beardie size

[thacarter]

I have been on this site for about 1.5 months now, i got a beardie when he/she was about 6 weeks old and only about 4 inches maybe, now it is about 4 months old, not sure exactly because i got him/her at a pet store. hes about 9 inches today, i have been reading and seeing that some 4 month olds are 14+ inches! :shock: is mine going to be ok? just ordered some dubai today. i just recently built a 4x2x2 crossfire viv with a 36" reptisun 10.0

also, i have two bulbs that i have been trying to get the right temps with.

90w flood = basking 115+, cool side 90+
75w bulb from pet store kit = 99 basking, 84 cool side

which is better?

 

[gwookkim]

ur beardie might just have that genetics where it grows a bit slower. ive seen beardies that had stunted growth throughout their entire life. and maxed out at like 16 inches or something like that. and i think a beardie that is 4 months old to be 14 inches is really really really big. like almost ridiculous. that means that the beardie was growing.... almost an inch per week?! there would be shedding like every other day. i dont think its possible, but hey, who am i to say.
my beardie sheds every 2 weeks, and he's growing something like an inch and a half every month? some people think thats slow and some people think its fast. i feel like its slow. beardies are supposed to keep growing even past a year old. so i think you're fine.
how much is your beardie eating a day?
oh and i think ur 75 watt is the more appropriate temperature for your beardie. 115 is way to hot for a juvenile.
and i think another thing that might be slowing ur beardies growth maybe the tank size. ive heard that an enclosure too big can actually stress a beardie out and stun their growth.

 

[thacarter]

he is not eating too much right now because he was just put in the new viv, so the large viv cant really be the reason for small size either. about a week ago he was eating around 20-30 crix a day with maybe 2 wax worms, still not eating the greens that have been offered, but im hoping he will soon

 

[FATBOYDADRAGON]

Not sure i agree with the statement to large enclosure will stunt a beardies growth
Te-boy was purchased on 09/11/09 3 weeks old 4 1/8th inches long (yea i'm a machinist LOL)
Fatboy (RIP) past away at 3 yrs old for unknown reasons.
Anyway when i purchased TE-BOY it was obvious the 4x2x2 was to big for him.
I took my 20 gallon long and set it inside the 4x2x2 one end under the mega-ray.
He lived like this for about 1 month .
I could see he was really growing and having to feed and clean the 20 long was a hassel.
Finally i decided to take Te-boy out the 20 and let him have fun in his new mansion 4x2x2
He loves it,
He is a citrus male and at 3 months is 8 inches long
So 9 inches at 4 months sounds about normal.
14 inches at 4 months does sound ridiculos
Have fun with your Dragon and they do go through growth spurts.
Seems Fatboy would grow about 1 1/2 inchs in 2 weeks then maybe 1 /2 inch the next to weeks
Hope this helps
Mike D

 

[Jess]

I think your guy sounds pretty normal My 4 month old is only 10 1/4 inches, so he isnt too much different from yours. He grows about 1/2 inch per week.
My Wink is a rescue, and he was originally from Petco, wich isnt exactly known for amazing genetics in their animals. He also has medical issues that might be causing him to grow slower...
Sorry, Im kinda rambling now LOL!
But anyways, I would just make sure to feed him in a seperate container, because the crickets will be really hard for the little guy to find if you are letting them loose is such a huge viv.
They also have some growth charts on the Beautiful Dragons site that made me feel better about my babys size!

 

[thacarter]

thanks guys, makes me feel alot better, i fed him his crickets in his old tank yesterday and it worked out good, getting a shipment of dubai today or monday so ill be done with crix anyway, plus he ate some greens for the first time yesterday :mrgreen: and he/she is starting to be more active in the new huge viv! you guys are awesome :headbang:

heres a few pics i took of carter in the last few days

shed #2

basking

nice colors after shed

eating his veggies!