My Bearded Dragon wont eat.

Question
QUESTION: Hey, My bearded dragon is about 8-12 months old (I'm not sure what he was when I got him). He stopped eating recently just about two very small pieces of every other day maybe, I say maybe because sometimes it can change. I haven't changed anything about his conditions, I keep his heat at 98-101 degrees fahrenheit. I have both lights, and never had a heating pad or whatever for him during the night, so that hasn't seemed to be any problem in the past. I haven't moved him at all, he's been in the same spot for about 3-4 months. What I usually feed him is, Crickets, the bigger worms (superworms maybe), vegetables, and we got him off the baby food because hes gotten bigger, but that was also maybe 2 months ago. He is about 9-11 inches from head to tail. So why isn't he eating? Could it just be the time of the year? Or what do you think?

ANSWER: Hello Aaron,

So, he is roughly a year, but only 9-11 inches, does that include his tail or not?
What type & brand of UVB are you using?  Is it a florescent tube bulb or a compact/coil bulb?  How old is the UVB light?  
Do you supplement calcium for him at least 3 times per week?
what do you measure the temperatures with?  A stick on type, or a digital probe or temp gun?
It "could" be brumation, since they do brumate during the wintertime.  However, let's make sure your tank setup is fine, first.  

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Sorry, I actually check up on it, and we got him when he was about 1 or 2 months old. That was about 5 months ago. From head to tail he is 9-11 inches. Although, he seems a little small, but he would always shed on a regular basis. His lights are new, the bluish colored light is almost tank length, and his basking light looks like a regular type of bulb, but it is an actual basking light and sits where he likes to bask, but lately hes been only staying in the tree he sleeps in. I use a stick-on temperature thing, that just sticks to the glass. And we use calcium dust about 2 times a week (when he was eating). He use to bask under his light almost all day, now he only stays in the tree as I said above, I'm just pointing it out again because it seemed weird to me.

ANSWER: Hello Aaron,

Hm, maybe he is a different morph perhaps, a Rankins, which are smaller.  Maybe you could post a picture for me.  
The stick on types of thermometers don't measure the basking temperatures very well.  I highly recommend using a digital probe or a temp gun to measure the basking temperatures more efficiently.  
You can increase the calcium to 3 times per week so he doesn't become deficient in calcium reserves.  
Can you look on your long tube bulb, to tell me the brand of UVB light you are using, the brand should be stamped on the base of the bulb.  How old is it?  How far away from him is it, & is it placed directly beside the basking lamp?

I think he could be brumating, but if you will get a different thermometer to make sure the basking temps are correct, we can determine better if he is trying to brumate or if he is just lethargic because of improper temps or low calcium.  

Tracie

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

QUESTION: OK, and I'm not exactly sure how old the UVB light is, but it seems to be working fine, and the UVB is sometimes placed on one side, where his tree is, and away from the basking, but if I put it close to thew basking then he goes there. I can get pictures but it might take a while because I don't have anything to take a picture with, he is what the place we got him from called a Fancy Bearded Dragon. He also hasn't really been going to the bathroom at all from what I've seen either because he hasn't eaten hardly anything in the past 2 weeks or so. If we start putting calcium on the meal before we give it to him would that make him eat, and what if that doesn't help?  

Answer
Hello Aaron,

Well, if the tube bulb is older than 6 months, the UVB emissions will be declining & wont be putting out much.  It is recommended to change out the UVB tube bulbs every 5-6 months even if the bulb is still working.  Also, there are a lot of brands of UVB tube bulbs that are not very good so try to find the brand for me, please.  
The UVB tube needs to be placed directly beside the basking light to encourage basking & protect his eyes.
What type of substrate do yo uuse, sand, tiles, paper towels?  If he is not eating much then he wont be going to the bathroom very much if he is slown down.
Well, dusting the feeders for 3 meals per week would be a good idea.  
However, keep in mind that if his UVB light is getting old, then it wont be producing much UVB & that can affect his ability to absorb calcium & will cause more lethargic behavior as well.  

So, let's look at getting another thermometer so we can make sure his temperatures are good, checking on the UVB, increase his calcium a bit & see if that helps improve his health & appetite some.  We will go from there.

Tracie