Growth of "undersized" BD

[Mads]

Okay, so some of you may've come across my threads about my new BD, I'm a newbie when it comes to these guys so I've got massive gaps in my knowledge about this species.

I got my BD a little over 2 weeks ago, and since it's settled down it's got a great appetite (after a week of the 'not hungrys')...

Now, I measured it when it first came home and it was about 7.5-8 inches, I have since been back to the store and asked the approx hatching date and they reckon it was around mid Feb, that makes it 6 months old. Now to all of you in the know you've pointed out some charts that some breeder has posted up which indicates that my BD should have been around 8 weeks (2 months) old.. I was wondering what may have caused my BD to not 'keep up' with healthy growth patterns, could it be that it was malnourished, and if this is so, is there any long term effects that starvation at an early age can induce? -Or is there any other cause that can retard growth of BDs?

In the last week my BD has grown to 9 inches, that's 1-1.5 inches, does this sound healthy? Is it faster than average? Could it be 'catching up' with growth, or is it normal and the LRS was telling porkies about it's hatch-date?

Thanks for your time and knowledge.
Madeleine.

 

[peera]

Well, the pet store could have lied to you, or it could be the result of being malnourished.
My little girl was 9 months, 9 inches, and 40 grams when I got her (From a family who had had her since she was 3 months, so even if they were mistaken about how old she was, still at least 7 months old). She is now 17 months, 14 inches, and 185 grams. Still very tiny for her age. I believe it was malnutrition that contributed to her tiny size, she was only getting about 5 crickets every other day or so. Her growth skyrocketed as soon as I started feeding her as much as she deserved.
1 1/2 inches in a week is rather a lot for a 6 month old, but it could just be catching up. Only time will tell what will happen with your dragon. In the meantime, baby it and give it all the food it wants!

 

[Delshara]

My little baby was 10" and "about a year old" when we got him three months ago. He was also malnourished and skinny. Sharing 12 crickets a day amongst four beardies in the same tank. And he was the smallest! We are lucky that he didn't have MBD or parasites.

He ate like a madman (still does) and now he's 17". I'm hoping that he will grow some more but it's slowed down recently.

So yes, malnourishment could be a huge factor in your little one's growth. It means that she will be eating A LOT for you once you have the proper husbandry set up. And you'll definitely need to order bugs online to save money.

 

[gulfbrzdawn]

I agree with the above posters! Proper nutrition goes a long way in the health of a beardie. The set up also plays a vital role( uvb, temps, etc....).

Honestly, most of those pet stores don't have a clue as to how old those beardies are. Your beardie could actually be younger than quoted by the pet store. Alot of times the breeders that some of the petstores get their beardies from lie about the hatch date. That way there is no friction from anyone about them selling them to the petstore at too young of an age.

I wouldn't worry so much about the age.The fact that your beardie is eating well and showing definite signs of growing..... means you are doing a great job!

We would love to see a pic of your little one!

 

[fresnowitte]

Many..many things can play into the factor with beardie growth rates...there are genetics....husbandry...diet...overall health...stress....and....let me share another thing that
can play a roll in beardies growth rate. If the mother has been treated for coccidia or parasites
during the time she may become or is gravid this too can affect the growth rate of an unborn
baby well after it has hatched....For instance Bender who has always lived alone never had
clutchmates(vet couldn't say if eggs would be affected so only kept Bender's egg)...has always had an excellent
diet and he utilizes it....never been on particle substrate....clean fecals no parasites...etc... is almost 10 months old an only just over 12 inches long...all of the other babies ever parented by the parents of Bender were on an average large babies.

Small beardies can be happy and healthy with proper care.

Most definitely would love to see pic's. Hint...hint! :wink:

 

[Mads]

Thanks to all who have replied, and yes, I will get round to posting some more pics I took of my little one, but I've been trying to upload them to p-bucket all morning and it keeps failing, I've got to go out, so I'll try uploading later.... if you want to see my little one, I've got some pics that I posted in the Introductions forum from the first day I got him/her. It's become a lot more colourful since it has settled in, and is showing some bright reds down its sides and behind its ears...

 

[Mads]

Finally I've got some pics uploaded...

http://www.beardeddragon.org/forums/viewtopic.php?f=30&t=109920

the first pic is the first day I got it, the rest were taken the day I started this thread.

Little blighter is now 9 1/2 inches.. I'm wondering how the heck it can grow this fast, maybe I've got a shrinking ruler?? That must be it, surely it'd have needed to shed many times between being 8 inches and 9 1/2?? -It's only shed twice since I got it, and the first shed was on the day I got it. :S

 

[sweetiepie9]

I agree that previous husbandry can cause stunted growth, or like Barbara said, if the mom was on meds when the egg was laid. We have 2 10-mo old beardies, Issy had parasites & is under treatment, she didn't grow for a whole month before we finally got her to a vet. Once she was on medication, she started to eat again and gained a bunch of weight & started growing again. She's still tiny comparied to Rubio. She's about 16" long & weight just over 200grams. Rubio, on the other hand, is huge, he's 20" long and weighs 620grams. They're from different breeders, but were in the same pet shop. They were both injured as babies (Issy lost alot of her tail & Rubio lost digits on his right hand and foot) and were tiny and undernourished when we brought them home. Being in a better environment and getting lots of food made a huge difference and they started growing. So your little guy is probably in the same boat, with lots of food and love he's growing to make up for lost time. He's such a cutie, he'll probably surprise you with his growth. They grow lots until about a year, then slow down, but Sweetie, who we've had for 3 yrs, grew another inch during her 2nd year. So keep up the good work and welcome to our wonderful forum

 

[Mads]

Thanks sweetiepie9, it's nice to hear that my BD may 'catch up' now I've got it on a better diet and treated with proper husbandry. It's nice to hear everyones stories, it's helping me 'catch up' myself on what these little guys are all about. :study: I took BD (it's name is Frankie, or Dolarhyde) out into the sun this morning, as the sun had some warmth in it, and Frankie's red is really starting to poke through the brownish juvenile colouring. that makes me very happy (frankies' supposed to be a red phase)

 

[sweetiepie9]

Keep us posted with pics, we all love pics. I'm so glad he's doing to well. (((((((HUGS))))))) to Frankie from our 5, Lonzo with a black beard, Rubio with a black beard (it's just for show, they're both cuddle bunnies) and bobs from Sweetie, Issy and Angel, cause they really like to see pics of other dragons!!

Deborah and my zoo (including my hubby!)

 

[beardie parents]

We are not sure how old Speedy is but my guess is she was about 4 to 6 months old when we got her because, even tho she was the size of a baby, she was sexable. She is now more than a year old, we are sure of that as her beard is starting to grow longer, kind of like Redrock's did after she turned one year. She seems to be stuck at 15 and 1/8 inches long. This is because she didn't have any uvb until we got her.

Here is a picture of her the first night we got her.

These are from a day or two before we got her

Here is a picture of her recently

So they can grow but they may not be as long as they normally would be otherwise.