How does he look? Possible hip bones?

[newbeardie11]

Firsst, let me just say I have no clue how old he is, my breeder said he was 7 months old when I got him, but judging by his size, he seems much younger. Anyway, I have given him a check up, maybe half a year ago and the vet said he was healthy. The vet also said that since I've had him for a year already, that my dragon will want more greens, therefore I should reduce insects a little bit. He also said that I should get a packaged food because they are very balanced in terms of the different nutrients they provide, as opposed to just one form from crickets. So, I did this, I have rep-cal Juvenille bearded dragon pellets. I moisten them with water and he seems to enjoy them, as well as his greens. As of now, I do not feed him any more insects. One of the reasons being, its honestly a pain in the ass at this point. If I feed him crickets, they hide and then die over time, and he's not very good at catching them, and I have to hold a cup of them near his mouth. So I switched to supers, and even those, I have to hand feed to him, this by the way, is a very annoying process because I have to hold the worm infront of his mouth, and sometimes he will just close his eyes for a while. Sometimes, he will get really excited over the worm, then the worm will move, and he'll forget about it. Like dude its right infront of you. Oh well. Like I said, this has been really tedious, so I haven't done this for a while. Anyhow I was wondering, what you guys think, because I worry about his health and want to know If I should keep doing this or what. I appreciate any feed back. Thanks.

Also his tank specs are:

40 gallon breeder
Reptisun 10.0
85-90 in basking area
75-80 in cool area
1 hide

 

[Killzone3265]

he looks a little skinny, i think you should get insects back into his diet, they still need it even as they are old

 

[Travis1102]

Shouldn't the basking spot be warmer, around 100-105F with a gradient?

 

[XiDiS]

Basking temps are WAY too low. They should be about 105. How are you taking the temps in the tank? those stickon thermometers dont work worth crap. you need a digital one. The Reptisun bulb you have... is it the tube light or the coil fixture?

 

[newbeardie11]

Aight. Ill grab some crickets or maybe those Phoenix worms, do your beardies take we'll to those? And the basking temps, I have two 65 watt halogens in there and I use a probe digital thermometer, I'll try and get it hotter. Also it's the tube bulb. I've read on here that the coil is bad. Thanks.

 

[carlisv]

I have an adjustable light stand fitted with a plain old 100w clear household bulb, and it keeps Richard's 40 gallon breeder basking spot right at 103. For some reason I never had any luck controlling the temps with halogens. They seem to give off lots of light but not quite enough heat.

Live feeders every other day seem about right at his age. I'm curious about his lack of appetite. The fact that his eyes close seems cause for concern as well. Is he getting enough water, specifically baths? Dehydration can lead to a lack of appetite too.

Even though his hip bones are visible, his tail is quite poofy, which is a good sign, as is the fact that the fat pads on his head aren't concave. He might get more active with a little more heat in his basking spot, then his appetite may improve.

 

[newbeardie11]

I give him a water dish like once a week but I fill it up to the top and wiggle my finger in it so he recognizes the water. Then he drinks till he's satisfied. And I know he even closes his eyes with food around. But he's relatively active, climbs aroud in his tank and causes a mess. Thanks for the reply!