Possible dwarf beardie?

Status
Not open for further replies.

Bear333

Member
Hi everyone! I have an 8 month old female bearded dragon, Bear. She's approx. 12 inches, and she weighs 94 grams. I just see all of these 6-8 month old beardies online and they all look like full grown adults and my beardie still looks 4 months old. I was just wondering if she's some type of dwarf or if she just has yet to hit "Beardie Puberty," if that's a thing haha :lol: She's healthy, eating 20-40 crickets a day (actually switching to dubias this week!) and big, yummy salads usually consisting of collard greens, acorn squash, and either green bean or bell pepper. She also loves banana and apple as treats :) Also a large, 50 gallon terrarium and proper lighting. Here's a couple pictures of her so you can kind of see her size (sorry about the sideways pictures :? ).



Thanks in advance! :D
 

chameleon7

Hatchling Member
pics didnt work, if your from Australia maybe as we have a couple of smaller species (like my carlos he is a pogona minor) but if your from America i doubt it, probs just a small beardie. :)
 

Bear333

Member
Original Poster
chameleon7":2972906o said:
pics didnt work, if your from Australia maybe as we have a couple of smaller species (like my carlos he is a pogona minor) but if your from America i doubt it, probs just a small beardie. :)

I live in America, so you're probably right. Ok, hopefully the pictures work!

91489-8938241661.jpg
91489-5450312328.jpg
 

chameleon7

Hatchling Member
yep id say hes a central beardie, must have stunted growth, whats your set up like? could be a lack of food/uvb?
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
Definitely just a normal dragon, but with stunted growth.
Have you had the dragon the whole time?

Proper lighting, supplements, temperatures, and diet are key. It's possible something needs to be tweaked to encourage growth
 

Bear333

Member
Original Poster
chameleon7":19a5dln4 said:
yep id say hes a central beardie, must have stunted growth, whats your set up like? could be a lack of food/uvb?


91489-4415209056.jpg
Her setup is simple with multiple hides and basking spots for her heat bulb and UVB, I use reptisun 10.0 t8 (going to purchase t5 soon). She gets fed feeder gutloaded crickets around 2 times a day and a salad in the morning that she eats thoughout the day. Usually around 30-40 1/2 inch crickets per day... is that enough?
 

Bear333

Member
Original Poster
traildrifterphalanx":34y6n1ml said:
Definitely just a normal dragon, but with stunted growth.
Have you had the dragon the whole time?

Proper lighting, supplements, temperatures, and diet are key. It's possible something needs to be tweaked to encourage growth

Yes, I've had her since she was barely 2 months old. I use reptisun 10.0 t8 uvb and a basking light that usually gets around 101-103 right under the light. I also use rep-cal powdered calcium 5 times a week and rep-cal herpivite multivitamins twice a week. The cool side of her tank is in the low 80s. I hope I'm not doing anything wrong?
 

traildrifterphalanx

Sub-Adult Member
Aside from moving the uvb closer to the basking site, I'm not really seeing anything wrong. Was she raised from this same setup? Her belly doesn't look like she's eating 30 crickets a day.

How are her poops? Only other thing I can consider is parasites stealing her nutrients
 

Bear333

Member
Original Poster
traildrifterphalanx":3mm1a027 said:
Aside from moving the uvb closer to the basking site, I'm not really seeing anything wrong. Was she raised from this same setup? Her belly doesn't look like she's eating 30 crickets a day.

How are her poops? Only other thing I can consider is parasites stealing her nutrients

I believe she was raised in a 20 gallon before I got her? Her poops are normal, and big! Haha Other than when she eats watery fruits (watermelon, cantaloupe, etc.), then her poos a little watery. But my roaches arrived today, so no more stinky crickets!!:D Now I'm hoping her belly will always be full:)
 

Bear333

Member
Original Poster
traildrifterphalanx":3jlkfiob said:
Are those stick on thermometers how you're reading temps?

Oh no, of course not! I use a temperature gun and aim it where she sits (right under the light). Although, I don't have it right now since my cousin's borrowing it.
 

EllenD

Gray-bearded Member
I'd say your main issue is that you've got a T8 on top of a mesh lid, which can block between 35%-50% of the UVB to begin with, and then it's too far away from her basking spot on top of that. A Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB tube needs to be mounted inside the enclosure with nothing between the UVB tube and your beardie while basking, and within 6-8" of her basking spot...The Reptisun T5 High-Output UVB tube is strong enough to penetrate a mesh lid if within 11" of her basking spot.

Also, it looks like a Zilla Slimline UVB fixture you're using...Did you remove the clear hard plastic cover that's on the fixture and covers the tube? It blocks all the UVB light coming from the tube if it's still on there, just as glass does. Also, was the T8 tube replaced at 6 months old? The T5 is once a year, the T8 every 6 months. So I'd make sure that it's a new UVB tube, make sure that there is no plastic cover on the fixture over the tube, and get it mounted under the lid and within 8" of her main basking spot. Also, make sure bother her UVB and basking lights are on for at least 14 hours every single day.
 

Bear333

Member
Original Poster
EllenD":2m3jx2pj said:
I'd say your main issue is that you've got a T8 on top of a mesh lid, which can block between 35%-50% of the UVB to begin with, and then it's too far away from her basking spot on top of that. A Reptisun 10.0 T8 UVB tube needs to be mounted inside the enclosure with nothing between the UVB tube and your beardie while basking, and within 6-8" of her basking spot...The Reptisun T5 High-Output UVB tube is strong enough to penetrate a mesh lid if within 11" of her basking spot.

Also, it looks like a Zilla Slimline UVB fixture you're using...Did you remove the clear hard plastic cover that's on the fixture and covers the tube? It blocks all the UVB light coming from the tube if it's still on there, just as glass does. Also, was the T8 tube replaced at 6 months old? The T5 is once a year, the T8 every 6 months. So I'd make sure that it's a new UVB tube, make sure that there is no plastic cover on the fixture over the tube, and get it mounted under the lid and within 8" of her main basking spot. Also, make sure bother her UVB and basking lights are on for at least 14 hours every single day.

I don't remember there being a clear plastic cover... I must have removed it because it isn't there now. Yes, I have replaced her uvb, and I will order a t5;) And her lights are always on for 14 hours?
 
Status
Not open for further replies.

Members online

Latest resources

Latest posts

Latest profile posts

I miss you so much, Amaris 💔
What is a quick way to warm up a cold beardie? His heating element went out overnight and now he's very cold.
Pearl Girl wrote on moorelori1966's profile.
i feel so sad reading your about me 😢
Clapton is acclimating okay I think. He's quick as lightning so I'm not sure how much I should bring him out of his house yet. He's not at all interested in his salad though. I wonder if I should change what I'm giving him. Least he's eating his crickets.

Things to do:
Buy calcium powder
Material to raise surface for basking spot
Scenery decals for back of tank

Forum statistics

Threads
155,901
Messages
1,255,699
Members
75,967
Latest member
Newbeardiemom09
Top Bottom