Not using bask light lead to growth stunt

[Jacobsherps]

So my youngest beardie tango was a gift to my sister as her first reptile he was givin to us by a worker at a local exotics store whos basment flooded so he could not care for the young dragon. As her first pet in wanted to let her care for it compleatly about 2 months after getting this 1 month old dragon we realized he wasnt growing. Now i dont know what caused this but he never uses his heat side wich has a 110 bask spot wich we even tryed bringing down 10 degrees in case he thought that was to hot. Still no, his warm side is 90s and cool is 80s all day he sits behind a rock on the cool side under his uvb. Sometimes he trys to dig at or eat the rock but i think thats natural. He also might not be eating enough meat i give him 5 med crickets and a few mealworms every day but my sister fed him too much salad i think i dont know. If any one knows any thing let us know but hes five months and looks is looking like a small 2 month old dragon he started shedding alot recently once i pitched in hes in a fine sized tank.
I got my oldest beardie at 5 months and he was exactly the same size as my 6 year old leopard gecko, now hes little over a year old and measuring roughly 15 inches.sorry if that was alot .Share any info you can positive or negitive. Also if anyone knows any good dubia roach or black soldier fly larva breeders in chicago let me know are favorite exotics shop dealer recently stopped giving them those feeders and i dont know where to get them

 

[KarrieRee]

Please post pics of tank and lighting- go to top of page and in the banner click on user image uploader - down load pics then click on ximg on top of message box click on pic and it should post-
Karrie

 

[Jacobsherps]

that is him to scale with a new pencil

 

[Jacobsherps]

This is his cage hes on the hammock there is a drift wood some rock food dish wich i will clean, dont worry and the rock pile wich he almost never basks on

 

[Jacobsherps]

And the lights are a zilla halogen mini dome wich i use on my 2 other older dragons sobek and red and the long uvb is a zoo med reptisun i use that one with sobek and a reptisun bulb with red

 

[KarrieRee]

What UVB are you using and where in the tank is it? on top of screen or in the tank -- brand and bulb- He should be eating way more than 5 crickets a day -- and he should be eating salad and if he is or was continue w/ the salad - he should be eating as many insects as he can in a 10 minute time frame --- they should be dusted w/ calcium D3 5 x per week and vitamins 2 x per week --- the rock is like a slate and how are you taking the temps? Sometimes the slate rocks get too hot for them to sit on - if the temp is taken by a stick on it is inaccurate --- you want the temp he is sitting at taken w/ a digital probe-- the UVB should be 6-8 inches from basking spot if its on top of a fine mesh screen - if its a wide holed screen 8-10 inches and if inside the tank 12-15 inches from basking spot

Never mind it looks like a T 8 which needs to be inside the tank approx 8-10 inches from basking spot--- the screen is filtering out 30% of those rays and that is why he is clear to the top of the hammock --NO cover on the bulb it needs to be exposed- I also recommend a Reptisun 10 T 8 bulb - they are considered one of the best on the market
Karrie

 

[Drache613]

Moved by Moderator from General to Enclosures

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

What are you measuring your temperatures with?

To directly answer your question, yes , not basking will stunt their growth. If they dont bask, they dont digest properly. Which of course means they dont absorb the nutrients from their food properly. And if that's happening then they wont be growing.

The key is to figure out why he isnt basking, and remedy it. So we start with figuring out what your temperatures are and making sure you're using an accurate device.

-Brandon

 

[Jacobsherps]

I tryed temp gun temp probe and and the zoomed temp/ humidity thermomiter and i got the following on average

Bask 109
Hot side 90
Cool side 80s but on super cold days it will dip to high 70s

We have been thinking off moving him into a larger perminant custom 4 by 2 by cage which will be the same size as sobek and reds future tanks do you think we should wait to do this. The cages will have alot of zoomeds excavator so they can feel very natral

 

[Jacobsherps]

I also can still contact the breeder of him, he still works at the exotics store

 

[Jacobsherps]

I also can still contact the breeder of him, he still works at the exotics store

 

[KarrieRee]

If he is under stress I would advise not to move him it will add more stress- need to figure out why he's not basking--- have you moved the T 8
Karrie

 

[Jacobsherps]

We keep him on the ground level shelf and the other two beadies cant see him nor can my toads leopard gecko or crested gecko we can move his tank any where else because lack of space one we remodle the room then it will be ready also whats The t8

 

[KarrieRee]

His UVB- it's on top of screen correct?
Karrie

 

[Jacobsherps]

Oh, yes it is