Does my baby look healthy? (w/pics)

[wicket15]

This isn't urgent or anything (well, hopefully not anyway!), but I just kind of wanted some opinions from other beardie owners on if Wicket looks healthy or not. I'm kind of going through a struggle to get him to eat anything right now, so I'm worried he's way too thin. He's anywhere from 4-6 months old and is around 12 inches long from nose to tail tip. I'm not sure about weight.

Here's him from a few different angles from the other day:

Usually his coloring is a little brighter, but the lighting was bad. His hip bones are pretty visible and I don't think he really has any fat stored in his pouches or whatever (on his head and tail). He's super active and alert (he was very skeptical of me taking his photos!), and he poops regularly. He's just been going through a bit of a food strike with me, and I'm afraid it's starting to show. I don't know how to keep/get weight on this kiddo!

Any notes or suggestions about him would be appreciated! I've never had a bearded dragon before him, and most of the pics I see are of older beardies, so I figured it'd be best to ask y'all if it looks like he needs anything. Thank you in advance!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there....Wicket looks reasonably healthy [ and a very cute leatherback ] He's on the slim side, but not bad or unhealthy looking at all. It may be that his appetite is lacking because he's going into shed.

Just to be sure his tank is all good [ lights, temp, etc. ] can you list the exact type + brand of lights you use, temps. throughout the tank and even a pic of his set up ? Also, what has he been eating ?

 

[wicket15]

Thank you for responding! His tank should be good, but sure!
40 gallon breeder tank
Tile substrate
Reptisun T8 10.0 uvb tube bulb
100 watt basking bulb
Basking spot temp is around 102-107F depending on day
Cool side temp around 75-80F
I use a digital thermometer with probe to take temps
He has plenty of things to climb on and explore
He even has a hide with a nice lil blankie in it Here's a picture from when I first set it up, as it hasn't changed since then:

(Sorry all my pics are so blurry - I was just using my phone for them.)

As for food, I've been feeding him reptiworms since I got him (we've been together almost three months now). He was eating about 15ish eat sitting, and I fed him twice a day. My work started picking up with the summer season though, so instead of feedings I just left a bunch in his bowl to munch on throughout the day.

When my worms started turning to flies, I let him have a couple because he liked chasing them, and that's when he started being a little punk and lost interest in the worms and only wanted the flies. So I fed him crickets until my new worm order came in. He would eat a couple of those before ignoring them. I've recently gotten dubias and he'll eat a couple of those before he just watches them scurry around his tank. I got my order of 300 worms in the other day, which is a pain because he refuses to eat them now! This has all been happening over the span of two or three weeks, maybe? He's never eaten a lot, but now it doesn't seem like he hardly eats anything, which worries me.

His last shed was about a month ago, and his colors have dulled a little, but it doesn't really look like he's going into shed shed mode. His shed before is what I blamed his disinterest in his worms on before, but that doesn't really seem to be the case anymore from what I can tell?

I get rambly in these posts--sorry this was so long!! Also thank you! I think he's quite the cutie myself. :love10: I didn't realize he's a leatherback!

 

[AHBD]

Yes, he's a leather. Your set up, lights + temp. are fine...it does sound as if he's picky with his food though. Some dragons are, but again, he's not TOO thin. If you haven't had a fecal test done you might see about one pretty soon if his appetite doesn't pick up. How do you hydrate him ? Be sure that he's well hydrated too....that can affect appetite.

 

[wicket15]

Update!

Wicket has since picked up his appetite, and he's gobbling up more roaches and worms than ever before. Just in the last week I can tell he's starting to put weight back on. Already he looks much healthier; I think the roaches are really doing him good in terms of thickening him up! He has very healthy poos and is as active as ever. I guess he was just going through a phase.