Growing??

[Jleamcgee]

I have a 10 month old female beardie named mushu. She is my little precious baby and I love her more than life. I've been keeping a growth chart and I noticed that her growth rapidly spiked then slowed down a lot. She is only 9 3/4 inches long, should she be bigger? She had a calcium deficiency for a little while that I have corrected but she's still not growing at all. I checked her lighting and her temps are good, cool side around 80 and hot side about 95-100 depending on the spot. She has always been tiny when I got her she was only about 4.5". Please help!

 

[AHBD]

Hi there, can you post a few pics of her as well as the tank set up + lights ? Here's how :

https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ Then use the XIMG to upload pics

She is quite small but might catch up a bit with a few adjustments. It's also possible that she'll never grow to be a big dragon due to her past condition but if you add a variety of insects to her diet, maybe it will help. She can still be a reasonably healthy dragon even if she isn't a big girl.

 

[EllenD]

I agree that she is quite small for a 10 month old beardie. My female beardie just turned 6 months old yesterday, and from the tip of her snout to the tip of her tail she is just under 16" long. Your Beardie's stunted growth is most likely due to the calcium deficiency you say she had, but also is most likely due to improper lighting and/or temperatures and setup. It's quite common unfortunately, as people are given such horrible information about proper lighting and habitat by pet store employees and even backyard breeders that don't have a clue what they're talking about.

Please tell us about your Beardie's enclosure, lighting, temperatures, and daily diet ASAP, as even if you can't correct her stunted growth (which I think you can), you need to get her habitat corrected to prevent further health issues, such as MBD.

 

[Jleamcgee]

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/52521/full

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/52520/full

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/52522/full

https://www.beardeddragon.org/media/52519/full

This is her and her tank setup. Notice she does have a stub tail, which is partially why she has less length on her.

 

[Chula]

What about UVB lighting?

 

[Jleamcgee]

I have it, it's the light on the left.

 

[EllenD]

What brand, shape, and model UVB light do you use? If it is a compact (regular lightbulb shaped) or a coil UVB bulb and not a long tube then she is not getting the correct wavelength or amount of UVB light. She needs a Reptisun 10.0 T8 tube that is inside of the lid and between 6-8" away from her basking spot, or a Reptisun 10.0 T5 High-Output Tube that can be on top of the lid and 12" away from her basking spot. She also needs her basking spot to be at 103-105 degrees Fahrenheit. Without the proper UVB light and basking temps, plus calcium at least 5 times a week and a good multivitamin 4 times a week, she cannot process her Calcium or her nutrition, and she won't grow...