Beardie not growing or shedding.

[motormike]

Hello
Im finally turning to some help for a recurring problem. ive had a beardie before, about 5 years he shed very very rarely and he only had grown from tail to head about 12-13 inches. And with my new Beardie Rex he's about 9 and a half months and hes only about 10 inches, and has never shed. I just dont understand is there something wrong with the beardies from petco (inland), i dont understand i take care of my beardie fairly well i make sure there is always fresh greens kale, peas, raspberries etc and i give him crickets every other 2 days and in between days he does not have crickets he's given meal worms i must add i also sprinkle his food 1 time a week with calcium powder oh and btw i have the d3/uv lamp as well as the heat lamp and i make sure theres 50% moisture in his cage.

If you have any hints or clues please let me know it would be greatly appreciated
Mike.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Hi Mike,
Welcome aboard. Would you mind answering some questions about your set up? What are your temps in the tank? both hot side and cool side. How are you getting your temps? Your salad mix sounds good. I would go to feeding crix everyday for the time being. It couldnt hurt at the age your dragon is. I would also check out the sites care sheet for some basic husbandry tips that may help you modify or tweek your tank.
Again welcome to the forum
Tom

 

[motormike]

Hey tom Thank you =)
My beardie has the orange calcium sand in the tank daytime temp is 80-90 cool side is about 75. i do not have heat rocks etc or anything like that just his waterdish a rock he can lay on and a log as well oh and the vegetable dish hehe. quick question i tend to keep the heat lamp on the side where he is more active which is over his rock and the Uvb light on the other side of the tank is ok. And do you think taking my beardie to the vet would be wise some people say beardies tend to get parasites that stop them from growing shedding and pooping =P?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

No problem at all Mike,
A vet visit is never a bad idea. Your temps are a little on the cool side. You want to get your basking temp to about 105. Thats where I tend to keep mine. Personally I would ditch the sand for tile or non adheasive shelf liner. Its just better for your dragon. and its sooooooo easy to clean. I measure my temps with a digital thermometer and i use a reptisun 10 for uvb. Do you soak your dragon? I tend to soak ALL of mine 2 times a week...lol I have 143 dragons at the moment.

 

[motormike]

Haha 143 >.< i couldnt handle 3 lol thanks tom for the advice.
Atm im using the same Uvb and right now ill start looking for a stronger light to boost the tempatures. had a few extra questions what type of sand do you use brand etc and have you ever experienced this problem with your bearded dragons? By soaking i spray him down with a spray bottle probally not enough heh? and any suggestions on how to keep large quantities of crickets pet store is a nice distance away hahah

Ty again for any Help
Mike

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

I dont use any sand at all. I use non adhesive shelf liner.
Most use ceramic tile but I just have to many for that..lol
As far as crickets I use a rubbermaid container with a screened lid. I feed my feeders a mix of catfood, rabbit food and oats. I use water crystals for the water so they dont drown.

 

[motormike]

Thanks again tom more questions ahead >.< haha When you soak your beardie how do you do that i tend to spray mine down. and i heard walnut shell was good for beardies i also have the green layout which i was recommended to use as well is good. Oh and i never mentioned haha my tank is a 40g

 

[zebraflavencs]

Hi Mike, Nope sorry, those shells are even worse a substrate than sand. More sharp edges to rip apart intestines.

Bathing:
Water up to the shoulders, temps 90-100*F, supervise totally, for a duration of 15-20 minutes.
I tend to bath 2 out of 3 ,3-4 times a week, the third gets a bath daily, since that is where he tends to want to poo.

You can use ceramic tile, you'll need 5-6 pieces. Cut to fit snugly and lay them in.
The tiles will absorb heat, darker colors more than lighter, though the lighter will radiate back up heat to some small degree.

As for lighting, you can use a Mercury Vapor Bulb as your UVB/heat all in one. And you only have to change it out annually. Just make sure that it is minimum 12" distance away from the closest place your dragon can get to it.

when you said, green layout, are you referring to green colored reptile carpet ?
That's an ok substrate, but you would need two pieces, one in use, and one in reserve when the first is being laundered, as it will still harbor bacteria from the poo, and crickets can hide underneath it.

Hope this helps.
Janie.

 

[motormike]

Thanks for the help Janie first thing tommorow im picking up a cricket keeper and ceramic vinyl tile. Any clue though why he isnt shedding and growing?

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Morning Mike,
After the corrections on your tank and up the protein feeding your dragon should start growing, Dust your crickets every other day with calcium for now vitamins 2 times a week. We get her growing she will shed more.

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

Coffee is kicking in, I noticed in your pictures you have them together. That could also be one of the reasons your dragon isnt growing as fast. I would almost bet a pooper on it.

 

[motormike]

Thanks again Tom
Im heading to pet store to pick up crick keeper a nocturnal light and then i was gonna run to pick up 5-6 darker ceramic tiles

 

[motormike]

Hey Tom,

I got a stupid question haha, since you have so many beardies do you breed them/ have a beardie farm? theres a huge expo center down the road from me and once a year its home to a monsterous pet show 3/4 of the show being reptiles lots of beardies different breeds being sold etc. since your in philly i figured that there may be a possibility you would be at show's im in jersey btw haha

Mike

 

[renich]

Welcome to the forum, Motormike. I see that Tom and Janie have layed down the ground rules with Bearded Dragon Care. I just wanted to reemphasize that housing two beardies together is not a good thing. One will become dominant and could potentially harm the other. Yes, there are success stories, but I think everyone will agree that there are more horror stories out there.

Here is a link that summarizes the basics for caring for these little guys. Give it a read and hopefully, it will help:
Bearded Dragon Care

 

[zebraflavencs]

Mike, to answer your question of Tom, yes he is a breeder, of wonderfully colorful and healthy babies. You might indeed see him at the expo You never know !

I also would like to second Ranee's suggestion of separating. For all the reasons stated.

Janie.

 

[motormike]

Ty for the welcome guys =),
I made my way to the pet store today picked up a night red heat bulb got a digital thermometer but seems like the probes to long and since i have tile in the cage now i cant bury it under any sand any suggestions heh. I also got the tile but theres a little bit of a gap 2-3 inches of space but also got crix about 50 and im feeding them oats.set up a fresh veggie dish kale etc trying dandelions i was told they are attracted to darker colors hehe

 

[TheWolfmanTom]

What show in Nj are you refering to?
Im always game to check out a diff show.
Tom

 

[renich]

Don't want to confuse you, but the red heat bulb is not good for beardies. It can disturb their much needed rest. You really don't need any light at night. Your temps can drop to 65F at night.

Also, kale should be fed seldom. Here is a link to some basic bearded dragon care information:

Bearded Dragon Care

 

[motormike]

Ty for the help renee

The show is raritan center pet expo

 

[zebraflavencs]

You two thinking of going ? What if I sponsered a show here in Savannah.... Ya think I can entice you and Lance to come down ? Hmmmmm ?
Just leave the beer at home, lots of good microbrewers here !
Janie.