Reptile & Amphibian Forums

hey my beardit is about 5 or 6 months old and it is about 7.5 inches long and 21 grams is that small or does it sound about right. i put it outside for uvb almoste every day all day for uvb. and he eats tons
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Matt G
1.1 jax chameleon
1.0 veild chameleon
1.5leopard gex(1 tang)
1.2 fire belly toads
2.1 golden gex
1.0 bearded dragon

No, that is small for the age. What are you feeding, and how much? Is his diet being supplemented, and with what? What kind of lighting do you have for him inside the enclosure? Did you buy him from a breeder or pet shop? If you could post a pic that would rule out a possible Rankins dragon right from the start.
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Mystical Dragons webshots pictures
Mystical-Dragons Website

i feed him crix and waxworms i supplement the crix with carrots potatos grain and celery i also put calium on every feeding he has a heat lamp all the time and is put outside fot natural sunlight all day almost everyday i never go more that 2 days without natural sunlight. i got him from a place in oceanside called reptile haven they have a website i think they bred them but i am not positive. is there anything i can do
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Matt G
1.1 jax chameleon
1.0 veild chameleon
1.5leopard gex(1 tang)
1.2 fire belly toads
2.1 golden gex
1.0 bearded dragon

Your very lucky to have suitable weather there to take them out as much as you do.I wish I could.. Here it is a must to provide calcium with vit d3 in it as a supplement, and is highly beneficial to the dragons to use an indoor source for uvb like a Repti-sun 5.0 or a Powersun MVB to make sure they are making use of the calcium. You could do the same it will only benefit your dragon on the rainy days or days you miss to take him out, it would also provide nice light intensity which is a plus in a dragons enclosure. You did not mention how many feedings, or on average how many crickets he is eating daily. Also if he is not getting a large variety salad daily with dark leafy greens like collard, mustard, dandelion, escarole, and some veggies like sweet potato or squash, and is not getting a multi vitamin like Herptivite once a week he is missing out on a lot of vitamins, and trace minerals that are important to them. If you can get him to eat some pellets as well, Rep-Cal bearded dragons juvenile pellets would be great to top his salad with. Also last year Reptile Haven was selling Rankins dragons as well as the more popular inland bearded dragons (Pogona Vitticeps) are you sure you did not buy a Rankins bearded dragon instead of Pogona Vitticeps or inland bearded dragon? Rankins stay much smaller then the more popular Pogona Vitticeps reaching a mature length of 12-14 inches. If you can post a pic of your dragon it would be a help in figuring out if this mistake was made as it has happened in the past to others.
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Mystical Dragons webshots pictures
Mystical-Dragons Website

he eats every day about 6 or more crix and some other things but he has never even touched any plant matter ive tried all the time but he just wont eat it
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Matt G
1.1 jax chameleon
1.0 veild chameleon
1.5leopard gex(1 tang)
1.2 fire belly toads
2.1 golden gex
1.0 bearded dragon

Doesn't sound like he is eating enough. I can tell ya right off the bat my youngsters at 5-6 months of age where eating 30-40 a day average plus picking their greens throughout the day. Are you sure inside & when you put him out he is receiving the proper temps he requires to make use of his food and nutrients. He needs a basking surface of 100-105 to properly digest his food. I would try the plant matter/greens more often, and try other things mix it up a bit you might find something he likes. If he is only eating a bug diet he for sure needs them dusted with a multi vitamins once a week, and the other days with calcium with d3. If he is not getting proper temps he will not eat much because he can't digest fast enough, and will grow slower because of this. I would also take a fecal sample to the vets to rule out a parasite problem, another reason for slow growth in beardies. Good Luck.
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Mystical Dragons webshots pictures
Mystical-Dragons Website

one of our males was a very slow grower. when we first got him he was in a tank with 2 others(both juvies 1 male & 1 female). he stopped eating and lost weight while the other 2 grew & grew, we moved him into a tank alone and he got worse. we then put him in with another juvie male and he perked up. started eating everything it sight and grew so fast. i know alot of people will tell you keeping them together (esp. males) isn't good, by with drago it was the only thing that worked. he is now a big boy and ready for breeding.

Just for comparison, my dragon is 15 wks and 11.5" He eats LOADS of crickets, 20-30 crix two times a day and is starting to eat greens/veggies.
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0.0.1 Bearded Dragon (Eddie)
2.0.0 Dogs (Black German Shepherd-Nicholas, Black Lab-Cooper)
1.1.0 Budgies (Kia and Simon)
0.0.1 ?Fiddler Crab (Crusty)
0.0.25 Various Fishies (Freshwater)
2.1.0 Hubby and kids (Boy and a Girl)