Too Skinny Beardie? With Pics

[warac67]

Do you think my beardie is too skinny? I feel like he used to be a lot thicker or maybe just because he is growing so fast the weight is just being distributed and I'm being too worried. But does he look a healthy weight to you? He is about 6-7 months old.

 

[daner923]

He does look skinny. Can you go over your set up for us? It will help us determine what's going on. Also, just a note, but the bottom of his tank looks REALLY dirty - how often are you cleaning up?

How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?
How old is your UVB bulb?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?
Di you have any type of night time heat source (ceramic heat emitter, colored bulb, etc)?
How long are lights on each day?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
What is the night time temp?
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?
Do you bathe your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

 

[warac67]

My beardie is 6-7 months old.
He is a boy.
I'm not sure exactly how long he is I'm going to say over 12 inches.
He is in a 20L gallon tank I know I need to get him a bigger one I am currently working on that.
I use repticarpet. (Its not usually that dirty will clean it)
I have a repti-sun 10.0 tube UVB.
It's about 4 months old.( I know it needs to be changed every 6 months)
He can get about 6 inches away from it I would say.
I have a separate basking bulb I think about 50 watts.
I have a 100 watt CHE for at night,
The basking temps are about 105F cool side about 85F and night time its about about 80F cool side 90F warm side.
I have a temp gun that I take the temps with I use it on the driftwood under the CHE (his hotspot) and on the other side with just UVB light.
I feed him a mix of greens such as Turnip greens, collard greens, dandelion green, sometimes swiss chard sometimes green beans, green/yellow/red peppers, yellow squash, spagetti squash,carrots and more I can't remember.
For protein I give him crickets and phoenix worms.
I usually give him a pile of greens and vegetables for the day and about 5 phoenix worms (lately I have been short crickets because they have been giving me shipments with half dead crickets in them) I have only been giving him about 20 crickets in the morning sometimes again in the afternoon.
He usually waits until I bathe him to poop which is about every other day. I don't mist him because I know if its done too often it can make him sick. He doesn't share with another dragon and he hasn't had any fecals done.

 

[daner923]

Are you cutting him off at 20 crickets at a feeding, or is that all he wants? If he isn't done at 20, he needs more. That is probably the main reason he is skinny. He's also pretty small for his age. Max is 7.5 months old now, is 17 inches long, and weighs in at nearly 350 grams. Are you dusting with calcium and multivitamins? When Max was 12 inches or so, he was eating 25+ crickets a feeding, or upwards of 50 phoenix worms each feeding.

 

[warac67]

Yes, the more I think about it the more I think I am just not giving him enough food. I cut him off at 20 because the amount of crickets I have need to last him until I can go out and get more. I think I just haven't gotten down the right way to buy mass quantities of crickets and store them. How do you do it? I buy 500 1/2 inch crickets put them in a storage bin with egg cartons and such and give them carrots and other stuff to eat but they die off really fast. I have a vitamin spray that I use I find it's easier than dusting is that okay? Where do you order your phoenix worms from? I buy mine from a local reptile store it's 100 large for $10.00 I try give him like 10 a day or so that way they will last a while.

 

[daner923]

I always ordered phoenix worms online directly from the phoenix worm shop. Including shipping its about $45 for 1,000 which lasted about 10 days. I don't use them anymore as Max was pooping them out alive (which I have learned is common, because they don't always chew the little buggers too well). Honestly, he won't eat crickets anymore either. He loves superworms (only for 16 inch+ dragons) and dubia roaches, which I have a colony of. I do highly suggest starting a dubia colony - way easier to keep alive than crickets. I always just kinda expected it as an assumed loss with crickets that half of them would die within a couple days, sadly. I've done everything recommended, but they are so hard to keep alive. I also hate crickets.

 

[warac67]

My beardie isn't big enough to eat superworms right? I just hate hate hate roaches and would much rather crickets they don't creep me out as much for some reason. I haven't seen any trouble with my beardie digesting the phoenix worms. Is it bad for them if they eat them and poop them alive like you say? I would assume so, now I will keep an eye out for that. But at this age for him should I be starting to switch him over to more veggies and less protein? Because I know when their full grown it switches to 80% veggies 20% protein.

