Shedding

[ScooterRenee2022]

I am having a problem. My beardie gives me a hard time eating when he is starting to shed. Has anyone had that problem? And if so why does he do that?

 

[Claudiusx]

Very common.

You wouldn't want to eat if you were losing all the skin on your body either

Shedding can be a bit stressful for them, so it affects their appetites.

-Brandon

 

[ScooterRenee2022]

Thank you I was beginning to think it was unusual. I gave him a bath last night and already this morning I could see that his mouth, right at the tip of his mouth and nose was already starting to shed. So I got scared this morning when I offered him his crickets and he didn’t want them. He usually jumps down and eats right away. And eats all of them. He only ate two. But I remember he does get picky at times but only around the time he is shedding. So thank you again. The pet store said he was only 2 to 3 months when I got him but he seems to be full grown he has only grown maybe an inch in the past 3 months. I got him in October. In the past 2 months he really has not gotten larger. He is 19 inches long from nose to tip of the tail and he has only shed once in the last month and a half. Is this normal too? I don’t think they gave me his real age. He was the biggest one in the tank all of the other ones were half his size. So I don’t think they knew how old he was. Could he have been older than two to three months

 

[Chris.]

They shed at their own shedules and it becomes less with age and size.
At 19" he's probably close to full grown so he will shed less and you might want to consider transitioning him to the adult diet.
As their metabolism slows down they require less protein and too much is in fact bad for their health.

As for the age, my girl is now two months, weighs 15g and is around 7cm (snout to vent).
My boy was 350g and 23cm (snout to vent) at 8 to 9 months old.