How old is my bearded Dragon?????

[Tyromy]

http://imgur.com/uxCJTFK

http://imgur.com/GeQddVf

Hey can anyone tell me how old my bearded dragon is? I got him form petsmart about a week ago and i dont know how old he is. Also, when is it ok to use sand in the cage for him and can i feed him mealworms yet ?

 

[zandi202]

It's easier to guesstamate the age with a snout to tip of tail length.

1. Personally, I would never use sand. Beardies lick everything, including the sand and can risk getting an impaction from it and it is also very unsanitary as compared to carpet, shelf liner, tiles, and paper towels.

2. Mealworms are not good to feed them with. Crickets, dubia, phoenix/calci/repti worms, horn worms (baby size), and silk worms (baby size) are the live feeders you will want to get him. Mealworms have a hard exoskeleton and is hard for them to digest which can also cause impaction.

 

[jamesk189]

Yeah you cant really tell the excact age to be honest but you could have a okish guess. How long is he from the tip of his head to the bottom of his tail?

 

[Tyromy]

He is about seven and half inches long. What kinds of food would be good to feed him? Should i hold off on alive food?

 

[zandi202]

It's easier to guesstamate the age with a snout to tip of tail length.

2. Mealworms are not good to feed them with. Crickets, dubia, phoenix/calci/repti worms, horn worms (baby size), and silk worms (baby size) are the live feeders you will want to get him. Mealworms have a hard exoskeleton and is hard for them to digest which can also cause impaction.

As babies, their diet is 80% live feeders and 20% greens. You don't want to hold off on feeding live ones. At that length I would guess him to be 5 weeks old maybe?

 

[Killzone3265]

5-7 weeks old is my guess. can you tell us your tank set up aswell? and what you have been feeding him? just to see if you have everything just about right for your lil buddy

 

[KristineM]

Answering these questions is very helpful. It will allow others to offer the best advice.

1. How old is your dragon?

2. How long have you had your dragon?

3. How long is your dragon?

4. What is the sex of your dragon?

5. What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?

6. What type substrate do you have on the bottom of your tank?

7. Do you use UVB lights?

8. If so, Is it a coil, compact, fluorescent tube, or Mercury Vapor bulb?

9. What is the brand name and number of your bulb? Wattage (if MVB)?

10. How old is your UVB bulb?

11. How close can your dragon get to the UVB?

12. Do you use a separate basking bulb? What kind and what is the wattage? Is it a white or colored bulb?

13. What are the basking temps?

14. What is the cool side temp?

15. Do you take the temps with a stick on thermometer, a digital thermometer with a wire and a probe end or a temp gun?

16. Where exactly are you taking your basking temps?

17. Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?

18. What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.

19. How often do you feed and what time do you feed (morning, afternoon, night)?

20. Do you gutload (feed) your crickets, worms, etc?

21. Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)? How many days a week do you use each of them?

22. Is your dragon having regular bowel movements (poops)?

23. Do you bath your dragon? How often?

24. Do you mist your dragon or offer water other than in the bath?

25. Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

26. Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?

Check out these sites:

Feeding: http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html

Lighting/Temps:
viewtopic.php?f=34&t=148006

Good luck, seems like a lot but will certainly make it easier to determine if any changes or suggestions should be made

 

[Sauzo]

7.5 inches is about 2 months old assuming he/she has not been stunted by holding back food or no UVB or heat lamp. Basically anything that could stunt the growth. Gotta also remember, beardies will go through growth spurts and they all grow at different rates like people although there is an "average" which is why I say yours is prolly around 2 months old.

 

[sjsexotics]

from what I have been told petsmart and petco order there dragons at 4 to 5 weeks which is normally the earliest any breeder will ship them out they want them as young as they can get them because small sells. so from the looks I and info Im going with 5 weeks

 

[Sauzo]

5 weeks and 7.5 inches is pretty big. I mean unless his/her parents were german giants or he/she was a very dominate one, I just can't see it. Not saying it's not possible or that people are wrong but coming from a "lizard mill" and then going to a petsmart which in my area don't have the optimum set up, I just don't see it. I have no doubt that sjsexotics is right about petsmart getting em at 4-5 weeks. I've seen some really tiny ones at petco and petsmart which imo were too small to even sell. Now maybe the one you got was at petsmart for awhile? Did you ask em how long they had him/her for? That would help as well. Regardless, in the end, it really boils down to as long as you like the beardie and he/she is happy and healthy, that's what really matters. It's all speculation since trying to age a beardie by it's length is a very inaccurate method since each one grows at different rates and there are too many factors to stunt that growth as I posted above. Only real accurate way is to actually talk to the breeder.