made that way through the ' eat all they can eat " diet until they are over a year old. The dragons will develop health problems and become much more inactive because they are stuffed like sausages most of the time. Sadly it's becoming more + more common and looked at as normal. Believe me that you are more on the right track with his diet, but do feed just a few more insects per day as well as offering greens like kale, turnip, mustard, collards along with green beans squash + a few other veggies.
 

lolfaceomgggg

Member
Original Poster
Ok i would like to clear some thing up

He is using a reptile uvb 5.0 26 wat spiral tube

he does not see any other animals in his cage

i mesure the temperatures with two different type of thermostats one at the cold end and one at the warm and and i constantly keep an eye on the basking temperature

I would say the light is maybe 2 months old but maybe your right i may be using the wrong uvb

I really appreciate all your help but i would really like an exact number of how many crickets a day
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
You can give him 8-10 large crickets a day. Keep offering the salad a few times a week as well. Other good food choices are large silkworms and medium dubia roaches . BSFL [ black soldier fly larva] are nutritious maggots but are very small for the larger dragons to get a good meal unless you want to spend a lot of money to feed them a ton of them, then it's fine.

Your uvb bulb is not a good one. You'll need a good long tube bulb like Reptisun 10.0 t5 or Arcadia D3 12 % or 14%. Or you could go with an all in one mercury vapor bulb that produces heat as well as uvb. Powersun by zoomed or Megaray brands are the best.
 

lolfaceomgggg

Member
Original Poster
Thankyou so much

There is one last question i would like to ask im Australian and it is currently winter getting pretty cold at night i have a ceramic heat lamp 150 wats i think but it does not keep the cage well heated and only heates up one side of the cage i fell like because its winter he is slowing down just a bit (growing wise he is very active and loves to be pet) and also is it good to give him some fatty worms like silk ???
Because all his life all he has eaten are crickets but he never gets bored alway hunting them i love taking him outside and he is very well toilet trained only pooping outside or in the bath

I really appreciate all your help thankyou :D
 

Reptilelady

Sub-Adult Member
I agree as well. Thank goodness you've only been using the spiral UVB bulb for only 2 months -coil type bulbs are very bad. http://www.moonvalleyreptiles.com/reptile-resources/reptile-uvb-lighting
You will need to get a long linear tube or a MVB. I use Mega-Ray and noticed outstanding results.
I would also try offering a different variety of greens/salads. Here is a good website to check out:
http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
It's always best to rotate greens/veggies/proteins and only 1 day out of a week for fruit. Variety is the spice of life :D
 
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Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

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