Found Beardie (Hasn't grown)

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Ellie2015

Member
Hello everyone!
O.K. so about a year ago, late spring, where here in the desert temps in late spring are in the high 90's or more my son and I were goin in and out messin about the house. It was morning so doors were opening and closing and pets are moving around. Anyway, I go to the bathroom when my son who was 18 yells at me to answer the door. When I do he is holding a Beardie. I have two of my own that are both adults. One male and one female however in their own enclosures. At first glance I'm thinking he is holding one of them and wondering what he is doing. But then I notice that this little Beardie was a lot smaller than mine and a slightly different color. No mistake though it was Bearded Dragon approx.7 months old. So a juvenile. I asked him where it came from and he said it was in the garage almost looking like it was trying to go through the cat door. Thank goodness he found it and didn't step on it! Or one of my animals got it! Even though they know not to touch my Beardies! But this one wasn't mine. I looked to see what sex and it was a female so I will now say she. I belong to a Nextdoor app. so I put her on that alerting all my neighbors to a lost Beardie along with her pic. I immediately I examined her and she seemed O.K. except I noticed that the tip of her tail had been bitten off some time in the past which could have been from being in an enclosure with a lot of other Beardies. So I assummed she belonged maybe to a breeder. I noticed also right off that she was a leatherback and very pretty. Besides the tail her bottom lip was scabbed up. Other than that not knowing how long she had been out she looked pretty good. She belonged to someone. I put her in the sink with some water to hydrate her and give her the option to drink. She was VERY thirsty. So she had been out for at least a few days although I don't know how long she could have survived with how hot it was. I was amazed she was alive at all. And even more amazed that she found her way into my garage, someone who already owned Beardies and knew exactly what to do out of all the houses on the street. I also fed her and she was very hungry as well. I didn't have much room in my home because I already have so many animals but I went and got my old 10 gallon tank out of the shed, cleaned it up and put and extra feeding and water bowl I had with some other things she needed. No one claimed her to this day. I made a bigger enclosure for her and she seems happy and healthy. She was skinny when she came in just a bit but is now filled out. Oh, and I knew she belonged to someone too because of how friendly she was. She is a sweetheart! My other two are friendly but she is even more friendly than my other female. And male for that matter! I adore her really.
Now here is my question. I felt I had to give you the back story or I would get a lot of questions that just got in the way. I have had her now a full year. And during the winter she did go into brumation off and on and I know things like growth could have stalled or slowed. But she has not grown at all. I was trying to remember back to the juvenile stage of my two adult Beardies and how fast they grew but I can't quite remember. I know it was faster than this though because they are suppose to be adults at a year old. My two adult Beardies are 4 years old by the way. In case you are wondering. So that means something is either wrong or she is a midget or something. Or a different type of Bearded Dragon. And please no one ask me if I actually have a Bearded Dragon because there is no doubt. I don't know can Beardies be a midget as a Beardie? Are there midget Beardies? I know it sounds funny but if we can , can't they? There is absolutely nothing different about her than any other Beardie except for her size. She is completely healthy. No bone disease or any other thing. So maybe she was older than I thought she was since she hasn't grown since I had her. She has only shed around her head and face once but no where else. I am waiting to see what happens from here on into the summer. They eat the best at this time and grow the fastest. At least mine did. Is she a different kind that I don't know about? Any knowledge of the subject someone can share? Thanks!
 

KarrieRee

BD.org Sicko
Beardie name(s)
Hiccup he is 6 and Blaze is 4
Please post pics of her-- What size tank do you have her in now?
Karrie
 
Hmm... what a strange situation! Maybe she is actually a Pongoa Minor? Or perhaps she was stunted to begin with? And yes to anwser your question, beardies can be smaller than normal, just like humans. But I’m not sure what type this beardie is. There definitely is a possibility she could be a minor. Sorry Ellie I wish I could help you more. ?
 

AHBD

BD.org Sicko
Sounds like it's just a smaller dragon. A pogona minor would be VERY rare and would not be a leatherback . Can you post a few pics of her ?
 

Ellentomologist

Hatchling Member
Where abouts are you? I live in Michigan, and around here there are a lot of Rankins dragons in the pet trade (only through a couple breeders though). Here's a site that lists some of the different species of BD though (towards the bottom)... I don't know any of the other species having morphs like leatherback though! Very strange!

Would love to see pics of her just to see what you're talking about.
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
Well that is just a wonderful story! Glad you were able to help her and give her a fantastic home! To me, it sounds like my beardie. She was a massive big girl when she was a juvenile, but at about 11 months to now (1 year 4 months), she hasn't really grown much either. She is in a nice big enclosure and she free roams Aaaaaaa lot, but she hasn't wanted to grow. LOL So I've just come to terms that she's a happy, healthy, stunted little thing. And could very well be the same situation you're in. We sure would love to see pictures of the pretty little thing though! Also, I didn't see it in the post, but what is this beauty's name?

