How long should my bearded dragon be

My almost 11 month old bearded dragon is 14 1/2 inches long, however when he was small the end of his tail fell off so he would be even longer if it hadn’t. He was very very tiny when I got him and he does have a back injury that he got when he was about one month old that makes his spine slightly crooked but it hasn’t caused him any serious issues other than his back legs are a bit weak. When I got him he could hardly move them but now he uses them and they work great other than being a tiny bit weak.

When I got him: I got him back in February, he was four months old but he was So tiny! The lady I got him from said he was the “runt” of the clutch and his brothers and sisters were a lot bigger than him but over all all the babies were small which makes me question her husbandry but it could just have been a tiny clutch I guess.

Now: He has grown pretty rapidly since I’ve had him but he’s still small, I feed him twice a day and he gets lots of crickets and greens in each meal, he has a reptisun t8 10.0 uvb bulb (I know it’s not the best but it’s still pretty good) and his basking temp is about 105 degrees. But I’m still pretty sure he should be bigger than he is. He has a 40 gallon breeder tank and I’m saving up to upgrade to a bigger one currently. I’ve just seen how tiny he is compared to other bearded dragons that are even younger than him

Here’s him the day I got him

And here’s him today

I think you have done a good job w/ him - some are just smaller dragons and you said he was the runt of the clutch --- he may grow more when you get him into his bigger enclosure -- its hard to tell -- your Reptisun is a good bulb just remember to change the bulb in 6 months from when you put it in
Karrie

Haha I just changed my bulb yesterday! I wasn’t sure how long to wait to change it so I played it safe and changed it at 5 and a half months. Looks like I took a good bet

Karrie

Please don't take this the wrong way... Are you sure he's a he?
Females are somewhat smaller than males.
Just a thought...

MrSpectrum":1qdrmtvr said:

Please don't take this the wrong way... Are you sure he's a he?
Females are somewhat smaller than males.
Just a thought...

Click to expand...

Not always , my Peppa was 25 inches long , her brother was 22 inches long.

Well I’m not entirely sure he is a he but I’m fairly sure. He has pretty prominent pores on his lags and two bumps when you life his tail up

He’s a little dirty right now so it’s hard to tell (I’m planning on giving him a bath tomorrow) but if you’ll see I’m pretty sure he is a he but then again he is my first beardie so I’m not 100% sure I’m right :lol:

Hello,

He sure has grown, that is terrific! They grow up fast, don't they? It does appear that he is
a male. It doesn't matter if he is a bit smaller, since he had a rough start to life & lost some
of the end of his tail, too.
He will most likely get a little longer & definitely fill out more, into his second year of life also.
As suggested, be sure to keep his UVB light changed out regularly to ensure that his body
is getting adequate UVB exposure.

Tracie

kingofnobbys":3pj7dgbl said:

MrSpectrum":3pj7dgbl said:

Please don't take this the wrong way... Are you sure he's a he?
Females are somewhat smaller than males.
Just a thought...

Click to expand...

Not always , my Peppa was 25 inches long , her brother was 22 inches long.

Click to expand...

OK, females are USUALLY somewhat smaller than males. Sheesh! :roll:

Finleythebeardie":3gc7nuiz said:

Well I’m not entirely sure he is a he but I’m fairly sure. He has pretty prominent pores on his lags and two bumps when you life his tail up

Click to expand...

S'ok, it was just a thought...