Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have six baby bearded dragons which hatched between July 21st and 25th of this year. All seem to be doing fine, except for one, he is visibly thinner ans smaller than the others and also wont eat.
I was wondering if anyone has any suggestions as to how I could help the little guy. I've attached pictures of him and the enclosure. I have them in about a 15 gal tank with rabbit pellets as the substrate. There is a stick for them to climb around on, a small hide and a shallow water dish. I have a uv light which I keep on during the day, and I have a heat lamp on at all times (the temp runs between 85-91F). I feed them collard greens and romaine lettuce in the mornings which I place on a small plate and leave in their cage throughout the day. Once in the late morning and once in the evening I feed them pinhead crickets dusted with calcium. I feed them in a separate container so they are more able to catch the crickets and also so I can monitor what they eat. The little one seems active but just is so small compared to the others, and looks frighteningly thin.
Any help anyone could give me would be greatly appreciated, either on how to help my little one that won't eat or anything I could do better or that I'm doing wrong.
http://s524.photobucket.com/albums/cc327/lightningbug66/

Thanks so much: ) ~Lauren
bearded pics

Do you have them all in that one cage??

If so that is the problem, the little one has to be seperated so 'he' is ready to eat whatever he wants and there is no competition for heat or food.

To be honest, I am surprised any have survived so far.

First, separate the small one into his own 15-20 gallon tank.

get rid of that rabbit food you are using as substrate..HIGH impaction risk, not to mention it is dusty, will mold if it gets wet, bacteria can breed in it easily etc. Its totally inappropriate for a substrate...I doubt it smells nice either, i can't stand the smell of rabbit pellets even when it is used for what it is suppose to be used for, rabbit food.

Use paper towel. Easiest substrate to use and safest to use for babies.

Next thing. Raise the basking temperature to at least 100F for babies...a range of 100-120F (not just one temp in that range, but several areas of the basking spot giving several choices of basking temperatures for the dragon to choose)

I would also get rid of that basking stick..it is too thin and horizontal to serve as a good basking area for dragons. A wide and angled basking site works best...providing a slope were different temp ranges can be reached, the higher they are on the basking area, the higher the temp. Bricks arrayed in a step fashion is good, or wood blocks. Just make sure it is sturdy.

Feed all the crickets the babies can eat in a 10 minute period, 3-4 times a day. Not just twice. Make sure they all have full access to eating as much as they want. (housing in separate cages works best...) Dust each feeding with calcium and couple times a week with a multivitamin.
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PHLdyPayne