Growth and Size Question

Hiya all, I have a baby leatherback who is about 8 months old or so. She has great set up, 40 gal tank, well furnished, temps look good with a basking spot between 100-110 & plenty of cool area. She has a diet of mostly dubias, hornworms, butterworms, & phoenix worms.

My question is, I feel as though she has been the same length for a long period of time. She is around 8-9" long and about 8-9 months old. She just shed the other week & acts pretty normal. I see people post pics of similar aged dragons and they are way bigger. Could she just be a late boomer? Any idea why she's so short?

I just want her to get big so she won't get lost around my home!

You're providing fresh veggies on a daily basis too, right? Anyway, to answer your question, bearded dragons can be very different from one another in captivity. For example, some beardies go through brumation, some go through brumation longer than most, and some beardies don't brumate at all. As with size, beardies grow at different rates from one another. Also, providing a proper diet in the baby/juvenile stage will allow a beardy to attain its maximum length in its adulthood. An improper diet can have no effect or stunted growth, amongst other problems...

Is the UV light a Reptisun T5 tube or an Arcadia tube light? I ask because one recent poster had a similar situation and through a process of elimination it was discovered that her UV coil/compact light was inadequate. Once she replaced it with a Reptisun T5 10.0 tube, her beardie’s stagnant growth suddenly skyrocketed. So lighting and temperatures can play a huge role in growth. Also, how is your beardie’s appetite? If she’s a voracious eater, is receiving regular supplements, and has a strong UV light, then you may just have a beardie whose genetics have her destined to wind up on the smaller side.

Hi everyone, thanks for the replies. As for veggies - she gets baby bok choi, green bell pepper, an occasional kale leaf, and she loves arugala. Her grandma feeds her mustard greens. She has been fussy about eating her greens lately.

I have the Reptisun T5 with the 10 bulb, but here is another question: it is mounted on top of her mesh covering. I have read that the mesh can block some UV rays, could this be a reason for slow growth? I am totally not a DIY person and have been trying to figure out how to mount it in there for more UV. Is there any way this could be stunting her growth? Thanks everyone.

re: Brumation, at 8 months, isn't that too early for brumation? I think I read that it is at least a year until a first brumation.

Hi there, although it's true that they grow at different rates , she should be much bigger than that. How many live insects do you feed her per day ? And no, she wouldn't brumate. The other poster was using that as an example of how individual dragons they exhibit different behavior .

Can you post pics of her [ full body shots ] as well as her set up ? Here's how :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload them

Thanks everybody. I also think she should be a lot bigger. Here is her set up:


I have the repsti sun T5 with the 10 bulb. She has 2 basking spots, hammock and top of log. I offer her bugs ALL the time. Today this morning she ate about 7 or 8 butterworms. I offer her greens as well like I said earlier in the thread. Is it possible the UV needs to be mounted inside of the mesh to make her grow? I feel like she's barely grown in a inch. Thanks all

First of all I'd like to say what a beautiful home you have for your baby, lots of room and climbing areas for an active dragon. The light is good but it may be that she basls to the side of it + doesn't get as much uvb. As for screen blocking uvb, if it's a very fine mesh then it can block up to 40% , but if the screen has the larger hole mesh then it's only about 15% . Like in this picture, this screen is perfectly fine to set the uvb on :
https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/30004/full

So try to position the uvb and the heat directly over where she basks.

A few adjustments to your tank that I'd suggest [ unrelated to her size ] is to be careful to watch that she doesn't get her nail snagged in the hammock. This happens at times + reportedly beardies have sprained legs at times. Also be careful of fake greens. many dragons will try to eat them.

Thanks for all the replies. I have moved her UV over closer to her basking area.

Question: is this the finer mesh?

If so, I'm assuming I'd have to mount it inside of the cage. How could I do that? The back of the repti sun tube UV is totally smooth with no way to secure. I've read about double sided tape, but I've only been able to find non-heavy duty types. Someone also mentioned big, big zip ties that go all around the light. One more question: the bulb would exposed as well inside her cage, is there any possible danger for hurting herself via climbing near the bulb? Thanks all

That is actually the large mesh so it's fine for the uvb to be on top as long as she can get within 11-12" of it. That's why it's important to have it directly over her.

Thanks a lot. Could this seriously be the issue for her being so runt-sized?

It's possible to have SOME connection but then she could just be a runt. She is a slow grower....if she eats fatty insects like waxworms + butter worms they will fill her up + keep her from eating the higher protein insects though so that may also be a factor. She looks healthy + happy though but still might do better eating more crickets + roaches f you can get them.

Man, I also just checked the beardie growth chart on the site and she is the size of a 2 month old, but is 8 months. :-( I am frustrated

How long have you had her and are you certain about her age ?

Just confirmed with the breeder that she was 3 months when I got here in August / Sept.

Will she eat many dubias ? Those are much healthier than butterworms + should be a staple. Crickets are also a good insect for faster growth. A young dragon should be eating between 25-45 appropriately sized insects per day.