Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Our 4 month old dragon doesn't seem to be growing significantly. He is only 7 inches long. Is that normal?

He eats about 12 crickets a day and still isn't very interested in greens. His basking side is about 105 degrees and his cool side is 80 degrees. He has 2 climbing logs, a hut, and several rocks, as well as a UTH which is under a piece of slate. He is very active and gets a bath twice daily so he can poop. He is potty trained.

Anyone with any ideas?

I would get a fecal done to rule out any parasites.

Joel R

That should be pretty easy since he poops in the water.

Thanks!

Since this dragon is from a pet shop, what are the odds that it might be a Rankin's and not a Vitt? Or maybe even a cross-breed?

D.A.

i dunno about that.. most of the pet stores around here get their animals wholesale from big breeders that want to sell their unsellables or less than vibrant looking dragons...but if it was a small mom and pop store not specializing in herps.. it might happen..

alissa

What about the folks in El Salvador? I know that's where 2 of ours came from.
Is it possible that they are careless enough to let a Rankin's slip into the works?

I mean, it doesn't sound like to me that they pay too much attention to what they're doing down there...

Anyway, just guessing and wondering here... 7 inches at 4 months just seems awfuly tiny. *shrug*

D.A.

n/p

Joel,

I have been trying to post a pic all day. I finally resorted to contacting support. They are trying to do it for me. As soon as I have it out there, I will let you know.

Thanks,
Dawn

that is either has parasites or is a runt... those aren't that uncommon in pet stores. in fact just yesterday i went into my favorite pet store (no scarasm) and they have had the same beardie for 3 months and it hasn't grown at all.. i asked how they were feeding it, if it had a fecal etc..etc.. and they said everything checked out..but it was just tiny.. in fact they said they were gonna keep it (they end up keeping most of there animals becuase they don't sell or get attached) ..they have a huge snow beardie that they don't sell (i want it) and a big parrot and a corn snake that they keep..anyways i getting off subject... to wrap things up it is way more likely it is a runt... but getting a rankin by accident could happen

alissa

What is a Rankin?

A Rankin's dragon is another species of pagona. Pogona Henrylawsonii, or a Lawson's dragon...

They're smaller than a Pagona Vitticeps, and from what I've read, can also interbreed with them.

Here's a pic.

D.A.

Not snout to vent, but TOTAL length?
Our three and a half month old male is 14 1/4 inches from nose to tip of tail...

D.A.

Wow!! No, ours is from snout to tip of tail (7 inches). I technically don't know that ours is a boy. I can't really tell yet. This is our first.

Do you think something could be wrong? We got it from a pet store....I know, shame on me!!

I dunno.... Like Joel said, probably best to go get a fecal done.

And our male came from a pet store too. He was only about 10 inches long just a month ago.
His cage-mate, a female from the same place, is 13 inches long, and the vet says she's maybe 2 weeks younger than the male.

D.A.

Yeah, I will get a fecal done hopefully tomorrow.

Thanks,
Dawn

Wow!! No, ours is from snout to tip of tail (7 inches). I technically don't know that ours is a boy. I can't really tell yet. This is our first.

Do you think something could be wrong? We got it from a pet store....I know, shame on me!!

Is it just me or does 14 inches at 4 months seem very large?? Most dragons on this forum seem to be about 17/18 inches at a year or so. My 22 month old female is 18 inches. Anyway just asking?

A few months back I sold a 3 month old female that was 14". I also have just sold some dragons that were 3 months old and over 12"

Depends on the dragon... some are only 7-8" at 4 months...

>>Is it just me or does 14 inches at 4 months seem very large?? Most dragons on this forum seem to be about 17/18 inches at a year or so. My 22 month old female is 18 inches. Anyway just asking?
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Lisa
www.beginnersbasics.com

To end up with a mutant dragon that winds up being the size of a small bus....

And with as much as he eats, I wouldn't be surprized if that's exactly what happens.

D.A.

I started giving him Parazap and by 6.5 mo, he had doubled his weight and grew to 9 3/4".
He is now a full grown, normal sizrd bearded..
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TheClassyLizard

that is very interesting. what do you attribute that to? did you do a fecal before and after?
I have heard of similar results from other people and I am planning on testing the product personally.
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

I give 100% of credit to parazap. I had a fecal done before I started giving it to him. He was clean. In talking with Val (the maker of PZ), he told me there was an appetite stimulant in it. Good thing, since most beardies with parasites don't want to eat.
So, I started him on it and after 6 mo of giving it to him the first week of every month, at 11 mo old he was 250 grams and 16.5".
He's now about 325 and 18.5", not my biggest dragon, but a far cry from the runt he was.

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TheClassyLizard

even more impresive since he didn't have parasites
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

is there any risk to using parazap, particuarly on a healthy beardie?
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proud mama to:
1.0.0 ball python (mr snake),0.0.1 albino florida kingsnake (CK),1.0.0 leopard gecko (sebastian),0.1.0 colombian rainbow boa (luce),1.1.0 bearded dragon (kaipo and dulce), 1.1.0 colombian redtailed boas (adam and eve)

It's also used as a parasite preventative.
I have never heard of any harm, ever.
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TheClassyLizard

hmm.. i would think that either the basking area might be a little cool cause when beardies are babies it is common for the basking area to be around 110-115F or he may have a parasite of some sort is he having running or like diarehia

Nope, no diarrhia. He poops at about 6pm every day in water. It is soft but solid and is about an inch long. Smells very bad!!!

My first dragon was about 8" at three months so yours does sound a little for it's age. You mention you feed it 12 crickets a day, that seems a bit low. What size crickets are you feeding it? Do you feed as much crickets as it will eat in about 10-15 minutes? How often do you feed a day?

He should be getting 1/4" to 1/3" crickets (the same size as the space between his eyes) and fed twice a day with greens offered at all times even if he ignores them. You could put the greens in a glass or ceramic container big enough to make it hard for the crickets to jump out but low enough the dragon can step over the sides (I use ceramic ashtrays (bought strickly as a food dish only) that have about 1 1/2 " sides) You can put greens in there then drop a few crickets ontop...hopefully in his mad dash for the crickets, the dragon grabs some greens to (greens should be finelly chopped).

Raise the temperature of the basking spot a bit as was already suggested and get a fecal done.

It is also alright for the dragon to jump off it's basking spot to attack crickets. I would however remove the sand and use just paper towel, newspaper, butcher's paper or plastic tablecloth as a substrate till he is at least 10" long to avoid problems with impaction.

Thanks for the advice.

About the crix...Velcro gets fed his crix at night at about 7pm allowing him 2 hours to digest them. We feed him small ones. He will eat about 12-14 of them and then stop. We usually have to pick the leftovers out so they don't bite him. We feed him a mixed salad (basil, kale, red peppers, etc) at 7am but he doesn't really eat any of them. We have tried a huge variety and he still snubs them. He still poops at about 6pm every day in his bath and seems to be really happy. We have been told conflicting stories when it comes to feeding him any meal worms etc. My son loves this little guy and I have become quite attached to him as well and want to make sure that we give him all we can.