Why is my beardie so tiny?

Hi!

I just got my firt beardie, Salami, three days ago, and I am totally in love with her. When I bought her, I was told that she was a bit under a year old, and in her papers, it says that she's 14 months old. From the growth charts I've found online, she should have been full size, or at least close to it, by now. She only weighs 119 grams, and is 35 cm long. She seems like she is in good health, she ate and pooped right away, and tolerates handling and falls asleep on me.

Is she just a bit slow? Is there something wrong with her? The pet shop employee told me that she usually eats about four crickets a day, along with veggies. I have been feeding her as much as she wants, considering her small size. She eats around 6 crickets and 10-20 worms. I'm not sure what the type of worm is called in English unfortunately, but they're quite small. She is not interested in the veggies I offer her, but I'll keep trying new kinds.

Thank you for all replies!

If she's actually that age, and shes that size, she most likely was raised her whole life under improper conditions, and with an improper diet.

So, it's important that now that shes with you, that you make sure her husbandry is up to par. Proper temperatures, and a good uvb bulb, no coils or compact bulbs.

And you're right to be feeding her more now. They can still grow even after not growing for so long, but it's hard to say if she will ever grow to what she could have at her full potential.

Either way, the main thing now is to just make sure she is healthy, and that involved proper husbandry, and a proper diet! :mrgreen:

-Brandon

It is important that he lighting in the tank is correct --- can you post a pic of her tank and lighting please https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ use the XIMG in on top of the message box
Karrie

It could have been poor husbandry at the beginning of her life. I got a beardie off of Craigslist whose current owners had rescued from a bad situation and rehabilitated. He's quite a bit smaller than my other dragon, but happy & healthy otherwise. We call him "baby" Helmut (he's my forum pic with the little bottle cap hat)

Thank you for answering!

KarrieRee":15d7izx2 said:

It is important that he lighting in the tank is correct --- can you post a pic of her tank and lighting please https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ use the XIMG in on top of the message box
Karrie

Click to expand...

Here it is! Basking to the left, and UV in the middle.

Ok so the UVB is a coil???? Please get rid of it ----- and the sand too! It causes impaction --for substrate you can use textured non adhesive shelf liner from Home Depot or Lowes etc.. its cheap and easy to clean w/ vinegar/ water in a spray bottle 50/50--- for the UVB here is some info on this and I recommend you change this out ASAP- this is probably why your beardie is not growing
Which UVB light should I use?
The best UVB light is a ReptiSun 10.0 fluorescent tube HO (Or Arcardia 12% in the UK). Compact or coil bulbs do not emit the proper amount of UVB light for a bearded dragon, and should not be used. Other brands, such as the Zilla Desert Series and ReptiGlo have been known to cause eye problems and other health issues with bearded dragons, and should be avoided. The reason that some UVB lights (Zilla, ReptiGlo, coils/compacts, ect.) are considered dangerous is because the wavelength of UVB that they emit is shorter and more intense than the wavelength of the "safe" lights (ReptiSun, Arcadia). UVB lights should be replaced every 6 months. The T5’s are a strong bulb and only need to be replaced once a year – the T 8 every 6 months--- where as the T 8 are not as strong—they need to be placed inside the tank the T 5 10.0 bulb approx 10-11 inches from basking spot – the T 8 approx 8-10 inches from basking spot—the cover needs to be off the bulb for full effect of the UVB rays-- other wise your tank looks great but I would get a new UVB as soon as you can
Karrie