Proper weight for female at 6 months????

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AmishJedi

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Hello,

First, as a new poster (and new beardie owner), this site and all of the information I have received has been invaluable - thank you to this community! Awesome.

I need to know if you all think that my female BD, "Ruby" is at an average weight. I weigh her weekly and she is 6 months (next week) and weighs 193 grams. She has been averaging a weight gain of 13-14 grams per week. When I got her she weighed 22 grams (she was a little < 3 months old upon arrival). Just worried that she is gaining weight too quickly? She has a very health appetite. And, she seems to shed a lot due to her weight gain. I get her out of her enclosure almost daily for some enrichment - she loves to run/climb.

I saw a list of questions typically asked of other posters, so I decided to use this as a template to describe my situation for you expert owners:

How old is your dragon? 6 months next week - orange phase leatherback
How long have you had your dragon? since 6/28/2019 - born clutch 4/4/2019 - rec'd from Atomic Lizard Ranch breeders
How long is your dragon? approx. 13" - she rarely sits still long enough to let me measure her!
What is the sex of your dragon? female
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in? 48x24x24 - Carolina Customs Cages
What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank? - 1/2 Zoomed Excavator Clay & 1/2 ceramic tiles
Do you use UVB lights? Yes
If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb? tube
What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)? Zoo Med ReptiSun 10.0 UVB T5 HO Lamp/24 Watts - 34" length - runs about 3/4 of the length of the enclosure
How old is your UVB bulb? approx. 3 months
How close can your dragon get to the UVB? Is there a screen or anything else between the bulb and your dragon? approx. 7"-8" inches from the bottom of the light, and is UNDER the screen
Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb? 75w GU10 Halogen - attaches to the end via GU10 socket of the UVB bulb assembly
What are the basking temps? 109/111 degrees
What is the cool side temp? between 80-83 degrees
What is the night time temp? low-mid 70's - usually 74 degrees
Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun? a digital w/probe for cool side and Etekcity Lasergrip 774 digital temperature gun for basking
Where exactly are you taking your basking temps? there are natural rocks slabs under the basking light, 8" from the bulb - the temperature is taken directly under the center of the bulb
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad? no
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific. Medium to large dubia roaches - I have my own colony. Occasional (2x weekly) medium length super worms as treats. Occasional (2x monthly) medium length hornworms as treats. Greens include mustard greens, collard greens, bok choy, dandelion greens, celery tops, and shredded squash and cucumbers. Occasional blueberries - she seems indifferent to them.
How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)? Feed every day since getting her from the breeder - 1st feeding at 7:30am and 2nd feeding at 6:00pm - bowl of greens in enclosure all day as she wants them
How many feeders do you offer at a time? healthy amounts (10 dubias) that she eats in 10-15 minutes
Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc? superworm & dubia roach colonies are all gut loaded with leftover carrots/greens, oats, and dubia roach food
Do you use vitamin and calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them? Rep-Cal Herptivite - dusting of vitamins (greens & dubias) on Wednesdays & Fridays. Rep-Cal Ultrafine Powder - dusting of calcium (greens & dubias) on Mondays, Tuesday, Thursdays, Saturdays, and Sundays
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)? once, sometimes twice daily - healthy - urate is white and firm
Do you bath your dragon? How often? twice weekly, usually Mondays & Fridays, more often when she is in shed, which seems like every 3-4 weeks
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath? small water bowl always in enclosure and misting during shed
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done? no
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon? no, she is an only child!

This is my first dragon, so I'm probably being a nervous parent. But, I trust the expertise and compassion shown here, so I thought I'd reach out.

Thanks!

Jeff
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
Welcome to the forum! It sounds like you have an excellent setup and are off to a great start with her. It sounds like Ruby is growing well. While there is no real set weight for them since they all grow at different rates, the fact that she is growing and gaining weight at a constant rate is a good sign. If you want to post some photos of her, we can get a better look and see if she seems healthy overall. Keep tracking her weight as time goes on and pay attention to how it is trending. You'll get fluctuations but if the trend is up or fairly steady, then it's a good sign.
 

AmishJedi

New member
Original Poster
CooperDragon":137lrsgr said:
She looks nice and healthy to me =)

Thanks! We love her. :D

Here is a chart (I know, I am OCD like that :)) of her weekly weight and weight gain-per-week:

106156-1838420686.jpg
106156-4212674098.jpg
 

CooperDragon

BD.org Sicko
Staff member
Moderator
I keep a chart just like that too =). See how the daily weights fluctuate a bit, but the trend on the weekly weights is steadily growing? That's what you want. Eventually the trend will start to level off and be pretty steady over time as she becomes an adult.
 
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