Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I have some dragons that are about 12 inches. Ill have had them for a year in a month and a half. I'm not sure how old they were when i got them, I'm jw how long it takes for them to grow their full length, thanks.

they can reach almost full size in length by one year and then fill out by 18 months-two years.

your BD has a problem (possibly genetic). what is your husbandry like?
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

Oh really? I feed them pellets, but i also give them waxworms sometimes, but only as a treat. I also give them collard greens, dandelion greens, and other fruits periodically. They have a UVB light and they get calcium. I read somewhere that if they are fed pellets they grow a little slower..like they're abit smaller the first year, but the second they start to really catch up. They are growing though, I always have commenting how much they've grown since the last time they've seen them, cause of course I dont notice it. Also, one of my dragons hurt its foot pretty bad so I took her to the vet to have it treated, she might need to lose a few toes, but the vet said she had agood chance to fully recover because its a healthy dragon...so could they still catch up?
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Julie

0.2 Bearded Dragons
0.0.1 Panther Chameleon
1.0 Jackson Chameleon
0.2 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Crested Geckos
1.0 Blue Water Dragon
1.2 Japanese Fire Belly Newts
1.1 Aquatic Frogs
0.1 Collared Lizard
4.4 Seahorses
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Dog

your husbandry sounds OK in general so it may in fact be genetics. this is why buying from a reputible breeder is so important. at over a year old 12" is small. He should be 16" and even that is small. Most of mine are 18-20" at less than a year old. Yes, every BD is different and they grow at different rates, but 12" is still small.

How much does he eat?
how much UV does he get, how old is it, what type is it?

If it is husbandry, he can still grow but will he get to be 24"? Probablly not.
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

They have the 8.0 UVB tubelights. I'm nto sure how old they are, they were pretty young when I got them though. I usually dont measure the amount exactly, they eat what they want, but I have an extra cap that goes on the pellets..u know, those red ones, i fill it about half way, maybe a little more and when she's done, she eats about all of it, or if not, just a small amount is left..I feed them about every other day cause they wont eat everyday. I got her at a reptile show from Reptile Depot, they're half normal and half red. Other than the size they seem very healthy, energetic and very curious. Thank You so much for your help, I appreciate it a lot.

for the florescent UVB to work it needs to be less than 12" from the BD. they only last about 6 months or less then they need to be replaced.

If they dont eat everyday, that is a sign that something is not right. Young BDs need lots of fuel to grow. in one day some of my BDs (when they were that size) would eat about a teaspoon of pellets with salad for breakfast and 30 crix for lunch almost every day.

Size does not make a beardie less enjoyable so just enjoy your BD but dont plan breeding her
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

Thank You very much. Yeah, I'm not very worried if they get to their full size, as long as they are healthy. They will eat everyday, but not as much as they will every other day, they'll probably juss finish up what they have left in their bowl. Should I be worried?
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Julie

0.2 Bearded Dragons
0.0.1 Panther Chameleon
1.0 Jackson Chameleon
0.2 Leopard Geckos
1.1 Crested Geckos
1.0 Blue Water Dragon
1.2 Japanese Fire Belly Newts
1.1 Aquatic Frogs
0.1 Collared Lizard
4.4 Seahorses
0.1 Chinchilla
1.0 Dog

if he is not eating as much as he should and not growing, he is either unhappy or unhealthy. If he is active and running around, basking and pooping well than he is just not a big eater and that is reflected in his size. He may be "healthy" but remember we do not cull our babies and what would not survive in the wild, will be babied and taken care of in captivity. BTW have you ever gotten a fecal for him?

Just a side note here to think about. Every BD is different. There are more than a few BDs who were unhappy with perfectly good husbandry. They just wanted things different. Cheri has a BD who will not eat well unless housed outdoors. I have one that only eats well when housed with other BDs. These animals break the rules. I even have a few BDs that only thrive with UV light in their cage, better so than when they were kept outdoors.
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Bennett

www.beardiedragon.com

If offered the resources to do so. Its amazing how fast a lizard can grow if its kept like a lizard. I have a hatchling beardie that we hatched 2.5 months ago, hes now 14 inches long, hes a hypo-orange pastel GG X sandfire yellow/ gold. I have a 3 month old Snow giant thats similar sized also. Clutch number 4 in the incubator from our just over a year old female, she lays eggs every 3-4 weeks like clockwork, even without a male, shes 19.5 inches and 500 grams, shes fat as a blimp 3 days after laying.
I use paper towell with hatchlings until 3 months old (I also mist them twice a day before they live on dirt)(just a number I use, make sure they are eating etc), then they live on dirt, diggable, moisture holding dirt (after all thats what dirt does for them).