Wow,yes he is quite small for an 8 month old.. :? Reptar is three times that and half his age.
Okay,let's see where I can help you
Firstly,thanks for getting a Reptisun 10.0. Any other bulb just won't cut it,and he will thank you for that when his growth speeds up.
But,from your pictures,it is in a hood on top of a screen mesh. Having that on top will block out 50% of the uvb rays,and he needs all he can get. I would recommend you returning that hood you got from Pet Mountain,and using that money to go to Walmart to get an under-the-counter fixture from Lights of America. It is $8.Depending on what size tube you got (18' or 24'..24 is recommended for a 40) you will get the fixture of that size.I have a 24'. Then,go get 3 command strips,and mount in on the INSIDE of the tank. This is very,very important. They need 100% of the uvb rays,and doing this will ensure they get a non interrupted flow. If you go on the enclosures thread,Jess has posted the correct way to have a 40 gal. I have the EXACT same thing in mine (except for the CHE and cool side bulb) Follow that to the tee.It's a sticky note,can't miss it.
Yes,take out those dial thermometers..completely inaccurate. Walmart,again,sells one of the most popular temp probes for $13. Most of the people here use it,and it works great. Along with a good temp gun,you will find out the exact temps. I have a 100w in my 40 gallon,and it gets to 110F,but that is because his log is 10inches from the bulb. It sounds like it may not be getting hot enough because he spends the majority of his time under the bulb,so I would say adjust the log to get it closer to the bulb.
Good,stick to worms. No more mealies. And when you decide what you'd like to do,tell us so we can help you as well
Most of the worms do okay in room temp,but if you want them to last longer,you would have to buy a wine cooler of some sort to keep them alive longer. I always had mine in room temp because he would eat them all within a week.
With whatever you use,introduce it gradually,and cut back if you see a big majority of them in his poop.
Yeah,they get very,very dull when they shed. Reptar will always have beautiful colors after he shed though,so I wouldn't worry
From what I can see,he does appear to be a leatherback. He has very nice accents and shades on his back. A leatherback is referring to having less scales on him than a 'normal' would..there are 3 different beardies. A normal with all natural spikes and scales..a leatherback which sounds like it feels,and a silkback,which has no scales once so ever. They are alot of genes that are dominant,co-dominant,recessive,het,het trans..all that stuff I'm not too familiar with,but I'm sure that someone will pitch in
Everyone can say different things about the colors,like sandfire,tiger bars etc.