? my beardies lack of shedding

Question
QUESTION: I have a 1 year old bearded dragon that we have had since he was 4mths old.  He eats very well and is very active in his cage and on the floor, supervised, during the day. My concern is that he isnt shedding anymore and hasnt since before christmas.  He is about 12 inches from nose to end of tail, shouldnt he still be growing or is it slowing down because its winter.  Also, Ive read different things about the winter shut down and I can tell you he doesnt sleep for long periods of time, he seems a little lazy but nothing alarming. Is it normal for him not to SHUT DOWN?  
Any information you might have would be very much appreciated.  Thanks, Sandra

ANSWER: Hello Sandra,

I need some more information on your setup to determine if your husbandry is correct.
Do you use a UVB light?  If so, what type & brand is it, a flourescent tube bulb or a compact or coil light?  If you do use one, how old is it?
If he has not been exposed to any UVB light at all, that is why he is so small.  They cannot absorb their calcium & vitamins properly without UVB exposure, or synthesize D3 to keep their bones strong.
What type of basking light are you using, a  bright white light or a colored light?  
What are your temps in the tank?  What type of thermometer do you use to measure the temps in the tank, is it a stick on type of thermometer, a digital probe or a temp gun?
Do you use a calcium supplementation?  
He is very small for a 1 year old bearded dragon.  He should be at least 18 or longer for 1 year.  So technically he could grow more, but we need to figure out why he has stopped growing.
Yes, he could be trying to slow down due to wintertime weather.  However, he is pretty small for his age.  They do get lazy during the colder weather though.
Thanks & look forward to you answering the questions so we can go over your setup.

Tracie

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QUESTION: Hey Tracie,
Thanks for getting back to me so soon! I'm pretty sure we have the proper set-up. He is in a 40 gallon tank. He has a flourescent tube UVB bulb that is the lenght of the tank and it is only about 3 months old. We have 2 dome lights suspended about 3 inches from the hood, one is a 100 watt white over his basking log and the other is a 150 watt red light over the cool side that is left on 24 hours a day. We have two stick on thermometers on either side of his tank.  We use a calcium dust on the crickets and I mix it in the cricket food. Ok, so maybe I was off a little on how long he is because I just measured him and he is actually almost 20 inches long.  Maybe he is just fine and I'm a paranoid lizard mom. I do have one other concern, he has a very large log in his tank and he has a tough time turning around in the corners. Will a cramped cage stunt his growth? I hope I havent wasted your time, but George is the love of our lives but he is our first bearded dragon so we're amatures.  Thanks for your help!
Sandra

ANSWER: Hello Sandra,

GREAT!  I am happy to hear that George is around 20 inches in length.
The flourescent tube bulb, is it a Reptisun 10?  I hope so.  If you have the Reptiglo 10, that bulb is not a very good one so maybe if you do have it you can replace it with the Reptisun 10 soon.  
The stick on thermometers though, are not very accurate in measuring the basking spot.  They will measure the ambient temps & the glass temperature but you will need to get a digital probe or a temp gun to make sure the basking spot is around 95-110 for him.  The cool side can stay around 80 during the day.  Does he spend most of his time under the UVB & basking area on the hot end?  
The 40 gallon tank is a little small for him.  While the size really wont "stunt" his growth, it can stress their tail & spinal column when they try to turn.
Maybe you could upgrade to a 75 gallon or larger tank for him so he is more comfortable.
For his age, he needs calcium around 3 times per week then since he is probably done growing now but will still mature more.
So, he is most likely going into a slight brumation then.  No worries.  If his stools are good, his fatpads are good, & he appears hydrated, there is no reason why you can't let him go into brumation for a little while.  He needs his beauty sleep!  LOL  
Can you post a picture of him?  :-))
The red light might disturb his sleeping though.  I would be interested to see what his temps were on the other end of the tank, as 150 watts is quite a bit of heating.  Does he seem to sleep ok?  You could change to a regular ceramic heat emitter instead of the red.  You might not need to keep it running all day long, just at night during the wintertime if his temps on the cool side run ok without using that extra heating.
It is ok to be a paranoid beardie mom!  LOL

Tracie

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George's first Xmas   QUESTION: Hey Tracie,
Thanks for letting me be a good mom! I would love to get him a bigger tank but we have limited space right now so I wonder if it would help to just get him a smaller log in the mean time. I'm not sure why the red light doesnt heat the tank more, maybe because its close to a cool wall?! I will try to post a picture of my baby George. I am so grateful for your help.

Answer
Hello Sandra,

Hm, that is such a cute picture of George at Christmas!  I hope Santa was good to him!  :-))
I hate to take out his favorite log.  Can you reposition it possibly?  
What are the temps in his tank do you know?  As I had said, the stick on type of thermometers are not accurate for measuring basking spots.  I just want to make sure that he is not getting too hot with all of that heating in his tank.
Any questions you have just let me know.  They are a bit more complicated than most think so I want you to get it right.  :-))
So no question is dumb, just keep asking them.  
If he is near a wall that is cooler that may be why his tank stays cooler, it is a possibility.  

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie