Growth issues

Question
QUESTION: We own three bearded dragons.  All three were purchased from a
small pet store near our home, about 2 wks apart each time.  This is a
family owned store and while not experts they do a good job and care
for their animals, clean, etc.  #1 was purchased Oct 30th.  He was and
has remained the smallest of the three.  He has grown but not
anywhere close to the amount #2 & 3 have.  #2 was the largest at
purchase time and has remained so.  The first 6 months we fed
crickets 2-3 times a week and then discovered we were probably
underfeeding them so we increased the number of crickets and
decreased to 2x weekly.  We supplimented with mixed greens,
cabbage, green beans, purple cabbage, yellow squash and carrots.  
Have a great mini chopper now so it takes about 15 seconds to mulch
it together every couple days.  All three eat the same diet and when
they were smaller ate the same amount pretty much.  We mix the
pellets in with the greens.  Feed 2-3 times a week.  Crickets we dust
every other feeding with the calcium powder.  Have two lights, one
heat one UV.  Spent $300 on the set up and the folks at the store
went over everything with a fine tooth comb when we bought it,
explained about the uv light and showed us which one to get etc. (it
says on the box for beardies) Substrait is a ground material that I
think is walnut but is very fine.  We de-clorinate the water with drops.
All three eat the same etc so I am seriously at a loss as to why the #1
is now half the size of the other two and wondering if he can catch up
at this point or not.  Please advise

ANSWER: Hello Myrna,

Sorry for the delay, we have had a few internet problems the last couple of days.  Very aggravating.
Do you know if all three dragons are from the same clutch that hatched together?  Do you know the sex of them?  They are housed together, correct?
If you have 2 males in the same enclosure they will become very aggressive towards each other.  If you have a male & a female together, they will breed way too young, putting the female especially at a health risk.
So, unfortunately, unless you have all females, you are going to have to separate them & house them separately if you have males together, or a female & male.
If one is smaller than the others, then he or she is getting bullied & is not getting adequate food & lighting.  That is why he is stunted.  This usually stresses them very badly, which in turn increases their worm & or parasite level.

Feeding young dragons under 10 months of age is hard.  They need live feeders daily, up to 100 or so per day in order to grow sufficiently & get the protein needed for full growth potential.  The greens & veggies are good but as adults they still need roughly 50 feeders per week to maintain healthy weights.
The cabbage should be fed sparingly due to high amounts of oxalates in the cabbage.  The will hinder the calcium absorption which over time, can cause metabolic bone disease problems.  They need calcium 5 times per week if they are under 1 year of age.  Once they turn 1 year or so, you can decrease the calcium to 3 times or so per week.

What is the type & brand of UVB light you are using?  A fluorescent tube bulb or a compact/coil light?  How old is the UVB light?  How far is the UVB light from your dragons?  
What are the temperatures in the tank, & what type of thermometer do you use?  A stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?
The basking spot needs to be around 95-110 while the cooler side needs to be around 78-82.  
The substrate of walnut bedding can cause impactions if ingested on a regular basis.  So, I will leave that up to you as to whether or not you want to change that out.  Loose substrate is hard to keep clean & tends to harbor bacteria & too much moisture.  I usually recommend tiles, non adhesive shelf liner, or paper towels to keep tanks cleaner.  

At the moment, I would separate the smaller one immediately so he can begin to get better & start eating more too.  Let me know how he is doing.


Tracie

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank-you so much for all the info.  I only wish I had asked SOONER.  
No, they are not from the same clutch to the best of my knowledge.  
The light is a bulb not florescent and the dragons are in a 24inch tall
tank with the lights above however they spend most of their time on
the branches and are prob about 8-10 inches at most from the lights.  
Both bulbs burned out and were replaced about a month ago  I think
the light is ECO lab, eco something but I disposed of the box.  We
scoop the substrate out s it becomes soiled but have not done a full
change recently.  The number of feeders??? is that per dragon?  
because I have been feeding less than that for all three.  I will
decrease the cabbage immediately.  My main question is, will the
smaller dragon be stunted or can he catch up?  They are all almost
one year.  We will be setting up another tank this week and moving
the other two out.  None of the dragons are aggressive at all so I
think maybe we have all females or maybe two females and one male.  
We do have several cats that would just love to spend their time
watching the dragons however they rarely enter the room they are
housed in and we remove them immediately if they do enter as we
were concerned about stress. We haven't had much "play time"
recently so I was also wondering if that was a factor.  Back to the
crickets, our local pet store told me if they weren't eating them after 5
min then we were feeding too many.  So kept adding until they
stopped.  Is that a good rule of thumb or should we leave some
additional crickets?? Again thanks for al the info.  As I said previously
my main concern is whether Spike will catch up to the others or
should we separate him permanently as he is soo much smaller.  They
"stack" and while he is usually on top I am concerned he could get
squished by the other two.

Answer
Hello Myrna,

I hate to say but the bulb you are using is not a UVB light.  You will need to get a couple of UVB lights since you are going to separate them now.  One for the smaller one, & one for the other 2.
The best one is the Reptisun 10 tube bulb.  You can get it for a good price at www.petmountain.com

Well, yes, during the first 8-10 months of life, they need about 50+ feeders DAILY per dragon yes, in order to grow sufficiently.  :-))   As young dragons it is essential they are fed daily.  They are around a year, so that is usually the time you begin cutting down the protein because they are almost done growing.  You will need to assess how much they need right now, as to what their growth patterns are.
How big are they all now?  Do you have any pictures of them?

Well, normally, that is a good rule of thumb, to let them eat for around 5-10 minutes.  After that, remove the crickets out of the tank so they can't climb on them & bite them.  You could get some phoenix worms, or butterworms for a variety & protein supplement for them.
I simply don't understand why petstores tell people that they only eat 3 or 4 crickets, when they are young.  That just is not enough for maximum growth.  

Stacking is a sign of dominance.  While it does "look" cute, they are actually trying to suppress their tank mate & hog the resources.  That is why it is not suggested housing them together many times.   

As for whether or not Spike will catch up, I don't know.  A lot of it depends on genetics & his ability to absorb his calcium & other nutrients since he is roughly 1 year.  He could catch up, but it will take some work.  He does need UVB lighting.  Otherwise, his ability to absorb calcium is hindered.  

Tracie