Big Jowls?

[aspenrose]

is there a specific reason as to why my beardies chin/neck has a lot of skin? it almost looks saggy but i’m not sure why it’s like this. help?

 

[kingofnobbys]

Normal , very common for healthy adult bearded dragons to big jowls, it's part of their charm.

I note some overbite on the lower jaw. How long has it been like that?

 

[aspenrose]

i don’t think it’s really an overbite. he likes to keep his mouth open sometimes whether it’s just open a little bit or gaping open. that’s just how he is. but it could be a overbite. i’m not positive.

 

[CooperDragon]

It looks like possibly an underbite or extended jaw but not too serious. If it has been that way for a while it may be from inadequate lighting or diet early in life.

As far as the saggy beard goes, I agree that it's fairly common, especially in older dragons. Just check it periodically to make sure he isn't storing food or water in there (it could rot if left for long periods) and to make sure he doesn't have any growths that could become problematic.

 

[aspenrose]

when he was younger, i will admit that i DID NOT have the uvb lighting. but i did get one and get it set up. he eats crickets with calcium on them and he actually loves lettuce and he eats mealworms. but i plan on getting a bigger tank for him as he is getting too big for it.

 

[CooperDragon]

A bigger tank is always helpful. Be sure to adjust the UVB lighting to match the new tank though, that's important. Calcium dusted crickets are good. He should probably move to a mainly vegetable diet if he's an adult though. It's great he likes lettuce. There are a lot of different kinds of healthy greens you can offer which he may enjoy along with his veges. I've had good luck with collard greens, turnip greens, bok choy, dandelion greens, and kale. My dragon loves chopped up yellow and green squash and sometimes chopped green bell pepper or green beans. Try to rotate based on what's fresh and offer as much variety as you can. I like to reference this list for ideas http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

 

[aspenrose]

thank you so much. ill start getting some fresh food in his diet to help him. is there any where specific you buy your greens from?

 

[aspenrose]

and if there was food in his beard, how do i get it out? when i rub it, it doesn’t feel like there’s food in there. just feels like extra skin. but i’d like to know if i ever ran into that situation.

 

[CooperDragon]

I get veges from the grocery store, co-op, or farmers market when that's open. It kind of varies depending on where I'm doing my regular grocery shopping and I just browse the available veges and pick out what looks freshest each week. I try to change it up as much as I can but stick with what looks fresh. I'm able to keep greens fresh for a very long time by cutting the stems out and putting the greens in a quart ziploc with a folded piece of paper towel and storing that in the bottom bin of the fridge. I put a date on the bag and can often keep greens fresh for a month.

As far as food in the beard goes you can sometimes see it when they open their mouth. If you move their beard around a bit with your finger it can bring it up and they'll start chewing it. If the beard just feels like loose skin though, that's a good thing and probably is just that.