Poor apetite & slow growth?

[tnehlers]

Hello,

Three weeks ago we purchased two bearded dragons. They are kept in separate tanks, both 20 gallon long, with UV bulbs and basking areas between 100-105 depending on the time of day.

When we got the first, she was about 6.5" long and ate about 10 crickets daily. Now, she is 8.25" and eats about 30 crickets daily. The crickets we feed are 3/8". When we put them in there, she goes insane! She'll nab two at a time and eats faster than we can count. She is active and alert, but also fairly laid back and will sit with and/or explore my daughter.

When we got the second, s/he was about 5.5" long and ate about 3-4 crickets daily. Now s/he is about 6.25" long and eats about 6 crickets daily. Compared to the other, the growth is considerably slower and the appetite is much lower. In fact, typically this dragon will eat one or two, attempt and miss a third, and give up for a while. S/he seems to get discouraged very easily. I've found the best way to get this one to eat is to leave the crickets in there for the day, and s/he will go snack on them here and there.

This dragon is also very active and alert(even more than the other). S/he will change spots often throughout the day, and takes quite a while to calm down when being held. Last night we actually started wondering if we could've gotten a Rankin by mistake but this dragon seems to have the pointier, longer nose and tail.

Should we be concerned by the slower growth and lower appetite, or is this typical?

Thanks!

 

[destiny1998]

Hi. Sorry she's not well. Could you go over the set ups? That way hopefully we can figure it out.

 

[tnehlers]

S/he's in a 20L, with a UV bulb and basking temps about 100-105 depending on the time of day. The cooler end is about 80-85. There is a log and a wooden cave. The substrate is eco carpet; it's replaced once a week, soaked in a mild bleach solution for several hours, soaked in a clear water solution for several hours, and then draped to dry. We feed a variety of greens and veggies, all on the safe list and chopped tiny with a food processor. The crickets are 3/8" and calcium dusted.

 

[destiny1998]

What kind of lights do you use and how are you taking the temps? Does she have normal poops? And how often?

 

[tnehlers]

UV and a basking light. Digital thermometer with probe at basking spot, strip thermometer at cool end. Normal looking poop, little odor, daily.

 

[chastityx]

i think what we're asking here is the brand of the UVB bulb and if it's a tube or a compact . some are not so good for beardies and can throw off their appetite. we're just looking to rule that out as a problem.

 

[tnehlers]

Oh! I see. I actually don't know the brand, as we bought a starter kit. But if I had to guess, I would say it is an All Living Things UV bulb. It's a compact fluorescent, which I read was not ideal, and we plan to switch to the strips when we get the crossfires built. I did not know, however, that the reason it wasn't ideal was because it could affect appetite.

 

[chastityx]

yes! i had the same problem when mine was a little baby. apparently most uvb bulbs give out weird wavelengths of UVB which isn't very good for beardies, it can cause eye problems and affect appetite. to save money, if you go look on amazon for the reptisun 10.0 TUBE light you can get it there for half the price of what you'd find in petstores. also, if you have a walmart nearby you can use under the counter light fixtures for around 10 dollars for the bulb. they attach easily inside the cage with some velcro. it may perk him up quite a bit if he's otherwise healthy.

 

[chastityx]

here's a photo of the fixtures i'm talking about. this is my beardies cage (one of them). since they need mounted inside the cage to give off the proper amount of uvb, the under the counter fixture works perfectly with some velcro. thought this might help you out.

 

[tnehlers]

Thank you! I have both on the way now. We'll see if that solves the problem.

 

[Sheena]

Ugh yeah you need to get rid of that compact asap they cause all sorts of issues. Once its out of the tank they should improve. Don't even wait for the new light to replace it just get the coil out it does more harm than not having a light does.

Also they should be eating around 50 - 100 crickets a day. So feed them as much as they will eat in a 10 minute time period.

But that could have alot to do with the light so hopefully when you get the new tubes thier diets should pick up alot

 

[tnehlers]

I made the lighting change but it hasn't made a difference. Also switched to phoenix worms and micro supers, which s/he seems to like better, but still not eating that much. Any other ideas? Like I said, very active and alert, not compacted.

Also, in four days, s/he's grown only 1/8" whereas the other with the big appetite has grown 3/4".

 

[Sheena]

Hmmm... are they aren't housed together are they?

Some beardies eat alot others don't eat too much and prefer to graze xD

 

[tnehlers]

No, not housed together.

However, I'm not sure I still have a problem! Since I posted he's started eating much more - gone from 6 crickets daily to almost 20 phoenix worms and 4 micro supers, and grown 1/4" in two days. I'm not sure if it was the lighting or the diet change but whatever it was, it sure worked. He's definitely a grazer, and I think the bowl of worms helped things a lot.

 

[chastityx]

No, not housed together.

However, I'm not sure I still have a problem! Since I posted he's started eating much more - gone from 6 crickets daily to almost 20 phoenix worms and 4 micro supers, and grown 1/4" in two days. I'm not sure if it was the lighting or the diet change but whatever it was, it sure worked. He's definitely a grazer, and I think the bowl of worms helped things a lot.

glad to hear he's doing well! keep us updated and let us know how he is