Is my 5 month old severely underweight?

[KelsoYo]

Hello everyone! I apologize for the long post, but just trying to provide all the information needed After my girl, Toothless, passed away very suddenly two years ago I decided to wait to get a new baby until I decided I was ready because it just about broke my heart. It’s been two years, and I finally decided I was ready. I have now had my new beautiful baby Luna for about a month. The breeder I got her from told me she was born in September, so she is around 5ish months old. I measured and weighed her the day I got her and she was at 38 grams and 8 inches long. She’s grown three inches in the month I have had her, but I have not had a chance to weigh her. I’m concerned that she may be under weight. Last week I made the mistake of feeding her mealworms. I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to give them to her, because Toothless ate them from 3 months up and had no issues, so I was just going with the methods I had used with her. Luna ate 50 in 15 minutes, and starting the next morning she threw up every single one (I immediately called my exotic vet and I counted after the vet said to to make sure they were all out to see if I needed to watch for impaction). I found that she has been pooping normally and has been eating normally so I know she is ok with that aspect. She’s been acting perfectly normal and sassy as usual. However, I can see her hip bones just a tiny smidge. She is currently shedding, and with the mealworm fiasco, she didn’t eat for a few days. Normally I purchase 75 crickets every other day which she finishes entirely. I feed her crickets twice a day and give her as many as she will eat in one sitting at a time. She also gets kale in between cricket meals, and also sometimes right before to ensure she gets her greens. She also gets a bath every other day because she doesn’t have a water dish in her tank (I can’t get her to drink from it even with a dripper or putting some on her nose). She will only drink during her baths. I just want to make sure she is completely healthy, and I do not know anyone personally to answer my questions or concerns so I am coming to you all! Luna is the cuddliest little beardie I have ever met, and she’s just the sweetest thing so I want to make sure she is 100% happy and healthy. I know she was a little bit underweight when I got her, but I’m wondering what I can safety feed her to fatten her up to help her get healthy if she severely underweight.

For reference she is in a 20 gallon with her hot side typically between 110-120 degrees during the day, her colder side is 80 degrees, and she’s at 70-80 degrees at night. She does have a UVB bulb, and I dust all of her bugs with calcium powder. She is on reptile carpet for substrate, and has a few branch systems in her tank which I take out for feeding time to make sure she can find all the crickets without trouble. The picture I have attached was just taken a few minutes ago (please excuse the little bits of calcium powder she has on her head, she’s a messy eater lol)

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, she looks very good and not underweight at all, if so just a tad. Her growing 3 inches in a month is excellent progress, so everything's going as it should be. Mealworms are fine as part of the diet but definitely not in large amounts. You might as well stick with crix and you can also offer bsfl [ black soldier fly larvae ] aka Phoenix or Calci worms ] as well as dubia roaches. You'll need to upsize her tank pretty soon, when you do make sure you have a good + current uvb bulb, very important. BTW. the hot side can be 105-108 at the most, no need to be any higher.

 

[Shoxaju]

Hi!

Your beardie looks adorable. I just wanted to say that Kale isn't the best veggie to feed her, might want to try collards or mustard greens.

 

[KelsoYo]

Hi there, she looks very good and not underweight at all, if so just a tad. Her growing 3 inches in a month is excellent progress, so everything's going as it should be. Mealworms are fine as part of the diet but definitely not in large amounts. You might as well stick with crix and you can also offer bsfl [ black soldier fly larvae ] aka Phoenix or Calci worms ] as well as dubia roaches. You'll need to upsize her tank pretty soon, when you do make sure you have a good + current uvb bulb, very important. BTW. the hot side can be 105-108 at the most, no need to be any higher.

