Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My husband and I have 2 female beardies, one we've been told is probably a German Giant because she's so big for her age, but the other one we think might actually have stunted growth. I've looked up some bearded dragon growth charts, and according to those, our younger beardie (Baby) is way under par. She's about 13 months old, and she's only 14 in. snout to tail (tip) and 6 in. snout to vent. My question is, what could cause such stunted growth? She doesn't have MBD or parasites, she's very very active and watches EVERYTHING that goes on in our living room, and we just moved her up to a 55 gallon tank a couple of months ago. I just can't think of why she would be so tiny. Any info would be appreciated!

Need to know alot more about your smaller dragon and her setup.

Did you just get her or did you have her for most of her life?

How old was she when you bought her? What did you feed her and how often? How much did she eat daily while in your care? Were your dragons housed separately or together all the time?

The more details on her history, the better. Also, is she a sibling to your other dragon or are they from different parents?
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PHLdyPayne

Need to know alot more about your smaller dragon and her setup.

Did you just get her or did you have her for most of her life?

How old was she when you bought her? What did you feed her and how often? How much did she eat daily while in your care? Were your dragons housed separately or together all the time?

The more details on her history, the better. Also, is she a sibling to your other dragon or are they from different parents?

My husband and I have had her since she was 2 weeks old. She was the most active one out of the clutch.

Ever since we've had her she's gotten crickets (and they have always been the appropriate size) and greens. Lately she's been getting mealworms also. Along with the greens she gets occasional other veggies. They are dusted with a calcium, no phosphorous dust and multivitamins. I don't remember exactly how much she ate, but it was plenty, she's a very voracious eater, always has been. Our dragons have never been housed together until recently, and then it's only for short amounts of time, as our older one is a giant and is almost never in her cage anyways. We wanted them to get used to each other, so they have supervised visits, lol. What's funny is that our little one beats up on our big one, not the other way around.

They aren't siblings, we got them in completely different counties from each other, and our bigger one is at least 6 months older. Hope this helps.

Sounds like she has been fed enough, especially if you fed her 3-4 times a day insects as much as she can eat in a 5=10 min period for the first 4 months of life, then two feedings insects and greens till about 8 months and single feedings insects and greens daily till 14 months old..after that just greens every day, a few insects, or insects several times a week.

If fed all that, and still not growing, then it could be genetics...possibly parasites..
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PHLdyPayne

It may just be genetics. Some dragons only grow to be 15" or so. She should continue to slowly grow until she's 2 or so.

Rankin?

Sounds too big to be a Lawson's Dragon. (AKA incorrectly Rankins Dragon)