Reptile & Amphibian Forums

I got my first bearded dragon in april. He was hatched on march 2nd of this year and is only about 6inches long! I am really worried about his size and think he should be much bigger by now. Is there anything I can do to make him healthier? And what size should he be by now?
Thanks, Cody and Evinrude

I just hatched my first clutch 5 1/2 weeks ago and my smallest one is 6 inches after less than 6 weeks.
My largest one is almost 8 inches. I would make sure he has a good UVB light and offer him more food. Are you gutloading his crickets and insects? His basking spot needs to reach around 105 for him to digest properly. I would also make sure he has greens available for several hours during the day.
Also when they are babies I feed them at least twice a day.

What size tank is he in? What are the temps (high, low and ambient)? What does his diet consist of? What do you supplement with and how often? Does he have a UVB light? if so, how close can he get to it? Is he housed alone or with other beardies?

these questions will help us to better understand why your beardie might not be growing very fast.

If all your husbandry is good (temps, cage size, etc) then i would take a fecal sample to a vet to test for parasites, not growing is a very common sign of parasites.
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

Evinrude is in a 10 gallon tank right now, he have a uvb light that is on for about 14 hours a day and is sitting on the top of his tank. He is fed gutloaded crickets and bearded dragon food (the kind that are meaty chunks) He also is offered greens, he doesn't eat them too often. I do not dust the crickets I give him, does this make a difference? Thanks for those who respond. I am really worried about my baby.
Cody

Do you have a heat lamp, or just a UVB lamp? What are the exact temps?

You need to be supplementing. Go buy two supplements, 1. a multivitimin supplement such as Jurrasi-vite, and 2. a pure calcium carbonate supplement such as jurrasi-cal or Rep-cal. Supplement with the pure calcium supplement at every other feeding, and with the multivitamin supplement once a week. This is very important and probably plays a big part in his slow growth.

Also, you need a bigger tank. I personally think a 10gallon is too small for any size beardie, not just because there is no room to run, but because there is no room for a thermogradient. Beardies need a basking spot of 100-110degrees, and a cool end in the low 80s. In a 10gallon tank it is close to impossible to get the temps right because if one end of the tank is 100degrees then the whole tank will be 100degrees and you will cook the little guy. Buy at least a 20gallon long tank for now, get a good acurate thermometer (an indoor/outdoor digital thermometer from wal-mart is good...those stick on ones from the pet store are junk) and make sure the basking temps and the cool temps are good.

He is not THAT undersized, considering he is only 4 months old, but it does sound as if you need to do a lot more research about beardie care. Check out some good websites such as beardiedragon.com and beautifuldragons.com and get some good books such as The Bearded Dragon Manual by Phillipe De Vosjoli. I would bring a fecal sample to a vet as well just to rule out parasites, fecals should be done 1-2x yearly on all reptiles even if they look to be in great health.

How often are you feeding him?

For starters:

-get him into a bigger tank (20-30gallon long is a good size for a 6inch) and be prepared to go even bigger as he grows
-get a basking light if you do not already have one
-get a good thermometer and check the temps, do not attempt to get your tank to the 100s in the ten gallon, please, move him to a bigger tank first
-get a fecal done at the vet
-make sure he is fed daily, or at the very least every other day, feed him as many insects (supplemented) as he will eat in 10-20minutes. You can leave veggies in his tank all day so he always has something to pick at if you want. You can also leave the bearded dragon food in his tank all the time as well.

If you make a few changes to your husbandry then your beardie should grow like a weed and be just fine

Good luck! and keep us posted
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0.1 Bearded dragon
0.1 mexican Black kingsnake
1.1 Leopard Gecko's
0.0.1 Tokay Gecko
1.0 Blue Tongue Skink
0.0.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn
0.1 Anerythristic Corn
0.0.1 Red Tegu
0.1 Bullmastiff
4.1 Cats

Hey,
I just wanted to add something. For that size I would use a good vitamin supplement...herptivite IMO is the best, 3 or 4 times a week. At that size, the dragon defintely would benefit from the extra vitamins. Once the dragon reaches sub-adult to adult, you can cut back to once a week, as oversupplementing can be an issue. Definitely use a good calcium supplement every other feeding. (I use Repcal with Vit D3). What kind of UVB are you using? Don't forget to make sure your crickets are getting lots of nutritious food. I use apples, oranges, squash, and greens that my dragons also eat. Have you tried silkworms? They're great, naturally high in calcium and protein rich. Follow the link for an awesome silkie distributor. Definitely feed your dragon insects once a day, or even twice a day...they really can't eat too much at this stage. As stated before...definitely upgrade your tank size ASAP...like now! I made the mistake of getting a 10 gal. with my first dragon 2 yrs ago, and I found out quickly that it was impossible to obtain the proper temp gradients. It ended up being a nice cricket tank, lol. Anyway, I wish you all the luck with your little one!
-Nicky

Silkies

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What does friend mean to you?
A word so wrongfully abused
Are you like me, confused
All included but you
Alone...
The sounds of silence often soothe
Shapes and colors shift with mood
Pupils widen and change their hue
Rapid brown avoid clear blue
Why’s it have to be this way?
Be this way
Flowers watched through wide brown eyes
A child sings an unclaimed tune
Innocence spins cold cocoon
Grow to see the pain too soon
-Alice In Chains
2.1 Bearded Dragons: Gordo, Layne, & Chiquita
2.2 Cats: Zeus, Remi, Kiki & Delilah
1.0 Betta

Altered is right you need to be supplementing. IMHO At that age it is important to use calcium with or without D3 on the crickets every time you feed. Crickets are high in phosphorus and low in calcium, dusting them helps to maintain the calcium / phosphorus balance that is critical to the dragons success. With that said, he is not all that small. There are always runts, or slower dragons in most every clutch. Brothers or sisters that just are not as vigorous.

Good Luck,
bob