Reptile & Amphibian Forums

My daughter got a bearded dragon in August when she went to visit her dad. We have no idea how old it is. It's been growing like a weed since we've gotten it so it's quite big. Can someone give me guidelines on the age/lenght ratio? I'm planning on getting it a new tank for christmas, I need to know how big to go.

Second, the last couple of days it's poop has smelled pretty bad. What could this mean?

Your help is appreciated.

P.S. how do you post pictures?

How long is it? What size tank do you have it in? What are all the heat and light sources are you using for it? What are you feeding it? Are you using calcium supplements?
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0.1.0. Green Iguana (Ziggy)
0.1.0. Bearded Dragon (Dina)
1.0.0. Mali Uromastyx (unnamed)
1.0.0. Crested Gecko (Ilik)
1.0.0. Leopard Gecko (unnammed)
1.0.0. Veiled Chameleon (Bonzaii)
0.0.1. Eastern Painted Turtle (Piccasso)
0.0.1. Common Snapping Turtle (Spike)
0.0.11. Hermit Crabs (unnamed)
0.0.2. Goldfish
0.0.2. African Dwarf Frogs (unnamed)
0.0.8. Assorted Tropical Fish
0.2.0. Dogs(Brandie & Molly)
1.1.1. Birds

He/she's about 12 inches from nose to tip of tail. We feed him crickets and a mix of turnip, collard and mustard green a couple of times a week. I haven't been dusting the crickets lately because we dust the cricket's food with it. Is that enough?

I'm going to guess your dragon is around 1 year. It is my opinion that you will want to get a 48" tank. Get a good book on Bearded Dragons and have your daughter read it with you And unfortunately the smelly poo usually is a sign of a needed visit to the vet (parasites). Through out the internet there are many good sights about dragons.

i dont know about a year? My dragons 17 1/2 inches and shes only 7 months. Other person is right ull need a 48" cage approx. 75 gallons. You should be dusting ur crickets around every other day. Also what heating and lighting do you have thats very important to the health of your dragon.
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0.1.0. Green Iguana (Ziggy)
0.1.0. Bearded Dragon (Dina)
1.0.0. Mali Uromastyx (unnamed)
1.0.0. Crested Gecko (Ilik)
1.0.0. Leopard Gecko (unnammed)
1.0.0. Veiled Chameleon (Bonzaii)
0.0.1. Eastern Painted Turtle (Piccasso)
0.0.1. Common Snapping Turtle (Spike)
0.0.11. Hermit Crabs (unnamed)
0.0.2. Goldfish
0.0.2. African Dwarf Frogs (unnamed)
0.0.8. Assorted Tropical Fish
0.2.0. Dogs(Brandie & Molly)
1.1.1. Birds

She has a long UV tube light and a 75 watt Zoo Med heat lamp.

75 gallon tank, are you kidding me? Do you know how much those cost? Why does it need to be so big, all the lizard does is lay on it's branch. I'm not trying to be difficult, it's just that I just priced a tank that big and OMG.

Although i think the bigger the better for tank size, a few reputable breeders have told me a 55gal would be sufficient for an adult dragon to live in. If he doesn't get out of his tank alot, bigger would be better, but I think you could make due with the 55. check out http://www.dachiu.com/index.html. they have great info, also www.heartmountainherps.com. and www.dragonsbynature.com they all have housing info on them.

good luck

joi

A 40 gal breeder is better 55gal has no room to turn around also large rubbermaid bins although not attractive are extremly affordable and can work as well. Good luck
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0.1.0. Green Iguana (Ziggy)
0.1.0. Bearded Dragon (Dina)aka Ms.Piggy
1.0.0. Mali Uromastyx (unnamed)(rescue)
1.0.0. Crested Gecko (Ilik)
1.0.0. Leopard Gecko (Kirby)
1.0.0. Veiled Chameleon (Diablo)
0.0.1. Eastern Painted Turtle (Piccasso)
0.0.1. Common Snapping Turtle (Spike)
0.0.1. Red Eared Slider (Yoda)(rescue)
0.1.0. Amel Corn Snake (Lattice)
0.0.11. Hermit Crabs (unnamed)
0.0.2. Goldfish
0.0.2. African Dwarf Frogs (unnamed)
0.0.8. Assorted Tropical Fish
0.2.0. Dogs(Brandie & Molly)
1.1.1. Birds

Unfortunately there is no real size/age ratio available as all dragons grow at different rates and some just don't get as big as others for several reasons. A 14" dragon can be anywhere between 4 months old to a year.

It is best to feed insects once a day, all it can eat in 10-15 minutes. Mixed greens (like the kind you are offering right now) should be available all day long (change after they start to dry out). Dust crickets with a good multi-vitamin and calcium with D3 once every other day. Feeding the crickets dusted food isn't enough though it's a good practice.

Cage size should be at least 4'x2'x2' and you don't have to buy a large glass tank. You can build a tank for alot less than a glass tank will cost. I built a 5'x2'x2' tank with wood, screen and plexiglass for about $160 CDN. For the back, bottom and half the top I used one sheet of plywood underlay 1/8" thick. for the other half of the top, 1/4" hardware cloth. The front was aluminum screen and the sides plexi glass. This is just a basic cage with a 4' double florescent fixture and ceramic fixture for the basking light. Except for the UVB tube all the equipment can be bought much cheaper at a hardware store.
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PHLdyPayne