Whats the deal!?!?

[batmanjosh5000]

Hi, i got my bearded dragon at pet smart on oct 4th (so im assuming hes about 6 or 7 months old). Hes pretty freakin big for that age i think. hes in a 40 gall with a basking of 105-110, hot side 90, mid 85, and cool side 75. For some reason lately he just hasnt been eating much. he only eats like a few wax worms a day, and those are his favorites!. hes not impacted bc he poops but there not very big poops because hes not eating much (i thought he might have been impacted a week and a halff ago but i put him in warm water and he pooped, so if he was or wasnt a week ago i wouldnt think it would be a problem now, but he is pooping now). the weird part is that hes pretty fat, im not sure where the line of fat and healthy is for beardies but mine is definately towards the fat side, and on top of that it seems like hes still growing at the same rate!. also he seems to act pretty normal, he basks, chills at the warm side, move to the cold side, gos into his water bowl for a bath, gos to his sleeping spot at night, hes still tries to jump out of my hand everytime i pick him up (hes strong, hes good at pushing himself outa my hand) so he can run around my room and go under a vent (why do they love vents!?!?), but he seems just a bit lazzier than he was a month ago but i think thats normal cuz he grew alot this month and he just gradually has been getting more lazy and chill since he was a baby (when he was crazy and could run at the speed of light) . So basically my bearded dragon is fat (fat belly and rlly bulky tail) and growing, acts normal, poops everyday, is offered crickets (which he stopped liking like a month ago), wax worms (his favorite), collard greens, blueberys, bannanas, strawberrys, romaine lettuce (ive never fed it befor but i figured id give it a try 2 days ago), and all he eats is a few wax worms a day!!!?!?! WHATS THE DEAL!?!!?!?

 

[AHBD]

Hi Josh....can you post a picture ? I'm thinking he's a bit older if you got him in Oct.....he would have been at least a month old then, maybe even two. That would make him/her possibly 8 - 9 months. Very rarely will females develop infertile eggs that early [ but it happens ] so it may be a female. Or it just happens that some dragons reach a time as subadults where they simply slow down their eating. That's normal, and it shows they are nearing " adulthood " even though they still have some growing to do. By the way, the best veggies are turnip, mustard, collard + dandelion greens as well as squash. Avoid much fruit, too much sugar may promote yeast problems. All in all it sounds like your'e taking good care of him...but can you list a rundown of your entire set up, including what brand, wattage type of lights ? Whether you use coil or coompact, tube or mercury vapor bulb ? Also the flooring [ substrate ]

 

[batmanjosh5000]

Thanks for the responce man, i cant have take a picture at the moment but ill have one u somtime today. I think he might be a male becuase he has those 2 round bump things on the bottom of him near the tail, but idk if that neccesarily means male. i dont normally feed him fruits i just thought id give it a try cuz he wasnt eating, i usually give him collard, bugs, and somtimes kale and squash but now ill try turnip and dandelion. And as far as set up, when this started he was in a 20 gallon tank with eco earth substrate with an exo terra 75 watt basking bulb during the day in a zoo med lamp, 75 watt exo terra infrared heat bulb in a zoomed lamp, and im not positive bc i throught the box but a 10.0 exo terra repti glo uvb bulb in a lowes clap lamp, then after, due to convinience, i bought smaller clamp lamps at lowes and clamped them to the sides of the tank (so they werent on the screen so i could take the screen off easily), and used a 60 watt hat emmiter from zoo med, a 75 halogen bulb from lowes, and the same repti glo uvb. then a week and a half ago he seemed impacted so i took care of it, but i thought that he might have eaten too much eco earth (cuz when he eats from his bowl he always gets eco earth in it and eats it with the food), so i decided that the eco earth had to go. now that i was gonna witch to a different substrate i figured i might as well move him to the 40 gallon since he was a little bit big for the 20 and because it was difficult to get the temps right in the 20. So 3 days ago i moved him to the 40. and now hes on newspaper and right now all thats in ther is his basking thing (im not sure what it is but its this stone thong with steps), his water bowl, and food bowl, but im gonna give him a hidespot (but he never uses them, he actually only uses the water bowl, food bowl, and basking rock). and as for heating, now thers a 100 watt halogen bulb from lowes and a clamp lamp from lowes, the uvb repti glow in a mini clamp lamp from lowes, and the 60 watt heat emmiter from zoo med in a mini lamp from lowes, and ther lying on the screen, and the temps right now are perfect.
Im thinking though that maybe he has a calcium deficiency?? i was never sure exactly how much calcium to give him, so as a baby i gave him every feeding, and when he got a little bit bigger i did like 3 times a week, and lately i was doing it like twice a week. but his bones seem strong, and he doesnt shake when i hold him or feel week in anyway, infact he seems strong for his size, so i dunno

 

[AHBD]

It sounds like he is a male if he has the 2 lumps. As far as flooring, you really don't need any loose substrate, especially since he's prone to eating it. The calcium type sand from pet stores can be deadly, it gets like sludge in their bellies and they sometimes can't pass it. Wood chips + walnut are no better. You can use the newspaper, or try non adhesive shelf liner [ not the kind with sticky backing, fumes can bother the dragon ] or buy some rough tile and have it cut to fit. If you want the best UVB on the market, try the Repti sun 10.0 long tube or mercury vapor bulb. The coil + compact bulbs have been associated with eye problems, so be aware of that....also it's not known if they always put out the proper amount of UVB. One more tip, if the weather is nice, get your beardie out for natural sun a few times a week.

 

[batmanjosh5000]

awsome thanks!, and what coil or a compact bulb?, and as for substrate im using newpaper now but i was wondering if i could rip (approx 4inch x 4inch) pieces of cardboard as substrate, u ever hear of such a thing?

 

[AHBD]

You're welcome ! I've never heard of ripping up cardboard. I think newspaper is good because it absorbs, and it's easy to get for free. The coil + compact bulbs in general have been known to cause eye damage, but that may have to do with the distance they are kept at or specific brands. I've always used mercury vapor bulbs or the Repti sun 10.0. I've had no problems with those.