Feeding and Stress, need advice

[Kikary]

Hello,

(im new in this forum)

I got my first bearded dragon 1 week ago from my local pet store (should have gotten one from breeder but i simply fell in love with him)

Here is some information.
Name: Draco "Malfoy"
Age: 6 months (from what they told me)
Gender: Male

Terrarium
Size: 115x45x45 (cm)
Temperature: max 45C (basking spot) max 29C (cooler side)
Substrate: reptile carpet at bottom with lots of paper towel on top
Lights: Reptiglo 10.0 and 2.0 (i understand that this might not be the best)

Animal Protein
Locusts (has many he can eat in 10 minutes once a day)
Superworms (4-5 once a day)
(currently trying to breed my own dubia roaches)

Veggies
Mix of cabbage, cellery, butternut squash (daily)
3-4 times a week i give him apple, pear and green beans (long ones)
1-2 times a week he gets watermelon has a treat (loves it)

Im not sure if what im feeding for a 6 month beardie is the correct one or if i should feed him more insects,iwant to know if he looks skinny to you from the pictures and if i should feed him more animal protein.

I also want to know if he is a darker type of beardie or if he still is in a stress mode from the change of environment.

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[Tylerman]

Draco looks great too me!!! I love giving my beardie, Trisha who is 2.5 years old, a salad and insects. I give her approx 15 mealworms or crickets and a salad a day. She loves it outside. Try mealworms and crickets for a change. Where do you get your dubias? I've been wanting to get some.

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/37754/full

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Overall, Draco looks very good, healthy & has great colors!
The Reptiglo 10 tube bulb is ok, but not as good as the Reptisun 10 tube or the Arcadia D3 12% tube.
If he starts to have eye issues, I would change it out. You may want to change it out anyway, in a month or two, since it doesn't really emit as good of UVB rays.
For a 6 month old, he can still have as many insects as he would like, along with his greens & veggies you feed him. I would lay low on the cabbage as that is higher in oxalates & can hinder/bind calcium absorption for him.
Are you feeding him insects daily, correct? Breeding your own dubia would be helpful, plus you know that they are healthy then, too. It sounds like you are giving him enough & he has adequate opportunities to eat also. He will start filling out soon, rounding out more but initially they lengthen first, then fill out & mature after around 1 year or so.
I really don't think he is all that thin, just still a youngster. I can't see his hipbones & he does have some roundness to his belly as well. Does he have any fat pads on the top of his head above his eye area? A good indicator is his tail base, that should thicken up as well. The superworms have some fat in them so they are a good choice of feeder, too as you are already feeding them. Does he have any problem digesting them?

Tracie

 

[Kikary]

Thank you all for the advice.
He started keeping one eye closed almost allthe time so im thinking of changing the bulb, maybe to reptisun 5.0 or reptiglo 5.0 since i think the problem is on the distance (terrarium is 2 feet on height). His poop is a bit muchy but i think its because of the change on veggies that im feeding him, since they are different from what he was eating on the store. If in a week or two its still the same then im doing a fecal test.
He started shedding 3 days ago, head is done now just need the body, he is still eating really well.

Yesterday he startled me when in the morning his beard was mostly black and he started hissing at me when i was putting his vegs on the terrarium, i did not back down and left him for a while.
Maybe i just startled him or he was in a mood because he did not hiss at me again and came to me when and let me hand feed him when it was feeding time.
Probably hormones since he is closing on 7 months?
(he went to the vet and was right away handled, since he his not 100% happy with handling yet maybe that was the reason for his hissing?)