Beardie hasn't shed in a long time. What should I do?

[Moogs]

Hi

Background
I first got Argyle in August of 2020, he was very small and my mother and I calculated at the time that he was 3 months old. I was very dedicated to his care as a baby and spent a significant portion of my free time doing things for his care. I raised him on crickets 3 times a day and occasional vegetables until I moved house in March 2021. The move was a bit of a shock to him and he refused to eat for a while. Eventually I figured he needed a tank upgrade so I dropped a couple hundred dollars and got him a pretty big tank as well as secured a cricket supply.
It was around May when I noticed he hadn't shown signs of shedding at all, I was bathing him no more than once a week, admittedly I didnt have enough dedication at the time to do so. I began misting him. At this time I was also trying to get him to resume eating vegetables by offering them more often, and also introduced Goliath worms into his diet.
Fast forward to now. December 2021.

I have gotten into the habit of putting salad with carrots into his tank (often sprinkled with vitamins or calcium) almost every day, as well as getting crickets from the store and feeding him outside of his tank by chucking calcium and vitamin covered crickets across the floor for him to chase. I have also in the last week began trying to make a point of bathing him more often.

The situation
Argyle has not started and finished a shedding period, nor shed any large noticeable pieces since April 2021 at around an estimated 10 months old. I know this is not normal. As far as I know, there is nothing glaringly absent from his setup or diet. That said, I'm willing to admit to the possibility of things like maybe not bathing him enough or maybe just not feeding him enough. All I want to know now is what I should do going forward.

Attached are images of Argyle. Please let me know if you see anything that stands out. I'm willing to answer any questions.

 

[Sadie]

Hi

Background
I first got Argyle in August of 2020, he was very small and my mother and I calculated at the time that he was 3 months old. I was very dedicated to his care as a baby and spent a significant portion of my free time doing things for his care. I raised him on crickets 3 times a day and occasional vegetables until I moved house in March 2021. The move was a bit of a shock to him and he refused to eat for a while. Eventually I figured he needed a tank upgrade so I dropped a couple hundred dollars and got him a pretty big tank as well as secured a cricket supply.
It was around May when I noticed he hadn't shown signs of shedding at all, I was bathing him no more than once a week, admittedly I didnt have enough dedication at the time to do so. I began misting him. At this time I was also trying to get him to resume eating vegetables by offering them more often, and also introduced Goliath worms into his diet.
Fast forward to now. December 2021.

I have gotten into the habit of putting salad with carrots into his tank (often sprinkled with vitamins or calcium) almost every day, as well as getting crickets from the store and feeding him outside of his tank by chucking calcium and vitamin covered crickets across the floor for him to chase. I have also in the last week began trying to make a point of bathing him more often.

The situation
Argyle has not started and finished a shedding period, nor shed any large noticeable pieces since April 2021 at around an estimated 10 months old. I know this is not normal. As far as I know, there is nothing glaringly absent from his setup or diet. That said, I'm willing to admit to the possibility of things like maybe not bathing him enough or maybe just not feeding him enough. All I want to know now is what I should do going forward.

Attached are images of Argyle. Please let me know if you see anything that stands out. I'm willing to answer any questions.

The most important things in Argyles tank is basking temps and UVB ------------- those two things control the overall health and behavior ----- dragons grow at different rates as well - it looks like shed starting on one of his legs in the pic ---- so what are Argyles basking temps and now are you taking them? No stick ons please and the basking temp needs to be surface temp not ambient taken w/a digital probe thermometer --- NO coils for UVB please ---

 

[Moogs]

The most important things in Argyles tank is basking temps and UVB ------------- those two things control the overall health and behavior ----- dragons grow at different rates as well - it looks like shed starting on one of his legs in the pic ---- so what are Argyles basking temps and now are you taking them? No stick ons please and the basking temp needs to be surface temp not ambient taken w/a digital probe thermometer --- NO coils for UVB please ---

My UVA/UVB is from a long bulb that spans the length of the tank, not a coil. It was recommended to me by the pet store and it's from the brand Arcadia. Unfortunately I have never bought a surface temp thermometer gun so since I've had my current tank I use the air temp ones. My heat lamp bulb is 150 watts, up from a 100 watt bulb that wasnt heating the tank enough at all. Typically the air temp around his basking spot is around 30. If I have to invest in a thermometer gun, I will.

 

[Sadie]

My UVA/UVB is from a long bulb that spans the length of the tank, not a coil. It was recommended to me by the pet store and it's from the brand Arcadia. Unfortunately I have never bought a surface temp thermometer gun so since I've had my current tank I use the air temp ones. My heat lamp bulb is 150 watts, up from a 100 watt bulb that wasnt heating the tank enough at all. Typically the air temp around his basking spot is around 30. If I have to invest in a thermometer gun, I will.

