My little Pickle

[LindaW]

Okay well first he isn't so little anymore, but he'll always be my baby.

I'm a first time reptile owner and me and my Pickle have learned a lot from each other over the last few months. I bought my little guy from Pet-smart in February of this year.

He really chose me. We had a lot of close calls, one of them being the friendly people at Pet-smart advised me to only feed him "about five crickets twice a week". By the third day my little guy was so hungry he tried to eat a spider plant!
I did my own research and learned how often to feed him and things like that.
So Pickle and I bonded pretty quickly,

And he really seemed to thrive. He started shedding often, growing fast.

So in the last nine months, he's done really well and grown a lot (I took this pic today)

Lately my guy seems a little lethargic and his appetite isn't what it used to be. He does eat (more than enough I'm sure), he is regularly having bowl movements. But something just doesn't seem right. He hasn't shed for about 1 1/2 - 2 months.
I've been doing a lot of research and have read about brumation and mbd. I'm obviously terrified about him having even a mild case of mbd. The only place of his body that might even possibly have any sort of lumpiness is around his ribs. I can feel just his ribs, but as you can see he isn't malnourished. I'm not sure what's normal and what's not. I've never even really seen a bearded dragon before I bought my guy.
I read some people say squishy legs can be a sign of mbd, and some people say hard legs can be a sign.
Is there anything out there that's more clear? I know a picture is just a picture but does he look ok to everyone else?
Thanks in advanced

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. What a handsome Pickel. Well I can tell you that he looks really healthy. The red light you have is probably causing his decrease in appetite and to be lethargic. He needs to have a bright white light.

 

[AKnorthstar]

He is very handsome!

I second that red lights are not the best for them. Many people including myself use halogen floodlights for basking spots. They work very well.

Are you using a UVB light?

 

[LindaW]

Thanks for the feedback. I replaced the red light with a nice bright bulb. I'm trying to decide between the 100 or 120 watt. Some people say the temp should be 105 and others say 90, so i'm having a little trouble with figuring out which temp it should be.

I have a 10.0 UVB fluorescent light. This light is relatively new, I was using one of those spiral light bulbs before.

 

[Teleste]

I saved my self a lot of money by buying a higher watt bulb and putting it on a dimmer. Currently using a 150w halogen bulb but it stays dimmed very low. I keep my temps 95-100, never over 105.

 

[LindaW]

Yes sorry it was a 150w bulb, not 120w.
The temp with the 150w was around 104.
The temp with the 100w was around 90.

So I let Pickle decide. I put both bulbs in for a day each and watched how he reacted.
With the 100w bulb he basked some, ate, walked around his tank. Basically just acted normal.
With the 150w bulb he wouldn't really go near his basking area, he pretty much laid on the edge of the heat and didn't really seem to want to spend any time in his tank.

So for now I'll stick with the 100w bulb, but I'll likely end up getting the 150w and putting on the dimmer like suggested. Thank You

 

[jacody]

Glad you let your dragon pick what he wanted the most and went w/ that.. mine turned 1 year today and she has her specific temps that she likes it and will adjust herself accordingly to her likes on her upward sloping log depending on what she feels like at the moment..