My son just got a beardie

[beckr]

Hello

My name is Becky and my 9 year old son just got a beardie as a gift from his Grandma This forum is great. my mother in law bought the beardie and the whole setup from her friends kid. This beardie was supposed to have been born Jan 30, 2006. She looks like she is about 2-3 months old judging by the pics you have guys have posted. Why do you think she is so small? Also the kid said she only ate 4 crickets a day. We feed her 10 in one day, but now she has only eaten 1-2 a day since. He said he had a uvb bulb on her however we did not get that with the set-up. Also, the kid she was bought from has only had her since two days before this past Christmas. He said the vet said she was the runt of the litter or a small grower. Any thoughts?

 

[Kez]

Hi, if you could just answer these questions everyone will be able to help you with your beardie
How old is your dragon?
How long have you had your dragon?
How long is your dragon?
What is the sex of your dragon?
What size enclosure do you have your dragon in?
What type substrate do you have your dragon on?
Do you use UVB lights?
If so, what kind and how old?
How close can your dragon get to the UVB?
What are the basking temps?
What is the cool side temp?
What do you take the temps with?
Do you use a heat rock or heat pad?
What do you feed your dragon? Please be specific.
How often do you feed?
Do you gutload your feeders?
Do you use vitamin or calcium supplements? What brand(s)?
Is your dragon having regular bowel movements?
Do you bath your dragon? How often?
Do you mist your dragon or offer water other then in the bath?
Does your dragon share an enclosure with another dragon?
Have you gotten a vet check and fecal done?

 

[beckr]

Okay I just got her, like i put in my original post. I am concerned with her size and how she was taken care of before we got her. My week having her has nothing to do with why she is so small. She is 4 inches from the light in her basking spot. I have a compact uvb light, I am getting a tube light. the temp on the basking side is 105-110. I mist her three times a day. We have been dusting the crickets. My main question is not how to take care of her from here on out. I was wondering if anybody had any ideas to as why she is so little for her age.

 

[Morkai]

Hi Becky, Welcome.

Generally small size is due to incorrect husbandary which is why we ask the list of questions that Kez posted. It helps us spot any potential issues that could be causing the problem you are describing.

Incorrect temps, too little food, too little UVB, parasites etc are all problems that can cause slow growth. You said you got the setup from the previous owner so by quizzing you on that setup we can get an idea on the care he received previously.

Sounds like you have been doing a lot of reading so forgive us, it is often better to ask a question you already know the answer too than for us to assume too much and the little one suffers for it. Great on replacing the compact with a tube. That will help.

It sounds like she was underfed and potentially had no or a bad UVB light. Runt or slow grower is possible but if your saying 2-3 months old judging by pictures then I am guessing she is about 11-12"? That is definitely too small for an 15 month old unless it is a Rankins dragon, in which case it is normal size but I doubt it. Generally one knows if you have a rankins, they are rarer and more expensive.

Do you know if the vet just see the dragon or did he know where she came from? If he wasn't an exotic reptile vet he may not be familiar with proper UVB lighting etc and just made an assumption.

Right now she is probably going through relocation stress as well. Get a decent UVB light over her and start giving her all the crickets she wants. You could try other feeders as well, roaches, butterworms, silkworms etc to put some weight on her and help her catch up. Don't forget to offer salad as she may or may not have seen it before and needs to get used to it.

 

[beckr]

Thank you so much for the insight. We gave her romaine lettuce and she ate it up, I understand this is not good for her, I am going to get some things in the salad list, I just didn't have any of it here. I will post some pics of her, she really looks like a baby dragon. I am really surprised that she has lived in these conditions for so long. Do you think if I start doing things the right way she will get bigger? I guess i should take her to the vet. Wow, i did not bargain for all this work. My mother in law was gonna get him a snake I said no way, so she brings us Lizzy. Of course my son is too young to do everything for her.( and pay the bill) I am shocked but I really do think she is a cute little thing, and I want her to be healthy, oh the things our children get us into.

 

[Piglet]

Amen to that. Our kids do some things to us no one else could ever get away with! Lots of folks get Dragons with the notion they are easy care critters (I am one of those) But hang in there.If you and your son work together and he learns form you how to take resposibility for a living thing it will be VERY good for him. A skill he will use his whole life. Involve him as much as you can! Nine is pretty young but he may surprise you on what he is capable of.
I am one of those freaks who does not agree with giving living things as gifts. BUT when forced into it by well meaning grandparents just do the best you can. You guys will learn togethyer. Well done looking into taking good care of the new addition!
I too have a very small dragon. She had been housed with several others and I think she just did not get her share of food, basking time etc. She is healthy now but doesn't seem to be putting on much size. Small is OK though, She had great color and a really fun personality.
Enjoy yours, they are such fun!

 

[beckr]

How long have you had your dragon? Maybe mine is just small too. The kid Lizzie was bought from apparently has 20 other reptiles. Maybe she was housed with others. Oh yeah, just when I thought this was expensive, I went up to my sons room this am to feed her and like a dummy i handed the can light to my three year old to hold while i took the top of the cage, and she set it down on the carpet. I forgot i had even asked her to hold it because i got into feeding the beardie until i smelt the carpet burning. Now we have a big burn hole in my sons bedroom carpet. I swear I can't believe I did something as stupid as that.

 

[Morkai]

Given good care they can catch up, maybe never to their original potential had they gotten great care from Day 1 but they can certainly make good steps towards it.

Doh on the carpet burn..