Baby Bearded Dragons

Question
QUESTION: Hello,

We have two baby bearded dragons, they are about 3 months old.  One has grown quite rapidly, is very active and eats very well.  The other hasn't grown very much and for the last week has been very sleepy and eating less.  We were thinking brumation but I have read that they usually don't start that until they are closer to 1 year old.  We offer powered supplements on the crickets daily, is that too much?  Although, he/she isn't eating very many anyway, only a 3-5 per day.  We feed them re-hydrated pellets (for babies) in the morning also, the smaller one usually eats 2 while the other will eat 5 or so.  We have offered a water dish and have seen them drink from it and also climb right into also, I haven't offered misting though which I just read about.  Do we mist the actual dragons or just their surroundings, or both?

Thanks for your help,
Jessica

ANSWER: Hello Jessica,

No, it will definitely not be brumation for sure.
You are going to have to separate them.  When one is thriving & the other one is not, it is most likely not adjusting to living with another one & or the other one is dominating it.  Do you know the sex of each of them?
Do not mist the tank because that raises the humidity levels too much.  If you have a water dish in there, leave it on the cooler end so it doesn't raise humidity too much.  At night, take the dish out so they wont accidentally fall asleep in it & drown.  
Yes, dusting crickets daily is fine.  They need calcium 5 days per week right now.  
Are you using a UVB light?  If so, what type & brand are you using, a flourescent tube bulb, or a compact/coil light?  What type of basking light do you use, a bright white light or a colored light?
What type of thermometer are you using, a stick on type, a digital probe or a temp gun?  What are the temps in the tank?
What are you using for the substrate, sand, tiles, paper towels?  
When you mist them, mist them outside of the tank.  You might try a bath instead.  When bathing, only fill the water up to around the armpits or below.  Do not leave them unattended as they can drown very quickly.
How do the stools look, are they runny or smelly?

Tracie

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

QUESTION: Hi Tracie,

Thanks so much for your prompt reply!  We aren't sure what the sex is of them but the breeder said he thought they were both girls.  We are using a UVB light that is a coil light in a dome fixture (ReptiGlo 5.0) and the basking light is in a larger dome light fixture (ZooMed Laboratories white light bulb 100W).  Thermometer is a stick on one that I placed in the center of the tank so we would have an average temperature reading since the tank will be warmer on the basking light side and cooler on the UVB side.  It stays between 78-82 degrees depending on when the lights are on, we turn the lights off at night and have an adhesive under tank heating pad that we leave on all the time.  Substrate we are using is felt material and the stools look fine, not runny or smelly.  They are green and slightly moist after they have eaten the pellets of the same color and when they eat crickets is brown and slightly drier, either way it also has a bit of white at one end similar to bird feces.
Thanks for the tip on the bath and the water dish, for the bath should the water be lukewarm?

Thanks,
Jessica

Answer
Hello Jessica,

I hope that they are both girls.  :-))  That way you might be able to keep them together.
Right now, one of them is having some problems that we need to get cleared up so the other one doesn't get ill too.
There are a few things that need to be changed in your setup though to make it more optimal for them.
The UVB that you are using is not very effective for UVB emissions for them.  They are very weak, & some tend to cause eye problems as well.  The best UVB that you can get is the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb that you can purchase from this site for a great price:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/reptile-fluorescent-bulbs/504983/zoo-med-rept

It will need to be 6-8 inches away from your dragons for full effectiveness.   

The basking light sounds fine, so you wont need to change that one.  Once you get your tube bulb, it will need to be placed dirctly beside the basking light at one end of the tank to create a basking end in which they can get heat, & UVB all in the same area to enhance their behavior.

The undertank heater is not necessary especially during the day while you are using a basking light.  They can get overheated with heating from overhead & below occur.  Since you have felt inbetween them & the  heater they should not get burned.  They can get burned from using external heating methods fairly easily because they don't have heat sensors on their belly so they don't know to move until it's too late.  So, if you do use the undertank heater, only use it at night.  

I am very happy that you are using felt for substrate instead of sand.  It helps to keep it cleaner & it is no risk for impaction either!  It sounds like their stools are pretty normal then.  Are you feeding them separately?  That might really help out a lot just to ensure that she is getting enough food.  

The thermometer you are using is only going to measure the ambient temperatures & the humidity.  It wont effectively measure basking spots.  The recommended basking temps are 95-110 & the cooler end should be around 78-82. So, unfortunately you will need to get either a digital probe or a temp gun.  You can find the Acurite brand of digital probe at walmart for around $12 or so.  It is usually found in the outdoor section or the plants' section.  Or you can buy a temp gun here:

http://www.reptileuv.com/reptileuv-mini-temperature-gun.php


Yes, the bathwater should be lukewarm, maybe around 90 or so.  Let me know how things are going.

Tracie