Reptile & Amphibian Forums

This is the newest picture of my bearded dragon thor, ontop of my mesh cage for my chameleon baby.
she'll be about a year in a week or so.
Wondering about your opinions on size, weight(from what can be seen in the pic)

She is eating crickets, and super worms, with wax worms as teats, a few butterworms each month and a few silk worms each month *not much of the latter two because of cost.
She also loves dandilion that i pick in a local wildlife park, She usually has spring mix every morning, with kale and some other assorted veggies.

She hasnt shed in almost three months prior to this pic,(in the pic it is several days after shedding most of her body, she still had her hands to shed.) because of a strange brumation thing she went through (there were no changes to her UV or heat, basking temps or whatnot)

Anyhow, I'm only slightly worried that she will not grow to full size because of the three months where she did not shed.
She had a recent fecal done, and parasites are all at normal and or low levels, and she is about....450-500 grams, somewhere roughtly around that weight. with good fat deposits on her tail and on the back of her head area.

Recently, before and after shed she has been drinking and pooping and eating properly, alert and active, playful almost.

i know it doesnt sound like much is wrong. But i'm just concerend about her growth rate. I worry that it will take another three months for her to shed. Probably paranoia, but i just wanted to know what you think.

(one pic is Thor at 5 months and the other is her at 11 months)

Link

Unfortunately I can't tell how long he is from the picture. Nothing really to compare to measure him against. However she is a good weight for 11 months, many dragons don't reach that weight till after their first year. If you can take a picture beside something that has a fixed length (ie dollar bill, ruler, Kleenix box, etc) it would be easier. OR just measure her with either a ruler, tape measure or even a string (then compared the string length with a ruler or measuring tape).

A good length for a 11 month dragon (going on 12 months) on average would be around 19".

The unexpected brumation should not have any effect on her growth rate, providing sufficient food is provided daily. (salads all day, insects once a day though in a few more months I would cut out the insects to either a few a dayu or 2-3 meals a week, plus greens). ALso, the sping mix isn't a good staple, it often contains baby spinach, which binds calcium. Try to get collards, mustard greens, dandilion greens (flowers are good too), endive, etc. Be careful with Kale to, though high in calcium it is also high in phosperous (or is it oxates? can't remember, but either way, neither is good). Use kale sparingly, but not as a staple.
Check the nutrition chart at www.beautifuldragons.com for more detailed information on what greens are good for dragons and how often is safe to feed them.

As a side note, my first bearded dragon went into brumation during her first year for about 4 months due to lower temperatures in my apartment (poorly insulated, power heat, I paid the hydro....so didn't want to spend $500 a month to keep the room temp near 70F....so it often dropped to about 66F at night or during really cold days) The tank temps during the day were fine, just at night they dropped. SHe decided that was enough to go into brumation). She was about 8-9 months old when she started brumating, waking up 4 months later at 13 months but she still grew about 2-3 inches before ending at her adult length of about 19". I can't remember how much she weighed back then.
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PHLdyPayne

First off...I'm learning more from this forum than all of the books and care sheets I've read this past year. I wish I had found this a year ago! Also - reading what you said about feeding I have a question. Our male is about 14 mo. old and is eating about 20-24 crickets a day. Should I cut this number down or feed him less often? He also likes about 3 wax worms a day with his veggies (he is not eating the veggies as well as he did a few mo. ago). Please let me know. Thanks!

At 14 months of age, your dragon's primary food should be greens....I would cut back his insects by about half every day or only feed 2-3 times a month, with greens every day.
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PHLdyPayne

Thank you. I guess I've just allowed him to be a piggy and that's why he has cut back on his veggies. I also just changed the substrate from play sand to non-stick liner - sand in his veggies and water every day - so I didn't feel comfortable leaving his veggies in the tank. Live and learn! Thanks again - and Napoleon thanks you too - at least until he finds out you are the one that told me to cut his crickets back!

She's about 16 inches right now.
I usually try to pick out the spinach from her food...but you cant ever get it all....
and I've posted on the canadian forum about the lack of good greens in my city, which is ridiculous cause of the sheer size of Calgary.
I've still not been able to find any grocers who carry collard or mustard, and only one that carries endive.
But I do try my best to feed her quality fresh veggies like today she had: squash, carottes, beans, artichoke, she loves cucumber and melon....
I also feed her wheatgrass, green peppers, sprouts(beans and alfalfa) peas, and I never used canned, and VERY rarely use frozen.(0nly took thawed veggies once.)
My search for good greens isnt ending though.
Thank you for the reply and your opinions.

Jillian

Oh yes, I do remember your post on the Canadian forums. I beleive I did give some suggestions to assist you in finding a good source of healthy greens. Growing your own certainly is an option. Even in a one bedroom appartment you can easily grow most greens. I beleive collards don't like hot weather or direct sunlight, and dandelions grow like, well, weeds LOL.

Keeping a good variety is good, so even if some things are missing in your dragon's diet, different types of food could make up for what one is missing or low in. Regular supplimentation will also help to balance out her nutritian needs.

Just keep in mind the bad vegies, the ones that could do more harm than good and avoiding them at all possible. The nutrition list at beautiful dragons is pretty extensive but not all inclusive, so if you do find some exotic green that is easy to get in your area, look on the internet on what nutrition it has and scan the nutrition chart at BB's for something close....this way you can compare it's healthiness with something with similar content and decide if it's good to feed or not.

Just checking nutrition charts of foods for human consumption will give you the basic nutrition contents of foods.

It may still be a good ideal, if you haven't tried already, is to just call all the diverse produce marts in Calgary, you may find some have everything you need and not be a mainline store. SOme greens can be more traditional in some cultures, and grocery stores in areas where that culture/race live maybe the best source for getting greens of the type you need. I beleive collard greens are popular in the southern states, so may be available in areas with people of similiar cultural background may be a place to start. Hence why I suggest using the yellow pages and calling stores may help. It certainly will save you alot of driving around and checking places out in person.
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PHLdyPayne