Ok I was just really worried because you can see her hip bones a bit. She was definitely under weight when I got her. Her fat pads are sunken in, so tomorrow I plan to get her some new greens to try as well as some silk worms and wax worms to try to fatten her up a little bit and help with keeping her hydrated. I was told not to give her baths so often because it can actually give an opposite effect. I’ll try to stick to once or twice a week and make sure she eats plenty of greens and bugs to help all around. I have a 55 gallon long tank already ready for her! I will be moving her when she reaches 12 inches, and I already have everything needed for that size too I think after what happened with the meal worms last time I will just skip them. It was really scary to see her throw up that much. There’s plenty of other options for her to eat that will be easier to digest so I’ll do some trial and error to find something she likes. Thank you!

 

[KelsoYo]

Hi!

Your beardie looks adorable. I just wanted to say that Kale isn't the best veggie to feed her, might want to try collards or mustard greens.

Thank you! The breeder showed me pictures of her parents, and it’s looking like she’s taking after her dad so she will be extremely bright yellow. I’m definitely excited! Yep, I was reading about that a bit ago. She loves kale so much she eats my fingers and the kale together when I hand feed it to her, so the transition to other greens may be hard but she will be ok Thank you!

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hello everyone! I apologize for the long post, but just trying to provide all the information needed After my girl, Toothless, passed away very suddenly two years ago I decided to wait to get a new baby until I decided I was ready because it just about broke my heart. It’s been two years, and I finally decided I was ready. I have now had my new beautiful baby Luna for about a month. The breeder I got her from told me she was born in September, so she is around 5ish months old. I measured and weighed her the day I got her and she was at 38 grams and 8 inches long. She’s grown three inches in the month I have had her, but I have not had a chance to weigh her. I’m concerned that she may be under weight. Last week I made the mistake of feeding her mealworms. I didn’t realize I wasn’t supposed to give them to her, because Toothless ate them from 3 months up and had no issues, so I was just going with the methods I had used with her. Luna ate 50 in 15 minutes, and starting the next morning she threw up every single one (I immediately called my exotic vet and I counted after the vet said to to make sure they were all out to see if I needed to watch for impaction). I found that she has been pooping normally and has been eating normally so I know she is ok with that aspect. She’s been acting perfectly normal and sassy as usual. However, I can see her hip bones just a tiny smidge. She is currently shedding, and with the mealworm fiasco, she didn’t eat for a few days. Normally I purchase 75 crickets every other day which she finishes entirely. I feed her crickets twice a day and give her as many as she will eat in one sitting at a time. She also gets kale in between cricket meals, and also sometimes right before to ensure she gets her greens. She also gets a bath every other day because she doesn’t have a water dish in her tank (I can’t get her to drink from it even with a dripper or putting some on her nose). She will only drink during her baths. I just want to make sure she is completely healthy, and I do not know anyone personally to answer my questions or concerns so I am coming to you all! Luna is the cuddliest little beardie I have ever met, and she’s just the sweetest thing so I want to make sure she is 100% happy and healthy. I know she was a little bit underweight when I got her, but I’m wondering what I can safety feed her to fatten her up to help her get healthy if she severely underweight.

For reference she is in a 20 gallon

<<< can you run the ruler over it , and tell us it's L x W x D in either inches or cm please , as I am concerned that a 20G tank is too small for her even now.

with her hot side typically between 110-120 degrees during the day
<<<< I'd highly recommend you get hold of some of these
https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/1-LCD-Digital-Temperature-Thermometer-Fridge-Freezer-Aquarium-Fish-Tank-Reptile/172452294173?_trksid=p2047675.c100011.m1850&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D20140107090050%26meid%3D2f7042e06fbf49ef8ed29ef34ebfc083%26pid%3D100011%26rk%3D1%26rkt%3D12%26sd%3D391259141696 .... I have a few of these in every rearing tub and each tank for big skinks and dragon and have tested them in a laboratory and found they are very good ( accurate inside 1 degC ), and better still you can see the temperatures at a glance.
as I suspect you may have one of those dodgey analog dial or strip style thermometers and the temperatures are likely inaccurate.
<<< BUT assuming you have a good digital thermometer and maybe a noncontact gun style thermometer , 110 - 120 F is WAY WAY TOO hot for a beardied dragon (you're cooking her !!).... see
viewtopic.php?f=5&t=233516

NO HOTTER THAN 105 F (40-41 DegC) anywhere in her tank and she'll be a lot happier.



