Too small?

So, as of lately I am beginning to worry about Spike's size. I have had her since March 26th, October 26th will make 6 months. So I am estimating her to be roughly 7 months old due to her being about 6-7 inches when I got her.

Setup:
36" L 18"W 12"H (I was having a new one built, but had to put it on hold due to my mother passing sooner than expected, so now I am paying for her funeral arrangements and what not)
- Tile flooring
- 100w basking bulb
- T5 uvb (no mesh lid blocking it)
- 105 basking
- 80 cool side
- Temps are taking with a gun
- lights are on a programmable tub system. They come on at 8:30 am and go off at 10:30pm.

I took Spike to the vet after about a month and a half of getting her, due to her lack of eating. She was clean of parasites. And the vet gave her a clean bill of health.

I don't know if she is the runt of the bunch or what, but for a while now, she just isn't growing. She is alert, happy colors, no black beard, and eats just like she has over the past months.
She does have a partial shed about to happen on her lower back, though, and that hasn't even slowed her eating.
Her weight has even stopped increasing. She only seems to be gaining about 1g every week as opposed to her gaining 8-12gs every week.
She still eats medium dubias, I haven't increased the size because she hasn't grown. They are lightly dusted in calcium every feeding. Before she wouldn't eat a dusted roach so I had her on one feeding of BSFL and then a feeding of dubias a day. She has recently lost interest in BSFL but has taking a liking to hornworms, which she usually eats 2 of at a time. I order the medium ones of those, too.
Spike has only ever eaten twice a day for me even though I offer 3 times a day. Fresh salad is always provided for her, but she never touches it, I always end up tossing it in the bug bin. In one sitting she will eat anywhere from 10-15 medium dubias so roughly 20-30 a day. I feed her as many as she wants until she walks away. Spike is hand fed, she will not eat out of a bowl. She is also given water ever 2-3 days by a dropper, which she willingly takes and again is given until she walks away.

Here is Spike:







Even though she seems happy, alert, content, and still has a good appetite, do you think she needs another trip to the vet or would that possibly just cause unnecessary stress for her? Or is she just going to be a small little girl?
I am open to any comments, suggestions, or whatever. I just want to make sure my little one is on the right path.

She looks perfectly fine for a 7 month old dragon. Her weight is perfectly proportional to her length and her body shape, and being around 13" or so at 7 months is fine. They all grow at different rates and have spurts at different times, and continue to grow up until about 2 years old. She just shed so that means she's growing, and she probably has just slowed down a bit around 6 months, but she'll likely have another growth spurt at some point soon.

Some dragons are runts, and they don't all end up being 24" long. She looks perfectly healthy and well proportioned, and your husbandry sounds very good. Don't worry about her not eating greens or veggies, just keep offering a fresh salad of healthy greens ever day, and make sure she keeps getting lots and lots of live insects. She may end up being a bit on the small side, but my guess is that she's just a little late and she'll probably have a growth spurt sometime soon. They do slow down on the growth spurts and shedding at 6 months, however some are backwards, where they are slow to grow up to 10 months old, then BAM, they grow 4".

All that matters is that her appetite is good, she's not lethargic, she's not losing weight, and that her weight is proportional to her length. She looks great.

Thank you Ellen for helping to put my mind at ease. I am a worry wart and always have been. I am the same with my animals as I am with my kids. I have two dogs, a Lineolated Parakeet, and Spike. If one of them so much as looks like they are having an off day, I worry. The hubby says I worry too much over nothing, but that's just me, I guess.
Again, thank you.

smackey2":320iilxs said:

Thank you Ellen for helping to put my mind at ease. I am a worry wart and always have been. I am the same with my animals as I am with my kids. I have two dogs, a Lineolated Parakeet, and Spike. If one of them so much as looks like they are having an off day, I worry. The hubby says I worry too much over nothing, but that's just me, I guess.
Again, thank you.

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No problem, always come and ask any questions you have. And it's better to worry than not! You take very good care of her, that's obviously by her extremely healthy appearance and your husbandry. Keep it up!

And I absolutely love Linnies! I bred English budgies for a long time, I grew up with a mother that bred Linnies too! They are such wonderful parrots, I wish more people knew about them! I currently have a clutch of 9 American/English budgies that was the last clutch I bred and hand-raised, a Green Cheek Conure, a blue Quaker parrot, a Senegal Parrot, and my 3 beardies, so we're a bird/beardie family too!

Thank you. I didn't always have it right. I made the mistake of getting the 'bearded dragon starter kit' from petco. Luckily, before things got too bad, I found this site and thanks to all the members that helped me and gave me suggestions, I was able to correct everything.

I love my animals, they are just like my babies, too. I wouldn't know what to do without them. They keep me sane. Haha.

I got Tweety, our Linnie, for my oldest son who will be 8 in a few days. He has been asking for a bird for a while, for a few years. A few years ago I had a lovebird who never had a mate. She was my little companion. Where I went, if I could take her with me, I did. And Peachy, was her name, loved riding on my son's shoulder and giving him kisses. I never thought I could have another bird after that. Peachy passed away due to complications with her eggs. She laid two, but the third one never made its way out and unfortunately the vet wasn't able to save her. I lost one of the most loving pets I have ever had. My son always asked for another one, but up until recently, I couldn't bring myself to have another one.
I originally wanted a Cockatiel as I fell in love with my Mom's bird, Jasper, who is now 17 years old and quite the cranky butt sometimes, but still lovable in his old man ways, too.

I found a guy here in West Virginia that breeds all different types of birds and Tweety just happened to be one that he had for sale. I did a lot of research before getting him and I am glad I did. He isn't like any of the other birds I have been around. He is very finger shy. He will step up, but doesn't like to sit there long. Tweety LOVES to snuggle, especially in my hair or under our chins, while holding on to the front of our shirts. He is very calm and quiet too, not that I am complaining. Haha. He is just a sweet heart. And he has absolutely no problem with my kids holding him, either.



Before Tweety, I never even knew what a Linnie was. They make for amazing little birds and their hanging upside down all the time is quite amusing.