I've also posted a pic of my small little thing, Tampico, for reference to yours. She fluctuates between 350-370 gms in a given month (depending on how many times she poos. Haha) But she always puts weight back on when she eats...she's just an active little thing. She is only 14 inches, although she does have a stumpy tail, but even then, that would only add maybe an inch or so to her.
101206-7993863928.jpg
 

Ellie2015

Member
Original Poster
Thanks everyone for the replies. I am going to try and get pictures for you guys to see and post them pretty soon. Probably after this post. If I can do it right. Not sure how to put pics in here on the posts. The name of my Beardie is Marigold because she has that same orangie color that a marigold flower has. Like a rusty orange color except her face is more brighter orange. I will have to measure her too and tell you just how long she actually is.And I will measure the cage I made her too. Its custom made by me and I don't remember the measurements anymore. It's the only place I could put her that I had room which was inside the T.V. part of an entertainment center/furniture. It's a bit smaller than the cages I have my others in which is 64 gallon tanks each. And I also have a outdoor enclosure I built that she goes in to be in the sun that is pretty big. Bigger than my 64 gallon tanks anyway. I also let her out a lot to walk around and sometimes stay's loose in my bedroom with a basking light that she can go to. So she has plenty of room by far.
Vrenee, your Beardie is very pretty. The pic she is in she looks a lot bigger than 14 inches. You said she had a stub tail. Was she born like that? That is what mine looks like but I assumed the very tip had been bitten off like what sometimes happens. Now I am wondering. lol Thanks for the post
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
Ellie2015":7k8xju2a said:
Vrenee, your Beardie is very pretty. The pic she is in she looks a lot bigger than 14 inches. You said she had a stub tail. Was she born like that? That is what mine looks like but I assumed the very tip had been bitten off like what sometimes happens. Now I am wondering. lol Thanks for the post

Thank you for the compliment on Tampico, Ellie! The photo is zoomed in, that's why she looks bigger, but I keep measuring in hopes she will get bigger, but nothing. She free roams and everything too, but she is happy with her size. Haha :blob5: And her tail was bitten off when she was a baby. All those aggressive little beardies got to her. However, when I went to go pick out my new little companion, she was the only way sittin on the top of the branch way up high just enjoying the heat and watching all the peoples walk by, so she caught my eye first and we instantly bonded. :blob8: :blob8: I like the name Marigold. Very very pretty.
 

Ellie2015

Member
Original Poster
O.K. I took some pics but my camera settings are either messed up (in which I think they are) or the way I took the pics from above her with the light shining down on her made the color wash out. So this isn't her color. She is the orange I described. If need be I will get a different photo from a different source. I was asked where I live. I live in California City, Ca. which is in the Mojave desert in California. I measured her and she is 14 inches barely from tip of nose to tip of tail. She is dainty looking though in person. She looks very much like a juvenile to me. You will notice in one of the pics where you can see her bottom lip that it is scabbed. She came to me like this but worse. I healed it up where it was about 90% healed when she came to me but then would go back to looking like this. I tried a couple of times and now just leave it alone. It doesn't seem to hurt her or anything. Except when her face started to shed that scabby part came off and bled a little bit. Then the skin went back the same. I also measured her main enclosure which is 17x28. 28 inches long and 17 inches in width. And 25 inches high. UMMMMM....how do I post the pics?? I don't see where I can add them to this?
 

Ellie2015

Member
Original Poster
I clicked on link and chose the file and then tried to upload but it won't do anything. I will try again a little later.
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
vrenee1018":yofakhjr said:
Well that is just a wonderful story! Glad you were able to help her and give her a fantastic home! To me, it sounds like my beardie. She was a massive big girl when she was a juvenile, but at about 11 months to now (1 year 4 months), she hasn't really grown much either. She is in a nice big enclosure and she free roams Aaaaaaa lot, but she hasn't wanted to grow. LOL So I've just come to terms that she's a happy, healthy, stunted little thing. And could very well be the same situation you're in. We sure would love to see pictures of the pretty little thing though! Also, I didn't see it in the post, but what is this beauty's name?

I've also posted a pic of my small little thing, Tampico, for reference to yours. She fluctuates between 350-370 gms in a given month (depending on how many times she poos. Haha) But she always puts weight back on when she eats...she's just an active little thing. She is only 14 inches, although she does have a stumpy tail, but even then, that would only add maybe an inch or so to her.
101206-7993863928.jpg

based on the photo and shape of the head spikes , she's just a very nice reduced scales morph of central bearded dragon. A leatherback.

Had she still sported a complete tail , she would be at least 1 inch longer. He BW is in the normal range (lower quartile) for a healthy adult central bearded dragon.

Looking forward to seeing the dragon found by the OP.
 

vrenee1018

Juvie Member
Ellie2015":276vb8k4 said:
I also measured her main enclosure which is 17x28. 28 inches long and 17 inches in width. And 25 inches high
I would say that's about a 51 gallon tank. If she seems happy in it and doesn't seemed stressed and always want to get out, I think it would probably be good for her for a while longer. Marigold is most likely at her full size or so I would think since I've been told they reach their full size at around 18 months to 24 months, but I can totally be wrong, as I am still learning a lot about them. We definitely look forward to pics of little Marigold :)

kingofnobbys":276vb8k4 said:
based on the photo and shape of the head spikes , she's just a very nice reduced scales morph of central bearded dragon. A leatherback.

Had she still sported a complete tail , she would be at least 1 inch longer. He BW is in the normal range (lower quartile) for a healthy adult central bearded dragon.

Looking forward to seeing the dragon found by the OP.

Thank you for that, kingofnobbys! :) :blob8: Makes me feel good that she's a healthy girl :)
 

Ellie2015

Member
Original Poster
Yeah I have tried uploading a couple of pics on two different days and it just won't upload. E-mailed the administrator too but haven't heard back yet. Frustrated
 
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