worried about my bearded dragon

I got my bearded dragon, Xavier, last September from Petco. I have read lots of information on beardies but almost everything I read says something different. I've just moved back from college for the summer and since moving my bearded dragon has been sleeping most of the day, I bought a new under tank heater and with the new heat he is still lethargic. I keep him in about a 3 ft by 18 in tank and am now worried that it may be to small because he is not growing fast. I use to feed him mostly crickets but have been trying to feed him more vegetable (carrots, organic greens, peppers, spinach.) I think I may have taken on something I can't handle, I don't know how to find a local vetrianarian to have him checked out at. I live in the D.C. metropolitan area. I love her (I think she is a she) and don't know what to do. Are their any good options if I feel the best way for her to get good care is to give her away. I don't want to but am worried I may not have the money to take care of her well enough. Please any help would be nice.

Why were you feeding him/her a mostly meat diet? Depending on their age, beardies require a certain percentage of their diet to come from fruit/vegetable matter. A wide variety in the diet helps make a healthy and happy beardie.

How long has it been since you moved? How was he/she transported? Has he/she ever been to a vat before? Are you using a full spectrum light, giving vitamin and calcium supplements? What are you using as a substrate?

There are so many different reasons why he/she is lethargic and not growing. Petco is known for selling animals that are infested with parasites and bacteria. You really do need to bring him to a vet. You can search for a DVM through Google. Please let me know if you are still having problems finding a DVM after searching on Google.

Don’t fret, beardies are very resilient lizards. I have been rescuing them for years and you would be surprised what they can bounce back from.

Do not run off to the vet quite yet. Number one, the dragon has no sense on their stomachs. So, they will stay on a heat rock or on a lower tank heater until they cook themselves. Number two, the last reply was right, feed them greens everyday, crickets you do not have to feed everyday. Though it is ok if you do. They need the greens. Try romain lettuce to start. You can get kale or dandylion from the grocery store also. They need calcium sprinkled either on the crickets or on the greens. Get a full spectum light for the size of your tank, also get a heat bulb for the topside of the tank, You will find that the dragon will perk up. What is happening to yours is that the tank is cool and he/she want to hibernate. If he does this there are a few things before he does. You have to make sure he does not eat a week before going down. They will hybernate for 3+ months. I have 7 adults and I breed them and have babies. I have been doing this for about 5 years now. If you have anymore questions, feel free to email me at jdavis7954@adelphia.net and I will get the answers for you. Jeff

I have been trying to start him on a mostly green diet but he refuses to eat it. I give him many options, he will eat some of his lettace type vegatables but none of it if I try to put any calcium on top. Is it normal and healthy for beardies to hibernate?

It is normal for beardies to want to hybernate. I have mine on 12hours heat and light, and 12 hrs off. They tend to not hibernate. You cut the day light and heat, they will try and hiberbate. I have some of mine that have never hibernated, usually my breeder females hibernate.
Do not worry about the calcium, he is smart if he detects it. My biggest male will not eat crickets with calcium on them, yet he will eat it with lettuce. As long as you can get it on one or the other, you are ok. Try changing the time on his lights. I have mine on a timer for the adults and my 1 month old baby's. 8 to 8. Come Sept, I will start cutting the time. I will have 3 by Oct that will be out for three months. I will pull them and put them in a dark spot and then pull them later. Once they wake, breeders they become. the clutches start coming every two weeks or so. Keep emailing me with questions, I help a lot of local people with these. I am not a vet, but the next best thing to one. I deal with dogs, cats and horses. I have them all and care for them all. So do not be affraid to ask. I am not going to stop you from seeing a vet either. You have the animal there, so you will know. I have not had to take one to a vet in the 5 yrs I have had them.
Jeff

Do you put supplements on the veggies every time you offer them? If so, stop! You only need to add supplements to their food (crix, mealworms, salads) 2-3 times a week. Start off using a very small amount of cal/vit supplement and work your way up to a normal amount. Make notes on which foods they will eat it on and which ones they won’t. Make sure the crix and mealworms are eating good healthy food and are gut loaded before feeding them to your beardie. Over-supplementation can be just as deadly as too little. Your vet can also give you oral liquid supplements if she refuses to eat anything dusted.

I am going to assume that she is coming up on a year old since you got her last September. A juvenile beardie needs to be fed 50% gut loaded insects, 30% calcium rich green vegetables, 10% other veggies and 10% other foods to maintain a properly balanced diet.

Does she have a full spectrum light (changed every 6-8 months)?
If the problem is something other than hibernation, try taking her outside in the natural unfiltered sunlight for a couple hours a day or as often as you can. Sometimes that helps pep them up a bit.

A good vet in this area is Scott Stahl. He used to be with Eastern Exotics in Centerville. He has recently started his own practice I believe the practice name is Stahl exotic animal veterinary. He will be at the Manassas reptile show on August 8th. That is of course if you decide to go the vet route. I breed beardies and a trip to the vet is rare but it's always good to have a go to guy.

One of the BEST things you can do for that animal is get him out in some natural SUNLIGHT! Works absolute wonders! Full spectrum lighting can imitate but NEVER REPLACE the sun! I suggest building him a simple pen that will allow you to leave him in some direct sunlight for as long as possible. Oh and when I say direct sunlight the animal needs to be able to get to some shade in case it over heats. As for the diet issue the folks above are correct a diet of mainly protein is not good for the animal . This brings to the fore the type of vegetables you need to use. The lettuce families are virtually devoid of any nutrional value. They are basically all water. When feeding bearded dragons its good to get veggies with a good calcium to phosphurus ratio. The main greens I use are Kale,Mustard and Collard. All with an excellent cal to phos raito! Mixed veggetable are also included every few days as well. Variety is the key. Hope this helps you. Don't forget the natural SUNLIGHT CAN WORK WONDERS!!!!!