My beardie's size

[Sashee]

Yoshi eats. He's not shy with his food. He does great with greens too. He knows he has to eat them in the morning and gets crix l8r in the day.

 

[AHBD]

All sorts of things factor in to influence the growth. How much and how often they are fed [ as was mentioned] what type of heat and UVB they are raised under, and also the parent dragons size and health. One thing to check on though, the fixture on your Zilla flourescent tube may have a plastic shield on it , with the bulb actually behind . In that case, no UVB would get through at all....just like a window filters out UVB and you can't put a dragon near a window to get the rays, even though the heat comes through a window, the UVB does not. So, if there is a plastic shield, it needs to be removed by cutting it out.

 

[Jess]

Yoshi eats. He's not shy with his food. He does great with greens too. He knows he has to eat them in the morning and gets crix l8r in the day.

Where did you buy him from? If you are doing everything right (And I'm pretty sure you are), it is probably just genetics. My little guy Wink was smaller than average for most of his life, but he eventually went through a growth spurt and ended up being 18" at about 10 months.

 

[Sashee]

Yoshi eats. He's not shy with his food. He does great with greens too. He knows he has to eat them in the morning and gets crix l8r in the day.

Where did you buy him from? If you are doing everything right (And I'm pretty sure you are), it is probably just genetics. My little guy Wink was smaller than average for most of his life, but he eventually went through a growth spurt and ended up being 18" at about 10 months.

I got him from a friend's debate professor. He breeds beardies, although Yoshi was given to him by someone else and that someone else didn't even know much about him. I know he's of Satyrday lines but that's all I know. LOL

 

[Valerie]

jess4921,
It is good to know that my little one may catch up one day. She is only 11 inches at 6 mos old yesterday!! I keep hoping she will get a move on with her size.LOL
Valerie

 

[Jess]

He breeds beardies, although Yoshi was given to him by someone else and that someone else didn't even know much about him.

Well, that is probably the cause of his smallness then. I'm sure he will catch up, remember that they don't stop growing until they are around 2 years old!

@Valerie: I think Wink was only around 13" at that age, so don't worry too much. :wink:

 

[Valerie]

jess,
Now I'm a bit worried because yours was 13 inches and mine is actually 11 1/2 inches.
Valerie

 

[Jess]

An inch and a half isn't that big of a deal, they are still pretty close. I was looking at some growth charts on Beautiful Dragons, and there was another beardie who was 12" @ 6 months.
As long as you have the right setup, are feeding him well, and your dragon appears healthy, there isn't anything to worry about. They all grow at different rates, and some just end up being smaller than others. I've heard of well cared for beardies that only get 16", and others that get 24" +. It doesn't mean that there is anything wrong with the little 16" beardies, that's just how they were meant to be. Just like people have different heights and stuff too.

 

[Valerie]

I know that but I just wish she were happier. She is the one that when she was younger was skittish and would hiss and bite. She is past taht but now there are times when she gets stressed out or is still skittish. I sometimes wonder if that is why she is small, from stress and all. I guess because the other one we have is larger and seems to be happier and more relaxed.

I know she may always be small but her tail is nice and fat looking so I know she is fine but I still worry about her.
Valerie

 

[Unknownhope]

My 11 month old is 20 inches long... I hope that replacing your UVB helps out your little one.

 

[FBradshaw]

The zilla UVB doesn't put out enough UVB for a beardie...

That information is actually incorrect. The Zilla 50 series desert bulbs put out way too much UVB as the 50 stands for 50% just as the 10.0 on Repti-Suns stand for 10%. However they do need to be changed every 6 months or so because the UVB output seriously diminishes over time. The Zilla bulb you are using has been known to cause eye and skin issues because the UVB output is so high. A much safer and better alternative would be the Repti-Sun 10.0 or the Repti-Glo 10.0 full tube bulbs.

Now as far as why you're beardie is a little on the small side....you said you're feeding him crickets every other day....at 1 year old he should still be getting live feeders at least once a day and should be getting fed as many as he can eat in a 10 to 15 minute period. How long have you had him on the every other day schedule? How many are you offering per feeding? Up until beardies are about 9 months old or so they should be eating live feeders 2 or 3 times a day and as many as they can eat in a 10 to 15 minute period for each feeding, meaning they should be eating between 50 to 100 crickets a day. The lack of live feeders means a lack of protein which is essential to the growth of a young beardie.

My 7 month old is currently 17 1/2" long and eats around 100 reptiworms a day and a large bowl of salad every day with the occasional fruit treat.

I still don't agree with the Zilla however, even if it does give off enough UVB, it will not do that for a year...

Believe me I don't agree with it either, it's been causing serious problems because it puts out way too much UVB and has way too high of a UVI.

 

[cook]

Inappropriate comment removed by moderator. If you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all...........

 

[Jess]

i love hearing about reptile owners who never researched or took proper care of their pet.

Well, that's why we are here to help, isn't it? :wink: A lot of people (including me in the past) trust that all pet store employees know what they are talking about and have the best interest of your pet in mind. Sometimes you don't realize that they don't know anything until the damage has already been done.
Making sarcastic remarks doesn't help anyone, especially since the OP has realized their mistake with the UVB light and is taking the advice they were given.

 

[lauraj1055]

i love hearing about reptile owners who never researched or took proper care of their pet.

Well, that's why we are here to help, isn't it? :wink: A lot of people (including me in the past) trust that all pet store employees know what they are talking about and have the best interest of your pet in mind. Sometimes you don't realize that they don't know anything until the damage has already been done.
Making sarcastic remarks doesn't help anyone, especially since the OP has realized their mistake with the UVB light and is taking the advice they were given.

God he is just so miserable!

 

[Denduran87]

The zilla UVB doesn't put out enough UVB for a beardie...

That information is actually incorrect. The Zilla 50 series desert bulbs put out way too much UVB as the 50 stands for 50% just as the 10.0 on Repti-Suns stand for 10%. However they do need to be changed every 6 months or so because the UVB output seriously diminishes over time. The Zilla bulb you are using has been known to cause eye and skin issues because the UVB output is so high. A much safer and better alternative would be the Repti-Sun 10.0 or the Repti-Glo 10.0 full tube bulbs.

Now as far as why you're beardie is a little on the small side....you said you're feeding him crickets every other day....at 1 year old he should still be getting live feeders at least once a day and should be getting fed as many as he can eat in a 10 to 15 minute period. How long have you had him on the every other day schedule? How many are you offering per feeding? Up until beardies are about 9 months old or so they should be eating live feeders 2 or 3 times a day and as many as they can eat in a 10 to 15 minute period for each feeding, meaning they should be eating between 50 to 100 crickets a day. The lack of live feeders means a lack of protein which is essential to the growth of a young beardie.

My 7 month old is currently 17 1/2" long and eats around 100 reptiworms a day and a large bowl of salad every day with the occasional fruit treat.

I still don't agree with the Zilla however, even if it does give off enough UVB, it will not do that for a year...

Believe me I don't agree with it either, it's been causing serious problems because it puts out way too much UVB and has way too high of a UVI.

the zilla 50 doesn't stand for 50% it's 50 microwatts per second/cm2