Acquired Beardie

Question
Tracie,
 Recently acquired a bearded dragon from a friend that was not feeding it properly.  It is around one year of age and eats heavily every day.  It is quite undersized, however, and was wondering the feeding frequency and what I should do regarding his size?  Also, he was not kept under uvb lighting and has been under it now for three weeks since I got him.  He has also been upgraded to a 55 gallon tank from a 20gallon long so i'm sure it's more comfortable.  His temps are fine.  I use a probe thermometer to measure both ends.  Thanks!

Answer
Hello Howie,

Ok, your setup sounds ok, but let's go over it a little more.  
Is it male or female?
A 55 gallon tank is fine, no problem.  He must be happy with more size & room to move around.
Good you are using a digital probe to measure the temps.  What are the basking temps at, & what are the cool temps at?  
As for the basking light, what type are you using, is it a bright white light like a halogen bulb or a household lightbulb?  What about a UVB?  I recommend, since he has not had any UVB for a year, that you get a Megaray Mercury vapor bulb for starters.  That will really help him out & he could grow some more for you.  You can get them straight from Bob Mac at:
www.reptileuv.com  
I recommend a 100watt self ballast for your sized tank.  You will also need to get a ceramic dome fixture to hold your mercury vapor lamp.  Make sure that it is rated for at least 250 watts to safely support the heat.
He will need some calcium supplementation also, at least 3 times per week.  If you go with the mercury vapor bulb, get plain calcium with NO D3.  If you decide that you want to go with a flourescent tube bulb, you will need to use calcium with D3.  
Some of the best flourescent tube UVB lights are the Reptisun 10 flourescent tube bulb, or the Reptiglo 8 flourescent tube bulb.  Stay away from all compact & coil lights, any ESU/Zilla lights, & the Reptiglo 10 flourescent & compact & coil lights.
What is his size currently?  At his age, he can be fed once maybe twice daily with crickets, or another type of worm such as phoenix worms, butterworms, silkworms, or hornworms.  I would not feed any superworms unless he is 15-16 inches in length.  Make sure that has fresh greens & veggies, offered daily as well as water from a dropper or a bowl.  Good examples of greens are collard greens, mustard greens, dandelion greens, escarole, & endive.  The veggies can be squash varieties, green beans, peas, & some fruit such as papaya, mango, & a variety of berries.  
For a more comprehensive feeding chart, go to www.beautifuldragons.com

Let me know how he is doing.

Tracie