Beardie not growing yet appears healthy.

[aperson120]

Hello
About 5 months ago I adopted a beardie from an acquaintance of mine because his landlord did not allow him to have two beardies (he has a massive beardie, 22''). My acquaintance had originally got him from a petstore for free because the beardie has aggression issues. When I got him I was immediately shocked by how small he was (he is now 1.5 years). He is only 11 inches long! The friend I got him from never mistreated him and the beardie has always had great care. I still have the set-up he came with. Proportionally the little guy is perfect, just very small. He eats like a horse (about 20-30 crickets a day) and horks back veg like no tomorrow. He is very alert, goes outside, runs around, has chubby legs. All in all a very happy bearded dragon. However he has not grown since he was six months. Does anyone know why he is not growing? He is about the size of a healthy six month old dragon.

Here is his set-up
Age: 1.5 years (but I have owned him for 5 months)
1 30 galleon tank
1 100 watt exo-terra heat bulb
1 repti-sun 10 uvb
1 basking rock (among other accessories)
drinks for a light spray bottle every morning (he LOVES it) on my hand
eats kale, collards, raspberries, blueberries, carrots, apple, squash etc
has powdered vitimins and calcium.
Has silk worms, wax worms, phoenix worms as treats
hot side: 105-110
cool side 80-86
in the summer he goes outside almost every day
Lights on at 8:30am and off a 8pm

Why is he not growing?
I would really appreciate some thoughts.

 

[Gail]

Its possible he is from a small bloodline or maybe a rankins/dragon cross. Can you post good clear pictures of his whole body from the top? Size isn't anything to worry about as long as he is healthy and it sounds like your little guy is just fine

 

[spyder79]

If he had aggression issues that means fighting with housemates at the pet store. Does he still have his full tail?

 

[aperson120]

Yes he has a full tail (it is actually way longer then his body).I guess it is possible that he is from a small bloodline....

Thanks for the ideas, I really am stumped.

 

[spyder79]

would you post a picture please?

 

[dragonlady04]

If he is not a rankins cross, my first guess would be parasites. He is obviously eating alot of protein but not growing which is a perfect example of what parasites can do. They could be eating all the nutrients that your dragon is taking in. Me and my daughter both bought a dragon from the same breeder, after about 8-10 mos mine weighed in at over 350 grams, hers was 125. She brought it to the vet for a fecal and they found 3 different types of parasites. After treatments and additional protein, she did eventually grow into a 450 gr adult. We're assuming she picked up her parasites from crickets that she purchased at a local pet supermarket.

 

[spyder79]

Actually it sounds like a runt or (as it appears to have been coined as of late) a 'dwarf' dragon. The tail length tends to greatly exceed the body length and the body appears slightly compressed or stumpy. Thats why i asked for a photo.

 

[BeardieNewbie15]

I also have a small bearded dragon who I purchased off of someone who could no longer afford to care for her. I was told she was just over a year old and she measures 13 inches, but like your beardie she eats like a monster, has a great setup, gets her calcium & such! Not to take away from the original post, but I would like to see what peoples ideas are on the subject.

 

[aperson120]

He is REALLY stumpy! For example his face is stubby--I will post a picture as soon as I can--(they are all locked on my brothers computer he protects with a password).

Thanks so much
I am going to test for parasites-one question though--If it was parasites would they last as long as a year?

 

[spyder79]

I also have a small bearded dragon who I purchased off of someone who could no longer afford to care for her. I was told she was just over a year old and she measures 13 inches, but like your beardie she eats like a monster, has a great setup, gets her calcium & such! Not to take away from the original post, but I would like to see what peoples ideas are on the subject.

Depends on the body makeup of your dragon. It could also be a runt dragon like what i suspect the OPs dragon is.

He is REALLY stumpy! For example his face is stubby--I will post a picture as soon as I can--(they are all locked on my brothers computer he protects with a password).

Thanks so much
I am going to test for parasites-one question though--If it was parasites would they last as long as a year?

I have never personally seen a parasite case stretched that long (especially not without severe emmaciation/weigh loss)

 

[spyder79]

look at the photos on this page
http://www.bloodbankdragons.com/photos/PhotoAlbum.asp
Is that what your dragon looks like.

 

[BeardieNewbie15]

I'm pretty sure Sheila is NOT a dwarf. Her body to tail length is fairly similar...here are a few pics of her
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=123532&hilit=

 

[spyder79]

I'm pretty sure Sheila is NOT a dwarf. Her body to tail length is fairly similar...here are a few pics of her
viewtopic.php?f=30&t=123532&hilit=

How old is she? She has a pretty pronounced underbite. If she is older its possible her stunted growth is due to lack of proper nutrition/calcium at a younger age (during the time when their skeletal structure is forming). But you are right she is overall small not dwarfed. Your female appears to have had her growth stunted by some issues from earlier on in her life.

 

[BeardieNewbie15]

I was told she was just over a year old (in december, when i purchased her from her previous owner) I know that she wasn't taken care of properly...she was very lathargic when I got her and she didn't come with any calcium or vitamin powder. There were hundreds of dead crickets under her tank 'carpet' (repti carpet or whatever its called) and NONE of them were dusted. There was also no trace of veg in her tank. And yes...i rather enjoy her underbite it adds character!

 

[spyder79]

I was told she was just over a year old (in december, when i purchased her from her previous owner) I know that she wasn't taken care of properly...she was very lathargic when I got her and she didn't come with any calcium or vitamin powder. There were hundreds of dead crickets under her tank 'carpet' (repti carpet or whatever its called) and NONE of them were dusted. There was also no trace of veg in her tank. And yes...i rather enjoy her underbite it adds character!

The underbite is typically a sign of missformed bone growth due to lack of calcium/uv. So to answer your initial question no she isnt a dwarf but she will never grow to full size either. Im still waiting to see a picture of aperson's dragon.