Stitch Isnt growing

[jkeeney1]

Stitch is about a year old now and about 13 inches long and pretty skinny. I have him in a homemade 50 gallon cage, 110 degree basking temp, 87 on the cool side, proper uvb lighting, fed calcium dusted crickets and meal worms, and he doesnt eat any greens on his own. Would this slow down his growth? I feel like he should be much larger at a year old. Any info would be much appreciated.

 

[Gymgirlx]

What UVB do you use? Can you take a pic. of Stitch and set-up? That would help a lot.

 

[jkeeney1]

Heres a pic of half the setup, the UVB which is a Zilla 50 strip, and stitch. This is anew habitat and before i switched it he was in a 30 gallon tank with a Reptiglo 10.0 for the UVB. Does this help?

 

[Gymgirlx]

THe only really good uvb is the reptisun 10.0 or arcadia 12%. Not having the right uvb could effect growth. It is still young, and if that's replaced, growth may pick up. Hope others will chime in.

 

[jkeeney1]

THe only really good uvb is the reptisun 10.0 or arcadia 12%. Not having the right uvb could effect growth. It is still young, and if that's replaced, growth may pick up. Hope others will chime in.

I have been looking everywhere for a repitsun 10.0 in a t5 bulb and i have only found them in t8 bulbs. Where can i find one in a t5 bulb or the arcadia one?

 

[Gymgirlx]

amazon.com is great to find cheaper ones. Also, keep offering greens, he should be eating them by now. Don't give up.

 

[Esther19]

You can find the arcadias here: http://www.lightyourreptiles.com/

 

[diamc]

Not having a good UVB light and also having at that distance could in fact affect his growing. How often are you dusting with calcium & vitamins?

It looks like he is sitting on the cool side rather than under the basking light. Does he spend most of his time on the cool side? What type of thermometer are you using and where exactly are you taking the temps?

How many greens are you offering him daily and what greens?

 

[Claudiusx]

In addition to the above,

How much of the crickets/mealworms is he eating?
Do you ever bath him?
Whens the last time he went poo? And how often does he usually poo?

I can't really tell in the picture but is that crushed walnut or repticarpet?

They don't make reptisun 10.0's in T5's, only T8s. You will need to get a T8 fixture for the reptisun.

-Brandon

 

[diamc]

Answering all the questions would be very helpful. He doesn't look very happy in the picture, his eyes look sad and he is very dark in color. What are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using?

 

[dragonlover3]

QUOTE " 110 degree basking temp, 87 on the cool side, proper uvb lighting, fed calcium dusted crickets and meal worms, and he doesnt eat any greens on his own".
Hi,
Your temps are too hot, especially the cool end! 110* basking temp is more for babies and juvies not year old dragons. Plus your cool end isn't cool. 87*...almost 90* on the cool end isn't giving him anywhere to get away from the heat to cool down. Since he's a year old, the basking temp iat 110* is a bit hot.
Approximate temps for a year old beardie.
Basking 95-100*F
Warm end {under basking spot" about 90*F
Cool end 78 to 80*F.
Other's may chime in on the temps also as some keepers may have suggestions of their own.

Some general mineral info you should be aware of and Mealworms.
Generally, equal amounts of soluble calcium and phosphorus ions are required for balance; ideally, the ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be 2:1. Too much phosphorus in the diet forms insoluble calcium phosphate which renders the calcium unusable; as the body continues to absorb the phosphorus, hypocalcemia—metabolic bone disease—results.
Calcium and phosphorus must be available in the diet in about a 2:1 ratio in order for bones to develop properly. But mealworms have a calciumhosphorus ratio of about .04--which is 50 times more phosphorus than desired, compared to the calcium they offer therefore contribute to the development of Metabolic Bone Disease.
Also the crunchy exoskeleton called chitin can cause impaction.
Mealworms aren't the best choice to feed a bearded dragon. Butter worms, reptiworms, silkworms, Dubia roaches {and some other roaches} and occasional wax worms for a treat.
Just keep offering greens, keep a salad in with him all day. Here is a color coded, easy to use nutrition list for your beardie. Most recommend and follow it. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Amanda

 

[diamc]

Hopefully we'll get the rest of the answers. Still need to know what type of thermometer is in use, that's very important.

 

[jkeeney1]

Answering all the questions would be very helpful. He doesn't look very happy in the picture, his eyes look sad and he is very dark in color. What are the tank temps and what type of thermometer are you using?

Im using one of those crappy five dollar ones that stick on the back of the cage made by zilla. The tank tempts are around 100-110 basking and 80-90 for the cool end.

 

[jkeeney1]

QUOTE " 110 degree basking temp, 87 on the cool side, proper uvb lighting, fed calcium dusted crickets and meal worms, and he doesnt eat any greens on his own".
Hi,
Your temps are too hot, especially the cool end! 110* basking temp is more for babies and juvies not year old dragons. Plus your cool end isn't cool. 87*...almost 90* on the cool end isn't giving him anywhere to get away from the heat to cool down. Since he's a year old, the basking temp iat 110* is a bit hot.
Approximate temps for a year old beardie.
Basking 95-100*F
Warm end {under basking spot" about 90*F
Cool end 78 to 80*F.
Other's may chime in on the temps also as some keepers may have suggestions of their own.

Some general mineral info you should be aware of and Mealworms.
Generally, equal amounts of soluble calcium and phosphorus ions are required for balance; ideally, the ratio of calcium to phosphorus should be 2:1. Too much phosphorus in the diet forms insoluble calcium phosphate which renders the calcium unusable; as the body continues to absorb the phosphorus, hypocalcemia—metabolic bone disease—results.
Calcium and phosphorus must be available in the diet in about a 2:1 ratio in order for bones to develop properly. But mealworms have a calciumhosphorus ratio of about .04--which is 50 times more phosphorus than desired, compared to the calcium they offer therefore contribute to the development of Metabolic Bone Disease.
Also the crunchy exoskeleton called chitin can cause impaction.
Mealworms aren't the best choice to feed a bearded dragon. Butter worms, reptiworms, silkworms, Dubia roaches {and some other roaches} and occasional wax worms for a treat.
Just keep offering greens, keep a salad in with him all day. Here is a color coded, easy to use nutrition list for your beardie. Most recommend and follow it. http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
Amanda

How should i get the cage to run cooler? Use a lower wattage heat bulb? i think mine is a 75 so is it worth trying a 50 watt bulb instead to lower the cage temp?

 

[Claudiusx]

Hi there,

I wouldn't worry about trying to get your cage cooler at the moment because you don't know what the temps are.

Yes I realize you have a thermometer in there, but those things are so inaccurate (by as much as 20 degrees in some cases) that all it is doing is giving you a guess. Plus it has no way of telling you the basking SURFACE temperature, which is the most important temperature.

You will need to get either a temp gun, or a digital thermometer with a probe end. Can you do that today hopefully? Once you get either, you need to measure the temps of your basking SURFACE, your hot side, and your cool side. If you get the digital thermometer with probe, make sure you leave the probe end in the spot you want to measure for around 45 minutes to get an accurate reading.

Have you gotten him a new uvb bulb yet?

-Brandon