Help! Juveniles are Growing at Very Different Rates

Status
Not open for further replies.

Marbles21

New member
Hi! My younger brother and I each got a bearded dragon back in January. They were together for about 2 weeks and then the second tank came and they were separated into two different rooms. Regretfully, they were from PetSmart (I plan on rescuing an adult once I am done with college) but I am afraid that there is something wrong with my brother's beardie, Goldie. My brother lost interest in them after a few weeks (which is no surprise) but I enjoy caring for both so both get lots of love. They are each in 40gal tanks with proper UVB, heat lamps, plenty of places to hide or bask, fresh water, veggies, and crickets daily covered in calcium powder (worms are a treat once a week). However, my beardie (who was smaller when we first got them) is growing quickly and is almost always white on its belly while Goldie is almost always brown unless asleep and has stayed fairly small and skinny in comparison. I am very invested in this little guy or girl and would like to see him/her prosper as much as the other but I am not sure what to do or change since they are in the same conditions. Also, when I feed mine it goes right for the crickets immediately while Goldie will usually watch them for awhile and eat them over a longer period of time (usually an hour or so before they are all gone). I've tried adding more spots to hide in case he is stressed but he is almost always on his hammock in the same spot basking. I've heard that males can grow faster so perhaps mine is a male and Goldie is a female? Is there anymore I can do to help Goldie grow more? Sorry I don't have a scale small enough to weigh them, but the difference in the two is very obvious. Mine is constantly shedding or skin is always in the tank while I've barely seen that in Goldie.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Husbandry plays a key role in the behavior and over all health- the tanks are they set up the same way? What kind of UVB do you have for them? If you can post pics of the tanks and their lighting maybe we can figure this out? Are the dragons able to see each other?
Karrie
 

Marbles21

New member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":262n7p3e said:
Husbandry plays a key role in the behavior and over all health- the tanks are they set up the same way? What kind of UVB do you have for them? If you can post pics of the tanks and their lighting maybe we can figure this out? Are the dragons able to see each other?
Karrie

Yes, they are both in 40gal tanks with the brown terrarium liner, they both have the Reptisun 10.0 UVB, and they both have the Zoo Med heat lamp (I no longer have the packaging but we tested 50w, 75w, and 100w and settled for 100). I also have the Zoo Med night lamps (they are blue) that are 75w and those are on during the night. The thermometers always read around about 105 on the side with the heat lamp, and the humidity is kept around 30 as I've read that that should be the average. They are not able to see each other, Goldie is in my brothers bedroom and mine (Marbles) is in my bedroom down the hall so they have not seen each other since being separated a few months ago. I hope this helps and, if not, I can take some pictures of the two setups and the dragons later tonight when I have time. I'm mainly concerned because Marbles seems to be thriving and happy while Goldie struggles in the same conditions.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Zoo Med night lamps (they are blue) please get rid of them -- I am thinking that is the issue w/ her- colored bulbs in the tank are harmful to bearded dragons eyes --- they only need a good UVB and good white basking bulb that keeps temps to where they are supposed to be - if you want extra lighting on the cool side I would recommend a house hold bulb regular bulb or a day white bulb from the petstore - I have a 60 wat house hold bulb in my tank and it is used for extra light - I dont like a 1/2 dark 1/2 lit tank during the day -- all lights go off during the nite - it slows their metabolism so they can sleep better - if you need the heat invest in a CHE ceramic heat emitter NO LIGHT - it produces heat only but I am sure that is causing an issue w/ her - but please get rid of them in both tanks
Karrie
 

Marbles21

New member
Original Poster
KarrieRee":3itp9ylb said:
Zoo Med night lamps (they are blue) please get rid of them -- I am thinking that is the issue w/ her- colored bulbs in the tank are harmful to bearded dragons eyes --- they only need a good UVB and good white basking bulb that keeps temps to where they are supposed to be - if you want extra lighting on the cool side I would recommend a house hold bulb regular bulb or a day white bulb from the petstore - I have a 60 wat house hold bulb in my tank and it is used for extra light - I dont like a 1/2 dark 1/2 lit tank during the day -- all lights go off during the nite - it slows their metabolism so they can sleep better - if you need the heat invest in a CHE ceramic heat emitter NO LIGHT - it produces heat only but I am sure that is causing an issue w/ her - but please get rid of them in both tanks
Karrie

Okay, I will try turning off all lights instead during the night and see if there are any changes. Thank you for the advice I did not know that colored lights can be harmful to them!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Yes lights should be on 12 hrs off 12 hrs-- they are like us and like darkness when we sleep--
Karrie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
KarrieRee":3c07jp82 said:
Yes lights should be on 12 hrs off 12 hrs-- they are like us and like darkness when we sleep--
Karrie

Only in winter for adults if you plan on breeding them and want the males and females fertility cycles to peak at the same time.

I recommend 15 hours at least for the lights (UV and heat) to be on each day to ensure your juveniles stay active and feeding and have enough time to metabolise their food and dietary calcium.

How exactly are you monitoring their respective growth rates ?

I believe the most effective and reliable method is a weekly weighin ,and to chart the growth rates , both raw in grams and normalized.
Like I have done here : viewtopic.php?f=44&t=248638&start=15
example of my spreadsheet
caesar-and-cleopatra-growth-data-first-5-weeks-with-us-3may2019.png

my charts
caesar-and-cleopatra-growth-chart-A-first-5-weeks-with-us-3may2.png

caesar-and-cleopatra-growth-chart-B-first-5-weeks-with-us-3may2.png
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
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

Forum statistics

Threads
155,897
Messages
1,255,669
Members
75,965
Latest member
williamyoung
Top Bottom