ProxyDragon":3i0i4at0 said:
Sure, He lives in a 40 Gal Terrarium, He eats loads of crickets, I'm still trying to get him to eat veggies, I offer him collard greens daily, but he never eats them. He has a Calcium sand substrait and I gut load the crickets, I also dust them once, or twice a week. He has Repti glo UV and Repti Sun Heat source, I have one large heating pad on the side of his cage. Also a Repti Product, I'm not sure if I like those products but there all they have at the store.
I do have multi Vitamins for him but the guy at the pet store told me that it works the same as buying the Calcium sand. He also has a little water dish which I give him water daily. Right now he's eating baby food with veggies and a anti-Biotic mixed in to help boost his immune system. Maybe I'm doing it wrong and if so pleeaaase help me. My last beardie died at six months and this one is trying his hardest too it seems.
We are all glad to help you. There are a lot of experienced bearded dragon keepers that will come on here and let you know what they think.
First thing to do, right off, is to get that Calcium sand out of that tank and just toss it out. Calcium sand is a marketing ploy by the manufacturer to try and get you to buy their useless and harmful product. No dragon should ever eat sand. So putting any vitamins or calcium in the sand will make the dragon eat something he should not. That sand will not pass completely through him and can severely impact his digestive system. Remove it and put him on paper towels or reptile carpet or non adhesive shelf liner, the shelf liner will wipe clean and is probably the most sanitary or at least easiest to make sanitary.
It's not a good idea for a beginner reptile person to have any sand in the dragon's home. There are breeders and more experienced people who have success with sand or at least can recognize warning signs if they come up, but even then most of us don't see any reason to use it. And with that being said, the people in the industry who use sand will tend to use play sand, as it is a bit safer. I still advise you against the sand.
He needs his calcium dusted on his feeders 5 days a week and he needs his vitamins dusted in his feeders the other 2 days a week.
Feeding crickets is fine, just be sure to dust them. For a 6 month old, they may or may not want their greens, but keep offerring. As he gets a bit older he will hopefully start really eating them. We are starting to transition some of our dragons that are 10-12 months old over to more salad and less feeders, and ours are starting to make that change themselves and are eating more salad on their own. You can try switching to turnip greens and see if he would prefer them. My dragons prefer turnips over collards.
The UVB bulbs need to be replaced every 6 months. Since your dragon is 6 months old, you'll be wanting to change it soon. When you change it, go with the ReptiSUN 10.0 linear tube, as it is a higher quality bulb with a more consistent UVB output and seems to be easier on their eyes than the ReptiGlo.
What is this ReptiSun heat source you have? Is that a bright white basking bulb? I searched the product online and can't figure that out - let me know.
Also what are your tank temps - basking spot, cool side and warm side? What do you use to measure your temps? Can you please check out this amazing thread and make sure you are getting accurate temps?
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=167279 Inaccurate temps can cause health problems, dehydration, and incomplete digestion.
Hang in there, hopefully it's a simple husbandry issue and not any kind of disease. Usually if they fall off their hammock they are not going to be found flipped over unless there is something wrong.
