growth spurt/overweight

[Hobama]

my bearded dragon is i believe between 2-3 months old and last i measured 7 1/2 inches long. I don't know how much he weighs but ive noticed he has fat pads. i was under the impression that i should let them eat as much as they want in a 10 minute span but he never eats for that long. he eats crickets dubias and bsfl daily. he gets fed crickets and dubias 4 times a day and im not sure exactly how many he eats but id say around 10 dubias and 5 crickets each feeding. he gets a salad daily that he doesnt really touch that has bsfl and dubias in it. ive noticed he has been eating a lot more than normal and it seemed to kind of happen overnight. this started a few days ago but i believe the fat pads have been there longer. do beardies hit growth spurts like humans do? should i be worried about his weight while hes this little or not?

 

[KarrieRee]

my bearded dragon is i believe between 2-3 months old and last i measured 7 1/2 inches long. I don't know how much he weighs but ive noticed he has fat pads. i was under the impression that i should let them eat as much as they want in a 10 minute span but he never eats for that long. he eats crickets dubias and bsfl daily. he gets fed crickets and dubias 4 times a day and im not sure exactly how many he eats but id say around 10 dubias and 5 crickets each feeding. he gets a salad daily that he doesnt really touch that has bsfl and dubias in it. ive noticed he has been eating a lot more than normal and it seemed to kind of happen overnight. this started a few days ago but i believe the fat pads have been there longer. do beardies hit growth spurts like humans do? should i be worried about his weight while hes this little or not?

Please start feeding salads -- take the BSFL and drop them on his salads to lure him to the bowl -- he needs salads not or he will not eat them when he gets older -- I would feed the salads first thing in the morning w/ the BSFL and then add the dubias etc after about an hr of him eating out of the bowl -- sounds like he is going thru a growth spurt

 

[Hobama]

Please start feeding salads -- take the BSFL and drop them on his salads to lure him to the bowl -- he needs salads not or he will not eat them when he gets older -- I would feed the salads first thing in the morning w/ the BSFL and then add the dubias etc after about an hr of him eating out of the bowl -- sounds like he is going thru a growth spurt

thats what i do except i feed him the dubias right after i set the bowl in so i will start giving him an hour to only have salad and bsfl. is his weight a problem?

 

[KarrieRee]

thats what i do except i feed him the dubias right after i set the bowl in so i will start giving him an hour to only have salad and bsfl. is his weight a problem?

Post a pic of him please

 

[Hobama]

Post a pic of him please

His fat pads aren't really visible in these I don't think but they seem to be more prominent after he eats

 

[KarrieRee]

His fat pads aren't really visible in these I don't think but they seem to be more prominent after he eats

He looks ok but tiny and I see he has stress marks- how long have you had him?

 

[Hobama]

He looks ok but tiny and I see he has stress marks- how long have you had him?

ive had him for about a month now. hes had stress marks since i got him. I've asked you guys advice on them but he still has them. his diet is still good and i know he moves around his cage cuz i find his poop in random spots so im not really sure what to do. all ive noticed is that he seems to lighten up after he eats. his uvb is set up at the right distance and his temps arent bad. his basking is normally in the lowhundreds and his cool stays low 80s. his temps at night drop down to no lower than 68 but ive noticed the thermometers reading it at 70 in the morning. his humidity stays in the 20s and 30s. the only thing i can think of is that i havent been getting him out at night but im gonna start up again to see if it will help

 

[KarrieRee]

ive had him for about a month now. hes had stress marks since i got him. I've asked you guys advice on them but he still has them. his diet is still good and i know he moves around his cage cuz i find his poop in random spots so im not really sure what to do. all ive noticed is that he seems to lighten up after he eats. his uvb is set up at the right distance and his temps arent bad. his basking is normally in the lowhundreds and his cool stays low 80s. his temps at night drop down to no lower than 68 but ive noticed the thermometers reading it at 70 in the morning. his humidity stays in the 20s and 30s. the only thing i can think of is that i havent been getting him out at night but im gonna start up again to see if it will help

No please let him adjust to the tank - it's too early for the out time-- stress marks are from the relocation -- he should be fine with/ all his temps and uvb good - it sounds like he's eating good- that is what you want - how many times a day are you feeding him

 

[xp29]

He still has a ton of growing to do, don't cut his protein until he stops growing, at some point he will stop putting on size and start fleshing out, thats when you reduce his protein.

 

[Hobama]

No please let him adjust to the tank - it's too early for the out time-- stress marks are from the relocation -- he should be fine with/ all his temps and uvb good - it sounds like he's eating good- that is what you want - how many times a day are you feeding him

ok thank you i assumed he would be adjusted by now but i guess not. i feed him 4 times a day

 

[Hobama]

He still has a ton of growing to do, don't cut his protein until he stops growing, at some point he will stop putting on size and start fleshing out, thats when you reduce his protein.

ok thank you i was hoping since he is so little that the weight wouldnt be a concern

 

[KarrieRee]

ok thank you i was hoping since he is so little that the weight wouldnt be a concern

Only if he's losing it or under weight - just let him adjust to his tank and surroundings - hand feed him some of his bsfl to get him hand tamed but I don't recommend getting him out as of yet -- we want those stress marks to go away

 

[Hobama]

Only if he's losing it or under weight - just let him adjust to his tank and surroundings - hand feed him some of his bsfl to get him hand tamed but I don't recommend getting him out as of yet -- we want those stress marks to go away

i do get him out at feeding time to move him to a tub but its right next to his enclosure and hes only in it while he eats. i dont want any bugs getting loose in his enclosure. do you think that could be a problem?

 

[KarrieRee]

i do get him out at feeding time to move him to a tub but its right next to his enclosure and hes only in it while he eats. i dont want any bugs getting loose in his enclosure. do you think that could be a problem?

Not if he's eating- if he was too stressed out he wouldn't eat- feed him the salads and bsfl in his tank

 

[Hobama]

Not if he's eating- if he was too stressed out he wouldn't eat- feed him the salads and bsfl in his tank

ok will do. he also went through a shed recently and is still waiting to shed on his face/head. i heard that that spot is the hardest for them. im not sure if that could be contributing to the stress or not. hes shed everywhere else but his head is still grey while the rest of him is more brown. its not really peeling up or anything yet except for some spots at the front of his face.