Since dragons can range in length and weight by so much, it's hard to say oh your dragon should weight exactly this much... so how do you tell if a dragon is at a healthy weight? Mine is about 17.5 inches and 340g, she's gained 10g in the last 10 days which the vet says is on the low end but she's going through antibiotics due to starting signs of a respiratory infection. She's towards the end now and doing far, FAR better as far as activity, basking, and eating goes.
Anyways, here's a picture. What should I be looking for?
I like to keep a log of weight and chart it out (excel or google sheets etc work well for this). It helps compare weight trends and see how their own weight compares to past weight. Stable or increasing is usually good. When I look at photos of them I usually check their arms and legs to see if the muscles are well developed. I look at the area around their eyes to see if the skin looks sunken in which may indicate illness. I look at the top of their head for the fat pads to be full rather than sunken. I also look at the spine along the base of their tale for the same fat padding.
Padding around the body looks fine. Her legs seem developed for a female, which from what I could tell seem a little less toned than males. Vet said she should gain more weight than she has been, like I said 10g over 10 days. I dont think she's underweight overall at 340g. She certainly doesnt look underweight.
I am curious about the extra fat that appears under her beard upon occasion though
She looks healthy to me too so I wouldn't worry about it. Their beards can be looser at times. I think it's more just loose skin by design rather than fat deposits there. They are able to control the tension on the skin along their beards to an extent.
Alright, thanks. Im gonna see if I can pick up a better scale for her, havent been able to weigh her myself since she was ~100g I dont even remember how long ago.
The loose skin seems to appear there on days where she eats far less than usual.
Thick tail...fat pads on the head...body looks rounded...no bones...good muscular legs. She is fine. Ive never weighed any of mine to be honest...they all grow and develop differently and really I dont worry about their weights that much. My new rescue is underweight...his legs arent well developed and he has a thinner tail and small pads of fat on his head. I can also feel ribs....I just feed him more he gains weight.
I understand that they grow differently, hence asking for signs to.look for rather than a healthy weight. Ive seen seemingly healthy dragons ranging from high 200s to low 700s, so its hard to say for sure rather than do they appear and act healthy