Baby Beardie Not Growing

[keennneeth]

about a month or two ago i adopted my beardie dragon , he has not shed once since i have gotten him and he is pretty skinny for his age, id say he might be 4-5 months old maybe 3. he's about 5.5 inches and his appetite isn't that big, he ate like 5-10 crickets a day they were gut loaded and dusted in calcium then i switched over to small phoenix worms, i recently bought them but today he has eaten about 10-15 so that's good . he isn't eating as much as all the other beardies his age. he is very hydrated since he is little i heard they get dehydrated easily so i mist him twice a day along with a bath and make sure he does drink up some of the water.

as for the tank he is in a 40g and i upgraded to a UVB Reptisun 10.0 . i have had him for 2 months and for that time he has been on a coiled uvb but i read those were bad for the fella. then for basking i have a 150 watt basking bulb, his basking area gets around 100-110 degrees and for his cool area it's around 85. his tank is clean i make sure to "deep" clean it once a week.

i am just wondering why he isn't growing/shedding, there is always food in his tank and i tend to hand feed him every once in a while to make sure he eats and he is well hydrated. he's very aware when i try to take him out he's a hassle and runs away but when i do he's just running around on my bed, and he does look healthy other than the fact that he is a little skinny. any help would be greatly appreciated, thanks !

 

[CooperDragon]

They grow at different rates so I wouldn't be too concerned right off the bat. It's a good sign that he's eating (even if not a ton) and that he's alert and active. I would keep a chart with his weight and watch that trend. If it's stable or increasing that's good.

The new UVB light should help as well. Did you get the T5? How far above the basking area is it mounted?

 

[keennneeth]

They grow at different rates so I wouldn't be too concerned right off the bat. It's a good sign that he's eating (even if not a ton) and that he's alert and active. I would keep a chart with his weight and watch that trend. If it's stable or increasing that's good.

The new UVB light should help as well. Did you get the T5? How far above the basking area is it mounted?

it's a 36" t8 10.0 tube, and it's about 12 inches away from his basking spot but in his cooling spot he can get 6 inches from it and i have a lid on it so i'm not sure if that blocks some rays.

 

[CooperDragon]

If you have that much space, I highly recommend upgrading to a T5 which will produce great UVB exposure at 12''. A T8 has an optimal output between about 6-8'' (still not as good as a T5) and isn't really powerful enough to be effective through a screen top except in smaller enclosures. Does the 36'' run the full length of the enclosure?

 

[keennneeth]

If you have that much space, I highly recommend upgrading to a T5 which will produce great UVB exposure at 12''. A T8 has an optimal output between about 6-8'' (still not as good as a T5) and isn't really powerful enough to be effective through a screen top except in smaller enclosures. Does the 36'' run the full length of the enclosure?

yes it does run the whole enclosure, i am trying to find out a way to mount it inside the tank but i am not sure how to

 

[CooperDragon]

OK. If you go to a T5, I'd get a smaller 22'' so it sits over the basking area but provides an area of lower UVB on the cool side.

With your T8 it depends on the fixture and type of enclosure you have. Is the top solid with sliding/swinging front doors? Or does it have a mesh top that needs to be lifted to access the tank? Which fixture are you using? Some of them can be mounted using command hooks, other can be wired to the top, some can sit firmly with industrial velcro.