, her colder side is 80 degrees, and she’s at 70-80 degrees at night. She does have a UVB bulb

<<< can you tell us exactly what it is :
>> brand ?
>> wattage ?
>> type = compact , T8 tube or T5HO tube ?
>> uvb rating ?
>> age ?
>> where it's mounted (ontop or under the mesh lid ?
>> in a reflector hood ?
>> how far from her basking spot ?
>> how long each day is on ?
, and I dust all of her bugs with calcium powder. She is on reptile carpet for substrate, and has a few branch systems in her tank which I take out for feeding time to make sure she can find all the crickets without trouble. The picture I have attached was just taken a few minutes ago (please excuse the little bits of calcium powder she has on her head, she’s a messy eater lol)

She looks a pretty , but a little lean , can you weigh her and start recording her statistics regularly and weigh her weekly .... can be very good information rather than relying on memory if you ever need to take her to a vet.
I think she'll fill out and become a very beautiful and sweet girl dragon and you are on a good start , just a few tweaks to the husbandry and she'll be just fine.

At 5 months old
Peppa (F) was 191g
Toothless (sibling M) was 137g

and Puff (M) was 167g
Rex (sibling F) was 210g

 

[kingofnobbys]

Hi there, she looks very good and not underweight at all, if so just a tad. Her growing 3 inches in a month is excellent progress, so everything's going as it should be. Mealworms are fine as part of the diet but definitely not in large amounts. You might as well stick with crix and you can also offer bsfl [ black soldier fly larvae ] aka Phoenix or Calci worms ] as well as dubia roaches. You'll need to upsize her tank pretty soon, when you do make sure you have a good + current uvb bulb, very important. BTW. the hot side can be 105-108 at the most, no need to be any higher.

Ok I was just really worried because you can see her hip bones a bit. She was definitely under weight when I got her. Her fat pads are sunken in, so tomorrow I plan to get her some new greens to try as well as some silk worms and wax worms to try to fatten her up a little bit and help with keeping her hydrated. I was told not to give her baths so often because it can actually give an opposite effect. I’ll try to stick to once or twice a week and make sure she eats plenty of greens and bugs to help all around. I have a 55 gallon long tank already ready for her! I will be moving her when she reaches 12 inches, and I already have everything needed for that size too I think after what happened with the meal worms last time I will just skip them. It was really scary to see her throw up that much. There’s plenty of other options for her to eat that will be easier to digest so I’ll do some trial and error to find something she likes. Thank you!

My advise for her (as a 5 month old (juvenile) is more live high quality insects , not so much salad, she needs the insect proteins and fats and the dietary calcium to fill out and develop properly and grow and if she eats her greens it's a bonus .
I'd be doing as a minimum (this is how I feed my similar age dragons) , big feed of crickets in the am , feed of silkworms in the pm with the salad.

 

[AHBD]

Kale is actually one of the good greens, there was a long time when people just passed on the info that it was high in oxalates like spinach but it's not true at all. Spinach is the one to avoid but kale is a good staple green.

And a 20 gallon long is fine at the moment, I've raised plenty of lizards , dragons + others, and she's fine in there but not for much longer.

 

[KelsoYo]

Kale is actually one of the good greens, there was a long time when people just passed on the info that it was high in oxalates like spinach but it's not true at all. Spinach is the one to avoid but kale is a good staple green.

And a 20 gallon long is fine at the moment, I've raised plenty of lizards , dragons + others, and she's fine in there but not for much longer.

That’s what I had always thought, but hey, we will try some new greens today for variety and see how it goes lol. I know she will need a bigger tank. I have a 55 gallon long already ready for her. She will be moving when she hits 12 inches long, so almost there!