Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I met this guy that has a Dachiu dragon and it is 7 months old. He told me that he wants to get rid of it so I told him I would check it out. The dragon is only as big as my 3 month old dragon! He has only been feeding it ZooMed Juvi-Pelets.

I told him that the thing needs some REAL dragon food. It has never had greens, crickets, or any supplements. The little guy looked healthy besides being very skiddish from never being handled.

If I get this dragon from him can I get it up to size? If so, any ideas how?

for the smallness.

Pellet feed babies do seem to grow at a slower pace, but they still eventually reach the same size as others. I know a few that have been raised on pellets with salads and are huge at 2 years.

But if its in the genetics of the dragon or inbreeding especially produces smaller dragons, they will not develope more.

There are some studies being done on babies rasied on pellets, but its still too early to tell any long term results. It is known that dragons in captivity suffer a very high ratio of liver disease attributed to the protein and fats in their diets and lack of exercise. Plus many herp vets feel that much of the parasite loads they see in their practice is due to feeder insects and suspect that some of the viral problems originate there also.

with proper diet and lighting there is a chance that the lil guy will get to growing a lil more, i would get a fecal done also be sure hes clear in that area... i would go for it =) sounds like he needs a good home and a step up in life......

This is just my opinion but probably not, again depending on what caused this. I have three dragons that were not abused/neglected. Two of them are very healthy and beyond the normal size of beardies their age but I have a 1 1/2 year old that is probably 1/3 their size but that doesn't mean that he is not special in his own way. I love all of them to death. After several trips to the vet initially he has been doing wonderfully. He is smaller in length definately but he is very healthy and happy now. Just a thought.....Hope it helps.