Not growing?

[Mylittlebabytiger99]

I've had my beardie for about a month and a half. He hasn't grown. Like at all. And it seems like he has stress marks 24/7. Like they never go away. Is there something wrong I'm doing. Something wrong with him?

 

[kingofnobbys]

My first thoughts would be :

---- is he sharing a tank with another lizard
---- insufficient high quality live food
---- inadequate UVA and UVB
---- not fed often enough if a hatchling or juvenile
---- temperatures too low
---- light cycle too short

Need you to give a run down on the live food you give , how many per feed, how many feeds per day, and the schedule

is he sharing a tank with another lizard ?

basking temperature and what exactly is the basking light (type, colour, wattage) ?

what is the UV source (exactly) ? and what's it's UVB rating and how far is it from lizard when basking ?

daytime cool zone temperature

daytime warm zone temperature

how did you measure these temperatures.

lighting schedule (when on, when off)

are there "night" lights in the tank ?

weight of beardie now and when you got him .

how often do you handle him ?

other animals in the house ?

 

[Mylittlebabytiger99]

He is not sharing a tank with another lizard. He eats small dubia roaches and nature zone cubes. I have a 24" reptisun tube uvb bulb inside of a 40 gal breeder tank. He sleeps for 10 hours at night. His Basking temp is around 105 and his cold side temp bounces between 78 and 81. I feed him 3 times a day. Because he doesn't eat many roaches in one sitting, probably around 6 or 7. His Basking light is a 75watt clear halogen bulb. I have digital probe thermometers on either side of his tank. He has a CHE for night time heat. I handle him daily. And there are other pets in the house. Except I keep them seperate from eachother

 

[kingofnobbys]

He's failing to grow and thrive simply because he's malnourished.

He's likely filling up on Bites which are nearly all water :

Guaranteed Analysis
Crude Protein
3.0% (Min)

Crude Fat
1.0% (Min)

Crude Fiber
3.5% (Max)

Moisture
92.5% (Max)

and consequently have virtually zero nutritional value to a young bearded dragon who needs lots of HIGH QUALITY LIVE INSECT protein and fats and calcium to grow properly.

I suggest you ditch the bottle of Nature Zone Bites (best place for them is in the bin).
They are waste of good money.

Use the money to buy some calcigents / phoenix worms , silkworms (and chow OR mulberry leaves to feed them), use these instead to provide your beardie with a good diet.

 

[kingofnobbys]

He is not sharing a tank with another lizard. He eats small dubia roaches and nature zone cubes. I have a 24" reptisun tube uvb bulb <<<< is it a 10% UVB tube or not ?

inside of a 40 gal breeder tank. He sleeps for 10 hours at night. His Basking temp is around 105 and his cold side temp bounces between 78 and 81. I feed him 3 times a day. Because he doesn't eat many roaches in one sitting, probably around 6 or 7. His Basking light is a 75watt clear halogen bulb. I have digital probe thermometers on either side of his tank. He has a CHE for night time heat. I handle him daily. And there are other pets in the house. Except I keep them seperate from eachother

 

[Mylittlebabytiger99]

I rarely feed the bites. Most of the time he eats the roaches. And yeah the UVB is the 10.0

 

[kingofnobbys]

If a young beardie (hatchling or juvenile) isn't getting sufficient insect protein and fats and dietary calcium it will fail to thrive and will not grow as fast as it should.

How often do you weigh your little beardie ? (I suggest weekly and creating a chart)

Usual reasons for a little beardie (or any other lizard) not to grow / thrive are :
---- sharing tank with sibling or other lizard who is larger and a more voracious eater (domination) << not the case here
---- other stressors (another animal lurking where it can see / smell it , scaring it) << possible factor
---- handling too often << maybe
---- poor quality food or inadequate amounts of food to meet it's growth and development needs (malnutrition) << is happening here
---- environmental too hot << suggest recheck temperature
---- ----------------- too cold << see above
---- -------------- - inadequate exposure to UVA (required to create a strong appetite) << see *
---- --------------- - inadequate exposure to UVB (need to metabolise dietary calcium) << see *
---- inadequate length of artificial day << recommend 14-15 hours per day.
---- sick beardie (vet visit needed).

It might be an idea to get hold of some HERPABOOST , CALCIVET and a proper feeding syringe and large bore crop needle (with which to get the supplement into beardie's mouth)
see http://vetafarm.com.au/product/herpaboost/
see http://vetafarm.com.au/product/calcivet/ , I've used this very successfully with injuried / sick rescued wild lizards
see http://vetafarm.com.au/product/reusable-feeding-syringe/
see http://vetafarm.com.au/product/medication-tube-crop-needle/

or ---- it's bored with usual live insects and has essentially gone on strike
<< try another staple live insect , calcigents (BSF maggots) and silkworms are excellent options as alternatives to crickets and roaches.
<< try handfeeding if TOO LAZY to chase it's bugs


* how far from the 10% UVB tube is the basking spot and is there anything between the tube and the lizard other than air ?