Zeros not gaining weight.

[Freeie]

Its been almost a month since we got Zero(6 to 7 yrs old) he dosnt seem to be gaining any weight.
This is his set up.
reptisun 10 24"
100w basking bulb
Temps are 107f (he likes it a tad warmer) cool side is 80f.
tile flooring.
His viv is smaller than what i would like its 36Lx14Wx24H.

Hes getting 5 to 10 crickets daily dusted with calcium with d3 x 3 and vits x 2 plus mustard,colard greens with squash chopped up in it. my daughter hand feeds him in the morning his veggies 7 am she refills the bowl before she leaves and he gets his crickets when she gets home at 2 30 pm. I check him at noon and give him fresh veggies. I take him treats of fresh fruit every few days canalope apple rasberrys his fav. She bathes him 3 days a week 20 mins. I take him out of the viv for outside time and let him free roam. She lets him roam her room for a hour or more in the evening.

He is getting stronger. Alot more active than he used to be when we got him but hes not gaining any weight. His tail is still the same and his hip bones are still kind of sticking out. Is he not gaining weight because hes a older guy or does it just take longer?
He has a high intrest in feeders he would rather eat them than his veggies should i increase his life feeder intake? Any ideas on how to fatten him up? Hes a stuborn old coot lol

This is a recent picture of him.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Those are good pics of him. He looks pretty good, overall, but does need some thickness on the base of his tail & his hamstrings & leg area yes. Do you know how much he weighs?
At his age of 6 or 7, he may not gain a whole lot of weight though, but ensuring he is eating enough will help. It sounds like your feeding schedule is fine. While I am sure he would love to have more feeders, it is not needed at his age. You should focus on greens & veggies. Have you tried winter squash, butternut squash or peas? They are starchy & could help with filling him out some.
Also, how long is he? If he is at least 15-16 inches, then you could try superworms. They are higher in phosphorus, so you will need to dust them. However, they are great feeders. They have a balanced proportion of fat & protein & can really help to bulk up dragons. Exercising him as you do is a great way also, to build up muscle mass. It does take time to see changes in them. You mentioned that you have already seen some strength improvement, so, just give him some time & with you feeding him the way you do he should continue to improve as well.
Do you have the Reptisun 10 tube within a 6-8 inch distance from him too for maximal exposure?

Tracie

 

[Freeie]

His Reptisun had to be lowered with his changes we had to make to his viv its 7 inches from where he basks. He has a hard time climbing on anything he falls off pretty easy we didnt want him to get injured so as of right now all he has is a hide 1/2 log that he basks on. Hes 15 inches he is missing a bit of his tail. Im not sure of his weight. I need to get a scale so I can weigh all the beardies. Hes not much on squash or peas. Only thing he pretty much eats is mustard n colard greens with his cal and vits on them when they are due. And a few crickets. Hes a grumpy thing when I try anything new in his salad if somethings in it he dosnt like he refuses to eat it. So then I have to get him fresh greens. I think i may try babyfood squash and peas see if he may try that. I'll see about getting him some butterworms.Holly sugested I add a bit more water to his baths and have him swim a little (my hand is always under him so hes safe) that and the roaming time its been getting his legs stronger. He falls over here and there.

Thank you so much for your responce. We know hes a older beardie we just want to make sure we are giving him all he needs to make him fat and healthy again

Edit: I went and picked up some butternut squash and pea babyfood. He seen the spoon and knew excatly what it was for so his old owner must of fed him babyfood. He about ripped the spoon from my hand. Guess ill be making homeade babyfood for him. My daughter hand feeds him his veggies in the morning because he wont eat them unless hes handfed in his viv he wont eat outside of it. So at one point in his life he must of been a spoiled rotten beardie!

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

Well, they can live up to 12+ years so you should still have alot of time left with him & plenty of time to spoil him more! At least he eats greens though so if he just wont eat squash there isn't a whole lot you can do about it but try new things from time to time. He just wants what he wants I guess! Oh wow, so he ate off of the spoon, that is hilarious! He must have been used to that. Good he got some of the babyfood then. He would probably love the butterworms.
The swimming is great for him & can really help out his strength definitely without chance of injury. So the combination of running around & swimming will be good for him.
Let me know how he is doing!

Tracie

 

[pscaulkins]

Edit: I went and picked up some butternut squash and pea babyfood. He seen the spoon and knew excatly what it was for so his old owner must of fed him babyfood. He about ripped the spoon from my hand. Guess ill be making homeade babyfood for him. My daughter hand feeds him his veggies in the morning because he wont eat them unless hes handfed in his viv he wont eat outside of it. So at one point in his life he must of been a spoiled rotten beardie!

I have two beardies that get excited when they see a plastic spoon. They know they are getting their beloved greens juice. Does that mean I have spoiled dragons? :lol: :lol:

BTW, you have an adorable beardie. He just needs a bit of thickness added to his tail base. My male is the same way, he won't touch anything new now and he will be 3 yo this month.

 

[Jasper's Mom]

Baby food squash will help him a lot. I used squash and superworms to fatten Jasper up when I first got him. That's a great combo - he turned into a real chubster. Maybe you could substitute a superworm or two for some of his crickets and see if that helps as well.