Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I've had my mali for a little over a year and when I bought him he was only around 5 inches and just a few months old. Every malis ive seen in the pet stores are much bigger (about 12 inches)than mine and the clerks always tell me there around 6 mnths. to a year old. Boris is now about 7 inches after a year n the only noticeable change is that his arms n legs have become much bigger n his weight but not a whole lot of length to him. Im wondering if i should take him to the vet n have a fecal or if his size is normal. i keep him on bird seeds with the basking site from 120 to 130. any help would be great. thanks

"Every malis ive seen in the pet stores are much bigger (about 12 inches)than mine and the clerks always tell me there around 6 mnths. to a year old."

The clerks are completely clueless or lying.

I see nothing concerning about a 2" growth rate in a year.

A fecal never hurts but I certainly do not see any red flags that should make you run out and get one. Ok, I take that back. A fecal can hurt if you end up with a vet that has a Rambo attitude towards wiping out anything that moves (or has potential to move) on a microscope slide. I would suggest a fecal if you see a change in behavior such as activity or eating, sleeping, basking habits. If the animal has consistently put on weight and gained 2” in the last year, I do not see anything alarming. This is not a race.

Ok thanks a lot. I just know ive had a previous problem like this with a bearded dragon that my vet concluded had under developed organs and i didnt want the same thing occurring again. Thanks so much for the advice