Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Well my beardie is not quite a baby anymore since I've had it for almost three months! The thing is that he hasn't grown AT ALL since i've had him. I feed him every day but only two three sitting since I work all day: four crickets in the morning and if he's eating all from the morning than ill ad more, but sometimes he won't even eat all four. Now what i've noticed is that my beardie doesn't really like crickets too much, he will eat mealworms and wax worms like crazy but will barely even acknowledge veggies.

15 Gallon tank, 103F and 72F, 8.0 Repti Glo, 75watt heating lamp w/ dimmer, Horticultural Sand as substrate and a Huge multi length long so he can get closer to the heat!!!

Any and all input greatly appreciated!!!

another thing, I already know to feed crickets the length between the eyes and he will only eat 3, 4 and on a good day 5 crickets at one time. And he won't really even run for them, he'll just let them come to him!!

try to raise the temps to 115F for a baby dragon. also, dont limit the number of crickets your dragon eats. let them eat till they are done. i would not feed meal worms to a small dragon, they cannot digest the skin/shell of the worm properly without causing intestinal problems. crickets and greens are the best for them at this age. roaches are a really good source of food too, better than crickets. crickets are mostly water, roaches are mostly meat. dont forget your greens too, definately important!!!

i would also suggest a fecal done by a trusted vet to check for parasites since you say your dragon hasnt grown.
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Beach Beardies

3.4.11 bearded dragons
1.0.0 Turquoise x Sunburst Veiled Chameleon
1.1.0 Sugar Gliders
0.1.0 Miss Queen Athena (Cat)

giving the size he appears in the picture where he is lying across your finger, he seems to about 6-8" long (depending on how long your finger is). After three months, he should be well over 10" so he definitely is not growing as he should.

Getting a fecal done is a very good ideal, as he could have parasites.

If he is getting tired of crickets or showing very little interest in them, try small silkworms, butterworms, the new phoenix worms (these are very wiggly and my dragon can't get enough of them)

Feed as much as he will eat in a 5-10 minute period. Try to feed 2-3 times a day, spread out as much as possible (ie feeding in the morning, around lunch time, and early evening, at least 2 hours before lights go out for the night).

I would also get rid of the sand. Sand is very dangerous to small dragons as it can cause impactions very easily in them. I am not sure what horicultural sand is, if it is coarse, very fine, etc. Basic paper towel is the best substrate for babies. It is much easier to clean and won't be accidently eaten by your dragon.

Young dragons don't take to greens as well as older dragons but it should always be offered. You can try offering it by hand to your dragon, dropping small crickets on top of the greens (or other feeder insects) which can burrow into the greens or the greens may just be taken in at the same time a the insect. For small dragons you don't need tuns of salad in the bowl, a pinch of finely chopped greens (maybe a teaspoon or tablespoon, well misted with water) is enough. The dragon may pick at it during the day but if you offer too much, there is no real way to tell if he is eating any.

You didn't mention (or I just forgot) if you are supplementing with calcium and multi-vitamin powders. It is best to dust your insects once a day for young dragons to ensure they get all their vitamins and calcium for their fast growing bodies. Also, what are you using to measure you temperatures? Not all thermometers are very accurate, especially the 'tape' or dial styles sold in most petstores. These can be off by as much as 15F. A digital thermometer with probe or temp gun is much more accurate. You can also lay the probe directly on the basking spot to get an ideal of the temperature.

Make sure your dragon is not dehydrated, mist him with water daily and provide a shadow water dish (though most dragon's won't drink from a water dish some will). A weekly bath in luke warm water for 10-15 minutes often encourages your dragon to drink.
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PHLdyPayne

I would'nt be too concerned about the rate of growth of your Dragon. They can be funny sometimes. Some time ago I bought a male and female from a breeder (Dachiu) that were 6". They grew an inch a week until they were about 16" long.

A friend gave me a Dragon she could'nt take care of that her boyfriend gave her when he was called to Iraq. The Dragon was only 4" long on 5/14/06. She swore he had it for months. I took care of it the same as the ones I got from Dachiu but it grew very slowly. I checked it for parasites etc. and was negative. Three months later in August it was only 8" and weighed less than 50 grams. After that she suddenly got a growth spurt and grew an inch a week. She is now 18" and 485 grams.

With that in mind it just may be that some dragons are fast growing and some are slow growing.

All of mine were poor greens eaters when babies. It seems when live food is available they are just happier to fill up on that. I too work all day but with a 14 hour simulated day I would feed mine crickets first in the morning, leave salad all day and then feed crickets again at night. I've tried feeding babies more often but it just seems that they eat the same amount just more spread out.

The small baby (now big) just loves Mango. So I would always put it on her salad. When she would eat the Mango she would get some greens too. You could try this if you can figure out what your dragon really likes. My other female really likes raspberries. The male I have never found any fruit of veg. he really likes. Incidentally he won't eat silkworms or Phoenixworms either.

One other thing. I'm a firm believer in reptile carpet for babies. I also think that anything smaller than a 20 gallon long is too small a tank for a dragon over 4". Not sure how big a 15 gal. tank is but a 20L is 30" x 12 x 12 High. I've never used anything smaller. At 8" Long I transfered them to a 30 Breeder Tank which is 36" x 18 x 12 High. At 16" Long I put them in either a 48 x 24 x 17 or a 60 x 24 x 17 High. As adults all my dragons are housed separately for now.