 

[daner923]

No, you don't really need to start the switch until a year old, and should slowly phase it down until you reach about 50-60 feeders a week by 18 months old. He may stop eating as much at a second meal, so by about 8-9 months, it may be one feeding a day, as much as he will eat in 10-15 minutes. Yes, he is not big enough for supers quite yet. If you only give him a few P-Worms at a time, he may eat a bit more carefully and not swallow them whole. It's not a health risk as far as having live worms in his gut, but he might eat them once he poops them out, which is a parasite risk. You should still promote veggie eating now, too. It's not so much that they should only be limited to 20% veggies as a baby, but that they just tend not to want them. If he'll eat them, no reason for him not to eat as many as he wants.

I felt the same way as you at first, but after having to deal with crickets and their mess, smell, general difficulty in catching left overs, the fact that they bite, and the chirping, I decided to give dubia a go. Not only does Max LOVE them, but they're so much easier to keep. But I'm also not one to freak out over any kind of bug.

 

[warac67]

I have heard that about them that they are really nutritious and the beardies LOVE them. Maybe in the future I might try them but at think right now I will stick to crickets for now. His habitat and everything seems like its set up correctly right? So I am probably just not giving him enough crickets? I feel bad. I wish they could talk so he could just tell me when he is hungry and when he is not. At point I was giving him like 40-50 crickets at a time with greens and he would eat until his stomach was bulging out and I was told to watch him and make sure he doesn't do that. That was when he was younger though and they eat less as they grow right?

 

[daner923]

Whoever told you that gave you bad advice. They should be allowed to eat as much as they want in 10-15 minutes twice a day when they are young. At his age, he should be eating as much as he wants still twice a day. If he stops eating at a second meal, then you can cut it down to once a day. Your set up is mostly okay, but it's really too hot at night. Unless it is dropping below 65F at night, leave the CHE off. They do need that cool down time to slow down their bodies a little at night. Is the UVB on a screen or covered in plastic? It should be mounted inside the tank with nothing between it and your beardie. Otherwise, getting a bigger tank should be a priority - minimum 40 gallon breeder. I know that Petco occasionally does a $1 per gallon sale, so maybe look out for that. I also suggest if you have trouble keeping the carpet clean to go with paper towel or tile, as they are easier to clean.

 

[warac67]

Thank you so much for the advice I just have two more questions. I really like the look and convenience of tiles in the tanks but how do you do that? And how do you mount the UVB inside the tank? I lay mine on top of the mesh top. Thanks again sorry for all the questions. I am learning that you can never know everything about keeping beardies. Everytime I feel like I have it all down I learn more or find out I was doing something wrong.

 

[daner923]

Don't apologize for good questions! Putting the UVB on the screen is actually not great anyways, since it filters out at about 50% of the UVB rays. You can see in my first couple pictures that I actually didn't even use a screen when he was in his 20 gallon - I just lay the hood across two corners of the tank. In my new 40 gallon, it is mounted. You can mount it inside the tank pretty easily. Get a cheap under cabinet fixture from Walmart or another hardware store. Make sure it isn't too heavy - my first one kept falling down because it was pretty heavy! Once you get the cheap, light under cabinet fixture, you just mount it on the back of the tank with 3M Command Hooks. Simple as that!

As for tile, You just lay it down on the bottom. You don't need to grout it, or anything. Just lay it flat in the bottom of the tank, or if they don't quite fit (like mine), you can make up some way to have them overlap without leaving an edge. My tank now has a little step in it. I'll try to get a picture in the next day or two of the completed new set up so you can see. I also have a 75W basking light on top of the screen, as well as 60W household bulb for a bit of extra light and heat on the cool side and a CHE for extra ambient heat/night time heat. I have a staff meeting tomorrow morning, but I will try to remember before I leave! If not, I'll get one in the evening.

 

[tgolden]

Bearded dragons that are still growing will go Thu the skinny stage much like kids do. As long as they are getting plenty to eat they will fatten up over time.

 

[daner923]

That's only true if you are giving them the proper care and nutrition, though!

 

[tgolden]

Yes that is true. However its normal for Juveniles to got Thru a gangaly stage.