840g Lady Dragon?!?

Finn and I went to her annual vet visit recently just to make sure everything is ok before brumation season, we found out that despite being 840g (1.9lbs!) she's healthy. I wondered if it was a parasite but her poo test came back all clear. He suggested doing a blood test to see if it's a liver disease or something, however that will cost a lot and she hasn't been acting sick or differently at all. Of course I don't want to chance it if it really is a big concern though. For reference she's also a whole 22 inches long, but would be about 23 if she didn't have tail rot as a juvenile. Bearded dragons do come in all shapes and sizes just like humans, so she could just be a thicc girl but if anyone has any theories please help us out!

My Peppa was 25 inches long and about the same weight.

Some are big. Looks likely no matter what I do , Caesar is destined to be a very large dragon too.

Hello,

That is a large dragon indeed! At least the fecal exam came back fine. Blood tests are a bit
expensive yes but if there isn't anything that warrants it right now, you can wait on that.
Do you have any pictures of her we could see?

Tracie

Wow, that's a huge dragon ! What is her diet like ? That weight is really over the top and will almost certainly cause health problems down the road. And no, I'm not body shaming but the same goes for all animals + humans. I have a 22" male that is just over 500 and he's nice + stocky but has a lean look to him at times and at over 7 years old can still leap + climb like a juvenile. A very heavy dragon will gradually become unable to climb, jump + generally get around as they get older and then it becomes very difficult to get the weight off. Even a 25" dragon would be obese at 800 grams, no doubt at all. Liver, heart ,kidney + joint problems can all develop over time .It might be best to cut her insect ratio way down and give her at least an hour of exercise time [ not in the water ] by running around in a safe room with no foreign objects like plastic toys, coins, rubber bands [ beardies love to swallow strange stuff off the floor ] or let her run around the yard if possible when it's warm out [ closely supervised ] Hopefully your big girl will lead a long life.

Hi there,

She is definitely a big girl! I agree, I would try to let her weight slowly drop down after her brumation. I too am curious what her daily diet looks like. If it's obvious she is just eating too much, then bloodwork most likely isn't necessary. Especially if she is acting healthy.

-Brandon

Peppa 25" just shy of 800g.


You guys realize it's not a linear relationship between bearded dragon total length and body mass.

Perhaps the OP can upload an picture of the 840g dragon so we can assess it properly, he did mention some of it's tail was missing , so the estimated equiv length is at best a guess and it may well have grown to be even longer than 25" if it's tail had been perfect.

Making comment based on shorter dragons 18" to 20" long about healthy weight of a dragon of a dragon in excess of 24" long without seeing it's body shape is not wise, even vets get this wrong more often than not as they only work off population averages (just like with GPs with people and can do more harm than good).

Sorry for the delay! Thank you all so much for the replies. Sounds like waiting and observing her is best. I honestly think she's just in need of some exercise. I really didn't know how old she was when I got her unfortunately, so I fed her super worms as a staple for a little longer than I probably needed to. Stopped probably around when she was 14 months old. She's roughly close to 2 years old now. She's actually quite an active beardie, just really hasn't been these last few weeks as she was slowing down in preparation for brumation. now that her temp and daylight has been increased for a couple days she's gotten a bit more active.
As for her current diet: I'm struggling to find a healthy & accessible greens staple for her that she'll actually eat. she will eat some veggies and fruits, but huffs at all greens, even ones she's previously loved. Lately she'll eat carrots, red bell peppers (she's a basic beardie when it comes to red foods), papaya and the occasional bok choy (so if anyone has any suggestions for getting her to eat more greens ). As for her bug intake, we recently started silkworms once a week. I prefer to give her hornworms but I'm struggling to hunt those down right now.
You can see in the pictures that she really carries most the weight in her lower abdomen, however when she pancakes or even just relaxes her upper torso a little it evens out a bit more.

Thanks again!

Hello,

Wow, what a belly on her! Are you sure she isn't carrying eggs?
Her weight does seem to be pretty low on her tummy. Has her tummy looked like this for awhile
now?
She does look like she could use some exercise though, but I do think maybe you should have
the vet do an x-ray to determine if she might have eggs.
You mentioned that she was pretty active?

Tracie

Hey Tracie!

She's definitely not carrying eggs. you can't feel anything in her lower abdomen at all. The vets only concern was that maybe it was a fluid build up in her from something else that's wrong (liver infection, or something along those lines)

- Kait

Hello Kait,

That is a huge possibility. Have you had her tested for Adenovirus yet?
Fluid accumulation in the abdomen is a symptom of the Adenovirus due to the liver issues
that occur with it.

Tracie

Yikes.. I just went down a nice wormhole on atadenovirus and it sounds very possible
Might be booking that trip to the vet after all

Definitely needs to be investigated by a COMPETENT REPTILE VET.
If this is fluid build up, it needs to addressed by a vet finding the root cause and developing a treatment plan.

If she wont eat her greens , handfeed them to her or give her the greens disgusted via the gut loading of the insects , ie roaches , crickets , hoppers , and silkworms ( fed on fresh mulberry leaves ).

Keep her temperatures up , this will help boost both her immune system and her metabolism.

She looks bright + alert which is always a good sign. I'm sure she's special to you [ as they all are ] but is definitely obese. If she is not carrying eggs then she is just very over fed so definitely cut down on the insects. Even without the pot belly the tail is very thick so the fat is distributed over her body. If she does have fluid in her belly then that might indicate something , the one important thing you might test for is ADV which Tracie [ Drache613 who has commented here ] has already mentioned and she is an expert on it, works with the lab that tests for it and can get it done for you for a very low price. Then you'll know if she has atadenovirus but whether she does or not she's been a big eater of superworms and is overweight. A little diet + exercise can help that out + she'll be a model dragon.
For greens, try some kale [ and yes it IS good for them, not high in oxalates like spinach + swiss chard which should be avoided ]

The vet I take her to was actually recommended on this site, his name is Dr. Daren Mandrusiak at Park Veterinary Centre in Sherwood Park, Alberta. I have been adjusting her diet for the last couple weeks now but will continue to alter it how you guys have suggested. She used to eat kale ALL the time and we haven't tried that one again in a bit so will do this week. Honestly at this point I wouldn't be surprised if she's overweight AND has ADV.. but hoping to find out she's just a chubby girl.

Hello,

How is your dragon doing today?
Definitely continue to change up her diet to allow her to slowly lose some of the excess
weight. Also, encouraging her to exercise & move around some can help too. You
could consider using some L-carnitine to help aid with fat loss also.

Let us know how she is doing.
Tracie