growth rate?

[Sangster]

I'm pretty new here and to BD keeping. I brought Spike home from Petco on June 15 and he was 8" long. He had only been there for a day, so he was still fat and happy, active, etc...etc. So it's been a bit over a month and he now measures 10.5" long. Is that a normal growth rate? 1.5" in a month? He gets a salad every morning and generally finishes most of it off by the end of the day. He gets about 20-30 1/2" crickets in the morning and same thing in the evening. I don't know his exact age, but my best guess is 11-12 weeks old.

The reason for my question about growth rate is I have him in a 30 gallon aquarium and I'm wondering how long it will be before i need to build a permanent (adult size) viv. My plan is a 4' x 4' x 2' viv, and from what I'm reading here that seems to be sufficient for an adult. How long before the 30 gal tank will be too small?

I know...I know....what are the setup specs.....lol:

-30 gallon tank
-reptile carpet from Petco
-warm bath 3-4 times per week
-40-60 1/2" crickets per day
-mixed greens salad every day (mustard greens, collard greens, turnip greens, yellow squash, zuccini)
-65w household flood light for bask light (100-109 bask temp), 75-80 cold side temp, warm side not in the basking spot is approx 90 degrees
-temps measured with digital gauge w/probe (one on the basking spot w/rubber band to hold in place, another on the cold side)
-UVB light is a new ReptiSun 10.0 tube (closest distance he can get is approx 10 inches away)
-he poops 1-2 times per day
-he has shed 2 times in the month I've had him

 

[andkenz2290]

i can't tell you as an expert or anything as i'm fairly new to beardie keeping (i've had my boy since april) but i'll just tell you from my experience: my beardie is about 13 inches at almost five months old, i just moved him to his bigger viv but i'm pretty sure he could've stayed in the other 20 gal long tank for a while longer. i only bought the new one now because a friend wanted to use the old viv for his leopard gecko so he didn't have to buy a new one and i new draco needed to be in a bigger one eventually...i'm pretty sure you can have them in their smaller tanks until theyre around seven months or so. but of course the question is will they still be HAPPY in a smaller tank? just do whats best for your lil baby!

 

[fireyflirt84]

I got my little girl when she was 2 months old and only 5.5 inches May 18th.....Now July 22end she is over 11in so I would start on a new home as soon as possible if u are building it.

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

With the way you are feeding your beardie will probably continue to grow at least an inch every month so I would start as soon as possible on the viv. These projects can take quite a while especially if you are doing it yourself. Mine was 6" when I brought her home had grown out of her 20 gallon long w/in 5 months. She was spending allot of time out of her viv, but I felt guilty. Now she has a beardie mansion.