Ideal weight?

[cvel]

Hi guys,
I took my 12 month beardie to my reptile vet for a check up. Overall vet said healthy and no parasites etc. But he did mention she was getting towards being over weight, which was odd because I thought she was under weight.

She is 34cm long, and 333grams.

Temps and uvb lighting all good. I use the T5 UVB 12%.

Feeding:
Just changed feeding insect (grub pie) to 4 times a week
and vegetables still daily.

Eats mainly kale (it’s all good guys), Endives, watercress, butternut squash for vegetables.

 

[bayoupig5]

Personally, I think she looks great, she is definitely not underweight. She does not look overweight either. She does have a little fat pad by her armpit that I can see, and her beard seems to have some retained fat as well. But I think this is overall healthy. Her tummy looks full, but to me not overly so, besides she is squishing herself on a branch, so it is a little harder to gauge.

I would be cautious about letter her gain too much more though. For her size and overall condition now, I think she is perfect.

Keep in mind that dragon weight is not the correct gauge when determining the overall size of what your dragon should be. They are all so different is length, and body shape and weight alone to compare to other dragons is not accurate. I have three at home, one is about 378 grams and he is probably as big as he should ever be. My second is 433, and she could stand to use more, and my third is a beast at 610 grams, but she is an unusually robust dragon, definitely not the norm, and she is put on a diet with less feeders being offered lately.

 

[MarlowAndMe]

Marlow’s 332grams and 30cm (15”) 12months old in 2weeks.
Cvel your dragon and my dragon are both small for their age length wise at their age from all I’ve been told here when I’ve asked about Marlow’s length and weight. I was told he likely will not reach 22” at full grown- maybe not quite 18”- will have to see. The weight they are seems average to 10month olds from the data I was given here on my old post
But it varies greatly. 500grams on one dragon might be extremely obese - yet 500g on another might be perfect.

 

[CooperDragon]

I agree, she looks healthy in those photos to me as well. There isn't really an ideal weight as long as they have well developed muscles and enough fat storage (this is often but not always on top of their head or at the base of their tail). She doesn't look overweight to me either which would look like belly dragging on the floor, very saggy beard, etc. I'll bet she will grow a bit in length and then add a bit more weight but she is likely to stay in the 400-500g range if I had to guess.