IR guns are good to have on hand but the best accurate is the digital probe

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digital-Terrarium-Thermometer/dp/B000MD3MFA/ref=sr_1_14?crid=139IG6NXR21SS&keywords=zoo+med+digital+thermometer&qid=1638492206&sprefix=zoo+med+digi%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-14

you want 2 of those one for each side of the tank --
Your UVB is a Arcadia what bulb are you using ? 12% ? I am hoping- these bulbs the 12 and 14% have certain distance requirements --- a 14% bulb would require a tank of 24" high
what is the surface temp of his basking spot not air temp (ambient) it needs to be 95-100 F

 

[Moogs]

IR guns are good to have on hand but the best accurate is the digital probe

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digital-Terrarium-Thermometer/dp/B000MD3MFA/ref=sr_1_14?crid=139IG6NXR21SS&keywords=zoo+med+digital+thermometer&qid=1638492206&sprefix=zoo+med+digi%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-14

you want 2 of those one for each side of the tank --
Your UVB is a Arcadia what bulb are you using ? 12% ? I am hoping- these bulbs the 12 and 14% have certain distance requirements --- a 14% bulb would require a tank of 24" high
what is the surface temp of his basking spot not air temp (ambient) it needs to be 95-100

IR guns are good to have on hand but the best accurate is the digital probe

https://www.amazon.com/Zoo-Med-Digital-Terrarium-Thermometer/dp/B000MD3MFA/ref=sr_1_14?crid=139IG6NXR21SS&keywords=zoo+med+digital+thermometer&qid=1638492206&sprefix=zoo+med+digi%2Caps%2C191&sr=8-14

you want 2 of those one for each side of the tank --
Your UVB is a Arcadia what bulb are you using ? 12% ? I am hoping- these bulbs the 12 and 14% have certain distance requirements --- a 14% bulb would require a tank of 24" high
what is the surface temp of his basking spot not air temp (ambient) it needs to be 95-100 F

Those are the type of probes that I have and I do have one on each side of the tank. When the sensor is lying directly on his basking spot it's reading around 110 F at this exact moment. I'm aware that's a little high, but it's worth noting I also recently moved his tank and have been adjusting his platform's height accordingly over time.

Also, I got my lighting from the same store that sold me my tank, which actually is almost 24" high.

 

[Sadie]

Those are the type of probes that I have and I do have one on each side of the tank. When the sensor is lying directly on his basking spot it's reading around 110 F at this exact moment. I'm aware that's a little high, but it's worth noting I also recently moved his tank and have been adjusting his platform's height accordingly over time.

Also, I got my lighting from the same store that sold me my tank, which actually is almost 24" high.

I would get the basking surface down to 95-100 110 is usually a little warmer than the dragon likes for the age --- I would get a piece of decor that will offer that temp --- the one he sits on doesnt give him much options or raise the bulb so its not so hot and please use the probe --- the Arcadia bulb looks really high unless your using the 14% bulb you would need to look on the bulb itself it will tell you --- sometimes the will say T 5 but look for 12 or 14 --- distance for this bulb is key here -- also the screen will block approx 30% of the rays --

 

[Moogs]

I would get the basking surface down to 95-100 110 is usually a little warmer than the dragon likes for the age --- I would get a piece of decor that will offer that temp --- the one he sits on doesnt give him much options or raise the bulb so its not so hot and please use the probe --- the Arcadia bulb looks really high unless your using the 14% bulb you would need to look on the bulb itself it will tell you --- sometimes the will say T 5 but look for 12 or 14 --- distance for this bulb is key here -- also the screen will block approx 30% of the rays --

Okay. Thank you very much. Yeah my bulb says T5 at the end of the code-no 12 or 14.
As you can see I do have it on the side of the tank opposite from where his platform is mounted. What furniture do you recommend I add specifically? A similar platform but of a lower height?
Also I don't understand what you're asking me to do when you say "use the probe".
My guage has two connections, one humidity sensor and one temperature guage. (The one on the opposite side is just temperature. He rarely ever goes on the cold side.) I situate both the probes so that they're resting on his basking platform. Is there a functionality I'm not understanding here? Or is there simply a better way of using it?

 

[Sadie]

Okay. Thank you very much. Yeah my bulb says T5 at the end of the code-no 12 or 14.
As you can see I do have it on the side of the tank opposite from where his platform is mounted. What furniture do you recommend I add specifically? A similar platform but of a lower height?
Also I don't understand what you're asking me to do when you say "use the probe".
My guage has two connections, one humidity sensor and one temperature guage. (The one on the opposite side is just temperature. He rarely ever goes on the cold side.) I situate both the probes so that they're resting on his basking platform. Is there a functionality I'm not understanding here? Or is there simply a better way of using it?

No if your taking the probe and placing on the platform your getting accurate temps --- the T 5 is a 12% bulb I am thinking so the distance from the UVB to a piece of decor directly underneath of 12-15 inches but that is w/ NO screen in between that is normally in the tank distance - if the screen on your tank is a wide hole type it can stay on top but the distance would be 8-10 inches --- you want him getting adequate UVB rays ---