I got Fred last week and he was like 8 inches long when we brought him home. We just did an official measurement and he is exactly 9.5 inches in length. How fast can they grow?
They grow pretty fast for the first year. That's how they're able to get to the 18-22" range. What determines the growth is proper lighting, feeding and bathing. Sounds like Fred is growing at a good rate!
I got Spirit on Valentine's Day when she was about 6 weeks old, she is now 6 months old and is 18 inches long and very chunky lol. She will eat anything I give her for the most part and I think that is why she is so big. My 2 yr old dragon is fatter than Spirit but the same length as her. Now my male dragon who is like 10 mons old never started eating veggies until he was about 8 months old and is 19 inches long but slender. I have recorded a growth of 4 inches in one month in both Shep and Spirit. So I guess my answer is they can grow fast or they can grow slow but I do think it depends on what they eat and how they are taken care of.