Does my bearded dragon appear healthy?

[Incerpja]

He eats mainly flukers dry food mix with dead crickets and mealworms everyday, mixed vegetables 4 or 5 times a week, live crickets 2 or 3 times a week, and live mealworms every other day. He's or she, is about 16 inches long and very active, he hasn't shed for almost a month or two and only goes to the bathroom 2 or 3 times a week. I also give him the opportunity to drink each day, and he often does. I just wanna know of he looks healthy or if my feeding arrangements could harm him?
he's about 6 months old also.

 

[luissandoval87]

Looks beautiful and healthy, but it's hard to say from just a picture. I mean he looks totally fine to me. Great Looking Dragon!

 

[Incerpja]

also i give him a calcium supplement with the crickets, his tank is a 55 gallon long aquarium with paper towel substrate, a basking side of about 100 degrees under the lamps and a cool side around 80 degrees. thanks for any info regarding my beardies health.

 

[AHBD]

I agree,he's beautiful, and looks the picture of health.

 

[Lurhstaap]

He does look very good, but I would be wary of the pellets. Actually if anything he appears a bit overweight to me, and obesity is no better for dragons than it is for humans. It could easily be the way he's sitting, though. The premade food pellets are a lot like candy or McDonald's for dragons -- it'll plump them right up but that doesn't mean it's good for them! I have read many reports of dragons developing fatty liver disease and other problems from being fed these diets long term.

Also, the dead crickets are nutritionally worthless. You should be offering live crickets. The calcium dusting is good, though. The tank setup sounds fine. You should be offering the fresh veggies every single day, though, and they should be the staple of his or her diet. At your dragon's age, it should be going about once a day or once every other day on average. The pattern you are seeing may be because of the high proportion of dry, hard food in the diet; if you switch to live feeders and daily veggies, removing the pellets, you should see a more regular potty schedule from your dragon. The mealworms are also nutritionally worthless. Your dragon is large enough to eat superworms safely so I would suggest switching to superworms rather than mealworms if you want to feed such worms at all. Superworms have more nutrition than mealworms. Personally I recommend silkworms, hornworms, butterworms, and/or black soldier fly larvae over superworms/mealworms any day, but superworms are an acceptable treat.

Did you mention what UVB light you are using? That could be the reason he isn't shedding, too.

 

[Incerpja]

Thanks a lot and I'll definately up the amount of veggies I feed him. I'm using a zoo med UVB light but I've read they become useless after 6 months is this true?

 

[AHBD]

I agree with Luhrstaap that more fresh veggies will help out + be a more nutritious choice for him. The best ones are leafy greens such as turnip, mustard, collard, dandelion, squash and depending on where you live, low growing clover and leaves from the mulberry tree are good for them and some of these things can be found in your own yard. You can pick them if you're sure what they are and that no pesticides are used in you or a close neighbors yard. It is good that he eats such a huge variety and types of food, because some owners get stuck with beardies that only want 1 - 2 items and reject the rest. His size, though, looks great, I see many photos of fat beardies, but he doesn't appear overweight in the least, and looks to be still growing. And yes, you should change the Reptisun bulb every 6 months. If you happen to live in a state where it's warm, getting the dragon outside in the sun can supply all the UVB he needs while you're waiting on a new bulb.

 

[patrickmb21]

nice dragon

 

[Lurhstaap]

It is true that UVB bulbs need to be replaced every six months. This is because, over time, even though they still produce the same amount of light that is visible to humans, their ability to produce UVB rays goes down until it's too low to be of any use to the dragon. This is an unavoidable problem with the technology. Personally, I use the Reptisun 10.0 compacts right now, but only because I'm poor and it was the only thing available when I had cash. As soon as I can afford to I will be switching to the tubes. I have not had any problems with the compacts, but many people have, so I feel I cannot recommend them. The tube version of the same brand however is apparently excellent; I have heard no complaints about it. I have also heard that the Arcadia 12% tube is excellent.

I also agree strongly with the recommendation to take your dragon outside in the real sunlight as often as possible -- except I would say to do this even when you do have the new bulb as well as while you're waiting for it to arrive! I do this with mine and not only is it very good for their health, but they enjoy it a lot. It can be a wonderful bonding time. My male has a particular favorite bush he loves to climb on.