Beardie too small??

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MotherOfAsh

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Sorry if this has already been posted but I’m concerned about my beardie. I bought two beardies abiut 3 weeks ago. NO THEY ARE NOT IN THE SAME ENCLOSURE. I Don’t co-habitate at all. They both are juveniles and would say they are maybe 3 months old. Bought one from PetSmart (I know some people have views on adopting from there but that’s not what this is about) the one from petsmart is doing AWESOME he has an identical enclosure to my second beardie. And he’s healthy and growing everyday he eats like a piggy too! BUT my second beardie I got from a man online who’s son had her for 2 weeks and didn’t want her. He was going to take her to a kill shelter?! So I took her in. When we brought her in she was identical in size to our male and now he is so much bigger than her. She looks like she hasn’t grown at all... and she doesn’t eat very much. I keep her lighting the same as my other beardie. With the basking side being at 100-105 degrees and the cool side around 80-85 and at night around 75-80. Like I said This is identical set up as my male who is growing and eating like crazy. I’m just wondering what else I could be missing . Or are females just slow growers?
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
They all grow at different rates -- -- might want to bump the basking temp up to 105 or so ---- what is she eating or what are you feeding ? What kind of lighting do you have for the tanks? UVB brand and bulb and where in tank is it?
Please post pics of tank and lighting ------------ we can better see to see what help we can offer
thanks
Karrie
 

MotherOfAsh

New member
Original Poster
Thanks for the reply. I’m out of the house for a bit but when I get back I can post some pics of the tank. They are eating currently mealworms(not alive) baby crickets(alive) collards, mustard Greens, blueberries, apple, juvenile bearded dragon food by flukers it’s the premoist/ softened brand. They have the Desert UVB & heat lighting kit by ZooMed they are currently in 20 gallon tanks just because they are babies and don’t want them to become overwhelmed in a huge tank I have two 100 gallons enclosures already set up for when they get bigger.
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Is that a coil? Desert UVB? I would lay off the meal worms they have a exo skeleton that is harder for them to digest--- but yes please post pics the tank and lighting
that would be great
Karrie
 
If you have only had the non-growing one for three weeks I think it is normal for it not to be keeping up with the other one. It's likely had substandard care all of its life and it takes time for them to bounce back from that.
The "Desert UVB & heat lighting kit by ZooMed" you referenced does not contain a UVB and I'm sorry to tell you that it is crucial that you add a tube type UVB fixture and bulb to each enclosure. This needs to be done asap. If you can get each of them outdoors in natural sun each day it will help but this lighting cannot be skimped on.

Get those ordered- either Amazon or PangeaReptile or other reptile supply vendor can set you up. You want either T8 or T5 fixtures and bulbs in a size sufficient to span two thirds of the enclosure. You want either a ReptiSun 10.0 or Arcadia 12% brand bulb in each fixture- again either T8 or T5 type works but the fixtures and bulbs have to match so pay attention to that.

Once you have the proper lighting and temperatures start looking at food variety. Weigh each of them and keep records. I'm betting once you get the husbandry running right with proper lights, the temps confirmed, and a good food variety going that the smaller one will begin to add weight. If he does not after one month then have him checked for parasites. It wouldn't hurt you to do that anyway but I understand that the lighting is going to cost you and IMO that is your first priority before addressing vet bills on top of it..
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
If you have a colored bulb in the tank get rid of it-------------they hurt their eyes and can cause long term eye damage
Karrie
 
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