Fattening up a baby the right way?

[spinyheliantheae]

I have a 6-9" baby that I got from PetSmart about two months ago (I know, I know, he stole my heart), and he was already super skinny and had a kinked back toe when I bought him. This guy is tiny. I took him to a vet a week ago as he was lethargic and not eating, was given some liquid calcium supplement and told to give a 15 minute soak 2x a day. He has gotten better, he's more active and curious than ever. I am just worried about his weight - he is 11.5g. I offer him a salad every day but he doesn't go for it (kids, right?), and he goes back and forth on wanting crickets. I tried mealworms but he has problems digesting them so I stopped giving him those. I'm wondering if he's just bored with what I'm giving him or if he's still getting over the pet store's terrible husbandry, and I'm not sure if I should try giving him baby food yet. I'm using a 10.0 Reptisun UVB bulb, a 30gal tub, temps are 90-100 and 76-80 with a 110-115 basking spot. Humidity is at 30 pretty consistently, and he's on paper towels. I had an adult dragon for years but with a new baby I am absolutely stumped.

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, what size are the crickets he eats and how many ? Can you post pics of him + the set up ? Here's how:

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload pics

Be sure to show the bulbs you have, too. A basking spot should be 100-105, any higher can be too hot. Does he like the baths ? Two a day is too much, plus it's usually stressful unless the baby actually drinks from it. Once every other day would be more than enough.

 

[Reptilelady]

Hi, Grats on your beardie. It's a good thing you stopped giving mealworms to your baby because this is really hard on their digestive system and causes impaction. Good feeders to feed are dubias, BSFL's (Black soldier fly larvae's) and of course what your currently feeding crickets. It is okay if they don't want to eat the salad, can try offering a few pieces here and there every day. If not, give the leftovers to the feeders. Would love to see your cute lil fella. Anyway you can upload a photo of him?

 

[spinyheliantheae]

He's a very tiny grumpy boy.

Here's his current setup, I'll be sure to move the basking light up so it's not so hot. He also eats about 25-30 small/medium crickets a day. And he almost always drinks from his bath, he's really chill about bath time too :lol:

 

[AHBD]

That's a very nice set up. It sounds like he's eating well, just add a few more bugs to each meal. Does he eat twice a day ? They do need 2 live feedings a day as babies, even 3 if it can be fit in. You can also try Phoenix/calci worms as part of his diet along with the crickets.

Is his uvb light on top of the screen or mounted under ? If it's on top you should mount it under to give him better uvb exposure which has a direct effect on appetite + calcium absorption. The screen + the distance will diminish the uvb efficiency. Here's how you can mount it insice, you can use wire poked through the screen like I have in this picture :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30028/full