AGE

[fluffpuffgerbil]

is there a way to tell how old a bearded dragon is?

Mine is only about 5-6 inches right now. Based on the sizes of most of the comments on here, I'm assuming that mine is pretty young - would a couple of months old be reasonable to say?

I'd say he is only around one month.

I got my guy at two months and he was 8 inches.
He's 8 months now and 14 inches.
However my newest beardie, a female "rescue"(got from a bad store), is supposedly over one year and she's only 11 inches.... HOWEVER, she's lost over half her tail so there is only 4" of it and her body is around 7".

 

[Peso]

is there a way to tell how old a bearded dragon is?

Mine is only about 5-6 inches right now. Based on the sizes of most of the comments on here, I'm assuming that mine is pretty young - would a couple of months old be reasonable to say?

I'd say he is only around one month.

I got my guy at two months and he was 8 inches.
He's 8 months now and 14 inches.
However my newest beardie, a female "rescue"(got from a bad store), is supposedly over one year and she's only 11 inches.... HOWEVER, she's lost over half her tail so there is only 4" of it and her body is around 7".

This probably sounds like a silly question but when measuring the beardie, you do measure the full length..so from head to end of tail, not from head to where the tail starts?

Thanks!

 

[everhood13]

I'll be able to get limitless grasshoppers in the summer, and some other bugs too. so will 10-15 grasshoppers a day get them to grow more?

I know I'm coming in on this a little late, but are you talking about feeding wild grasshoppers in the summer? Wild bugs make bad feeders for a few reasons. Some bugs can be toxic or to hard by themselves, but wild bugs over all run the risk of having come into contact with pesticides. These pesticides can make your dragon sick. Also, they may carry parasites your dragons have not come into contact with before. It certainly isn't worth the risk to me!

My pair of dragons eat about 20-40 crickets each per day. Live foods need to be made very available. They are necessary for dragon growth. Dragons are little piglets and the do eat a lot of food.

 

[fluffpuffgerbil]

is there a way to tell how old a bearded dragon is?

Mine is only about 5-6 inches right now. Based on the sizes of most of the comments on here, I'm assuming that mine is pretty young - would a couple of months old be reasonable to say?

I'd say he is only around one month.

I got my guy at two months and he was 8 inches.
He's 8 months now and 14 inches.
However my newest beardie, a female "rescue"(got from a bad store), is supposedly over one year and she's only 11 inches.... HOWEVER, she's lost over half her tail so there is only 4" of it and her body is around 7".

This probably sounds like a silly question but when measuring the beardie, you do measure the full length..so from head to end of tail, not from head to where the tail starts?

Thanks!

I measure from nose to tail tip.
Scout is 14 inches from nose to tail, but only around five and a half inches of is his body... The rest is tail.

 

[jstouts]

well if the indians lived off grasshoppers, so can beardies.

 

[LilStinkpot]

well if the indians lived off grasshoppers, so can beardies.

Friend, long ago, some tribes of Native Americans did indeed eat grasshoppers, but not so much anymore, if at all. Back then they didn't have land tainted with chemicals, whether tainted directly or in rain coming down through poisoned air.

The actual amounts of pesticide may be minute, but it builds up in critters that eat tainted food. Try this: one day's of growth for a clump of grass absorbs one "point" of chemical A. Is one point enough to kill me or you? No. It won't even affect the plant. Two weeks later, the grasshopper eats the plant, which has now accumulated 14 points. Lethal yet? No. Each day, the grasshopper eats another plant. Two weeks later, it has reached 196 points, and it starts to feel ill, and slows down enough to get caught. Is 196 points lethal to the grasshopper? Not quite yet. Ten grasshoppers a day are caught for the beardie: 1,960 points. Lethal? No. But let's go forward ten days, and reach 10,960 points. That is lethal. My math may not be perfectly representative, but it does well enough to illustrate my point. This does happen in real life! A pesticide called DDT killed many, many of the US's predatory birds; some species are still struggling. Lead shot built up in the guts of the condors here in CA, and nearly wiped out the species.

Please, buy the crickets. :wink:

 

[jstouts]

well the place i get the grasshoppers, i assure you, is not poluted. and i only get the young grasshopers just in case. thank you for your concern though

 

[LilStinkpot]

Well, it seems I cannot dissuade you :wink: ; please be VERY careful! There are mites (some invisible!) that won't wash off, pinworms in the gut are common, and something else I can't remember. However you decide, DO avoid any brightly colored 'hoppers. They may contain a natural toxin to ward off predators. That will give your dragon a serious tummyache.

Speaking of no-no bugs, don't EVER feed fireflies or glo-worms; the glo chemicals will kill a beardie within the hour. This also includes anything venomous.

Keep in mind what the 'hoppers may be eating! If they're eating it, your beardie is eating it! Beardies aren't built for many North American plants, and may not be able to metabolize any special "defenses" the plant has. Grasshoppers will eat anything! :study:

 

[jstouts]

alright, thanks for the help, i appreciate it!

 

[LilStinkpot]

No problem.

If you ever have a question, need something identified, or get tired of chasing grasshoppers, let us know! :wink:

You are going to be hopping yourself, before long, with all the buggies you need to catch to fill those little tummies. :lol:

 

[BeardedDragon6]

I always thought that when their beards are all black then they got 1 yr old :lol: :lol:

 

[LilStinkpot]

I always thought that when their beards are all black then they got 1 yr old :lol: :lol:

Ha ha!

Naw, if his beard is all black, it usually means he's pizzed, hurtin' or hormonal.
Correct me folks if I'm wrong, but I think we can get full black beards at about 6-8 months. :study:

 

[CataclysmKitten]

When Zeus's throat got all black and poofy once, I was seriously intimidated. HAHA
Beardies can be evil little buggers. Ha.

 

[diamc]

Actually, full black beards can start as young as 5 mo old, yes, puberty can hit that young.

 

[LilStinkpot]

Actually, full black beards can start as young as 5 mo old, yes, puberty can hit that young.

Well, I was close! :lol:

I don't remember Teddy's first black beard, it's so infrequent. I do remember his first attempt; it was a spotty marbled beard. Ohhhh, he thought he looked so.... Macho. LOL! :roll: He was trying to boss me into putting him up on the windowsill. The mottled-beard plus the body-bobs made quite a sight, LOL! :mrgreen: