Bearded Dragon Weight

[popsickle18]

I have seen weight ranges all over the place in peoples photos on the forum. There are some leaner beardies and others that look like complete chubsters! There is also everything in between. I know there is a weight recommendation for bearded dragons at their certain ages. Why all the differences between them?

The reason I am asking is because when I adopted my boy Kenny as an adult he looked pretty skinny to me and expressed a huge interest in food and was hungry all the time. He has now slowed down quite a bit. He has also put on weight since I got him and certainly since his adoption photos were taken.

Does he look alright? He looks to be about in the middle to me. His beard is so full and pretty now!

This is his adoption photo. These are possibly in April. His foster mom had him for a little while before I took interest in his online ad.

Here he is mid-June his first day in his forever home!

Here he is at the beginning of January 2014

As you can see he is noticeably different than his very first photo! Does he look alright weight wise to you? Any thoughts? Thank you!

 

[Taterbug]

He looks pretty good to me! Worlds better than the old picture.
They can be like any other animal, lean or chubby or "average." I look at tone and distribution of the pudge rather than just weight.

To me a healthy weight has nicely filled in head with plumpy fat pads on the head and base of the tail, as well as chunky legs. The boney areas and the hips in particular also shouldn't be bony or sunken.

 

[popsickle18]

He looks pretty good to me! Worlds better than the old picture.
They can be like any other animal, lean or chubby or "average." I look at tone and distribution of the pudge rather than just weight.

To me a healthy weight has nicely filled in head with plumpy fat pads on the head and base of the tail, as well as chunky legs. The boney areas and the hips in particular also shouldn't be bony or sunken.

Awesome! Thank you. I just wanted to make sure he wasn't getting too chubby. I also always look at the fat pads on their heads as a sign of a good weight. His were rather flat before and man did he have one heck of an appetite when I got him. I'm really pleased how he filled out . I wish I knew how old he is but he seems young to me, like 1-2 years at the most. He doesn't have the grumpy old man look yet haha :lol:

 

[Taterbug]

I think the pads under the arms and on the neck are the last to fill out, and more common in overweight dragons.

He has defiantly flourished in your care

 

[popsickle18]

I think the pads under the arms and on the neck are the last to fill out, and more common in overweight dragons.

He has defiantly flourished in your care

Ahh, okay. Good to know! I think he is probably at a good weight now. I was feeding him quite a bit more before to get him chubbier. Aww, thanks! I tried to give him the best care I could. This site certainly helped a lot with that.

I had a dragon for 10.5 years before he passed and was given a lot of incorrect information when I got him. Considering all of the things I was doing wrong I am surprised he lasted as long as he did. Puffy sure was a wonderful boy. (He is the first picture in my signature) He probably lasted so long because I loved him so much. It makes me so sad to hear all the false information given out by pet stores! People are depending on them to know how to take care of the animals they sell and they just don't seem to know much of anything.

 

[Loz333]

Ummm, what are fat pads?? What do I look for? I wanna see if my dragon is fat enough!

 

[popsickle18]

Ummm, what are fat pads?? What do I look for? I wanna see if my dragon is fat enough!

Fat pads are those little bumps on the top of their heads that form behind their eyes. They are even squishy to the touch when they are there. If there isn't much of a fat pad that is a leaner dragon. As they are growing they tend to be on the leaner side. They don't really fatten up to the fullest extent until they are adults, so around a year or so. What you have to be concerned about is sunken in fat pads. The dragon is usually underweight at that point or ill.

Here is an old post of it on this site that identifies it pretty clearly. I hope this helps!
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=178683

 

[Taterbug]

That thread is a great illustration it really is a shame how much misinformation is everywhere. Even how much is simply just made up. I think a lot of pet store employees maybe trying their best but get their information from the packaging, which is bogus. It's not as big a problem if it's the hardware store or something, but when lives are at stake it's a lot more frustrating.

The pads on the head can also help indicate if they are dehydrated, though I'm not sure how severely it needs it is before it shows up there.

 

[Loz333]

Ummm, what are fat pads?? What do I look for? I wanna see if my dragon is fat enough!

Fat pads are those little bumps on the top of their heads that form behind their eyes. They are even squishy to the touch when they are there. If there isn't much of a fat pad that is a leaner dragon. As they are growing they tend to be on the leaner side. They don't really fatten up to the fullest extent until they are adults, so around a year or so. What you have to be concerned about is sunken in fat pads. The dragon is usually underweight at that point or ill.

Here is an old post of it on this site that identifies it pretty clearly. I hope this helps!
viewtopic.php?f=6&t=178683

Thanks! that link is great! My dragon definitely has nice fat pads on her head!!

 

[Sauzo]

He looks fine. You want to check places like the base of the tail where it meets the body, sturdy, thick limbs, fat pads on the head, full neck, nice rounded tummy, and finally the beardie boobies. If those are all there, then your beardie is doing good. Another good test is if your beardie decides to do a swan dive off your shoulder onto your head and it feels like a brick a hit you, then you know your beardie is fat enough. :lol:

 

[popsickle18]

He looks fine. You want to check places like the base of the tail where it meets the body, sturdy, thick limbs, fat pads on the head, full neck, nice rounded tummy, and finally the beardie boobies. If those are all there, then your beardie is doing good. Another good test is if your beardie decides to do a swan dive off your shoulder onto your head and it feels like a brick a hit you, then you know your beardie is fat enough. :lol:

Thank you for your observation! Your last comment made me laugh so hard! :lol: He's definitely a brick now haha.