Is my dragon growing normally?

[BuddytheDragon]

Hello, I am hoping u can help with my problem.
I bought my dragon (Buddy) around 5 months ago, I did not know his exact age when i got him but we estimated because of size, that he was around 1 month old!
5 months down the line he has grown quite a bit, however when i look on the forums and images on google all 6 month old beardies look HUGE compared to little Buddy.Buddy is around 5.7 inches from tip to tail!!!!!!Is this normal for a 5-6 month old dragon??It is starting to worry me that he may be stunted or worse.Please help and give some averages below.

Many thanks.

 

[CooperDragon]

They all grow at different rates and some have growth spurts closer to a year or beyond. If he is active and alert and otherwise seems OK I wouldn't worry about it. Can you post some photos of him? You can upload photos here https://www.beardeddragon.org/useruploads/ and post them to your thread using the XIMG button when you reply.

 

[BuddytheDragon]

Thankyou very much for reply.

Here are 4 photos of him. The ones with light background are from abot 1 month ago and other 2 from today.

 

[CooperDragon]

He looks healthy but is a bit skinny, especially around the base of his tail. What does he usually eat and how much does he eat?

 

[BuddytheDragon]

He looks healthy but is a bit skinny, especially around the base of his tail. What does he usually eat and how much does he eat?

Thanks again for reply and advice i will feed him more than usual tommrow. He eats medium sized hoppers or locusts and he eats 2 times a day , about 7-10 in each meal.

 

[CooperDragon]

That sounds like a good amount. He gets all he wants at each meal?

 

[BuddytheDragon]

That sounds like a good amount. He gets all he wants at each meal?

Truthfully, I never go over 13 a meal ,even if he wants more or seems too. Should i give his as much as he likes ? It seems although he wont grow but his belly does!!

 

[CooperDragon]

It really depends. The little guys can really eat a lot sometimes so I'd probably give him all he wants at least one of the meals.

 

[AHBD]

Buddy is pretty stunted but you can get him up to a decent size. Still, he will never be the size of a normal + healthy dragon. There is a ridge along his spine near his tail that is a slight MBD [ metabolic bone disease ] so yes, he should be much bigger and he should be fed more insects per day, roughly twice what he's getting now but not all in one meal and not with large bugs. What type of lights do you have ? This is very important to halt the MBD which can get worse pretty quickly.

 

[BuddytheDragon]

Buddy is pretty stunted but you can get him up to a decent size. Still, he will never be the size of a normal + healthy dragon. There is a ridge along his spine near his tail that is a slight MBD [ metabolic bone disease ] so yes, he should be much bigger and he should be fed more insects per day, roughly twice what he's getting now but not all in one meal and not with large bugs. What type of lights do you have ? This is very important to halt the MBD which can get worse pretty quickly.

Thanks, this has really saddened me as that littel ridge i have always thought to be just him but clearly not.Can MBD be reversed and what can i do to stop it! He is fed calcium every meal which is dusted on hoppers.I have a 10 UVA/B tube light and also a 2 UVB/A tube light in the cage, this has worried me and after examining Buddy thourghly now yes he does have quite a large bump connecting his tail to body.Any advice would help.

 

[AHBD]

I just looked at the pics again, he looks a lot longer than 5.7". Was that a typo and did you mean 15.7 " ? If so, then he is actually a good size by length but he is thin and does have a lump on his spine. He can still lead a relatively healthy life and do quite well for you.

Cooper probably caught that you meant 15.7" [ I'm sure he's not 5.7" anyway ] so he's right that the size is not too far off so as long as you can get his MBD under control he should be fine.

What exact type + brand of lights do you have, and can you post pics of them as well as the tank ? The type of bulb makes a huge difference. Getting him in the sun can make a difference as well if you can do so safely [ never in a glass tank, heat becomes lethal ]

 

[BuddytheDragon]

Yeah must have been a typo as I have checked just now and he’s around 12 inches , still a little small but could just be needing a few growth spurts?
I have took all your advice , feeding him one meal ‘ all he can eat’ , giving even more calcium than before , stoped feeding him kale , gave him time outside with me ( on my lap).
I will post pictures soon but I do live in UK so brands may differ. For heat it is a Exo-Terra spotlamp (100W) and his UVB tube lights are -a 2% Exp-Terra repti glow and a 10% of the same make + brand

 

[AHBD]

O.K., 12" is better. Good to hear that you got him out in the sun, keep that up when you can. Liquid calcium would be good if you can find some, but powdered will do if not. Kale is fine, old info used to say that it binds calcium but it's actually a good staple green.


The Reptiglo 10.0 is fine at 10" or closer, the 2.0 will just provide more light but no uvb will reach your dragon because it's a very weak bulb. Don't bother getting anymore of those. An Arcadia D3 12-14% bulb would be your best option for a tube uvb bulb though.

Can you post pics of his set up ?