YahMezSoup
Member
Hi All,
So I purchased Hue Jackman about a month ago, at the time I purchased him his breeder (local reptile store who specializes in beardies) told me he must have been born around April so therefore was 5 months old. That being a month ago he should now be at 6 months of age. I measured him today and he is only 9.5" long and weighs 30 grams.
Setup: 40 gallon breeder, 160W Mercury Vapor- Solar Glo, Exo Terra
Basking spot 113 degrees Fahrenheit/ Mid tank 85-90* / Cool side 78* (All Temps taken at the time of writing this post, I have a Infrared Thermometer by Commercial Electric... his temp ranges are always a degree or two within those ^^^ parameters during the day) His tank never gets below 68 degrees at night. He has a hide which he's never bothered to go in, a large white rock in the middle of the tank that he hangs out on on occasion, a large branch for him to bask on that has varying height and a hammock in the hot corner for him to hang out on and get closer to his lamp if he chooses. There is an aloe plant in his tank that is in organic soil with no fertilizer, he has not tried to bite it.
His substrate is play sand, I have ordered reptile carpet to move him onto (he has not had any problem, but I know it is an impaction risk and will be changing this very soon).
Diet: He is eating regularly, he somewhat puts his nose up at his greens but he'll have a few bites of them per day (mustard, collard) he gets some snap peas and green beans (trying some squash this week). We are breeding our own crickets so I'd say he gets about 10-20 of those a day (less if I catch larger ones, more if they are smaller) and he also get's phoenix worms and the occasional meal worm as a treat. Crickets are dusted three out of four feedings with Rep-Cal phosphorous free Calcium with Vitamin D3 and twice a week crickets are dusted with Rep-Cal Herptivite with beta carotene Multivitamin.
Voiding: He goes everyday, sometimes twice a day. Everything seems firm, it's never loose, always a brown feces with a white urate.
Vet: I took a stool sample into the vet last week because I know how common parasites are, his stool sample was positive for Pin Worms. He received 0.5cc of Pyrantel pamoate, according to instructions I am to give him three more doses (@ 0.5cc) at two week intervals from his first dosage.
Activity: He gets a bath about 3 times a week. He is alert and is super friendly, he likes running around on my bed but also is a super sweet cuddler. He does do a bit of glass surfing during the day but he does not have any of the stress markings on his throat or stomach. When I do take him out (at least once a day) I make sure that it isn't for an extended period of time so his body temp doesn't get too low.
AND FINALLY MY QUESTION: Is he WAY under length and weight for his age, or do you think I was given the wrong date of birth?
The reptile store I got him from does have a LOT of beardies for sale (I'd say probably a couple hundred) cages were always clean etc.. They had some Leatherbacks, Hypos, Trans, and it seemed like he had some solid breeding stock of about 25 full grown beardeds, there were about 20 around Hue's size, about 20 that were a bit bigger, and maybe 40 that were a bit smaller and then a TON of tiny hatchlings. With speaking with him it seems like he did sell wholesale. I got the impression that Hue was bred there and he did at one point show me a full grown female that was most likely his mother. When we were filling out the paperwork and going over care he kinda hemmed and hawed over how old Hue was and picked 5 months ago from the day I purchased him as his date of birth. All of his dragons seemed to be really happy and healthy, I don't doubt he knows his stuff (although he does keep all the older juveniles and adults on play sand and seems pretty adamant that it is a perfectly fine substrate) but I am wondering if he was off about how old Hue was. ORRRRRRR was he spot on and Hue is just small for his age and the worm issue has somewhat stunted his growth?
In the month I've had him he finished shedding his tail (which was gray when I bought him) and hasn't shed since. I am head over heels in love and obsessed with this lil guy, perhaps I am worrying too much. 6 months old, 9.5 inches long from tip of nose to end of tail, and 30 grams. Is that normal? Is he tiny?
Thanks in advance, I'll post a few pictures of his setup and him. He really is quite the handsome lil guy (Sandfire Red I do believe)!
So I purchased Hue Jackman about a month ago, at the time I purchased him his breeder (local reptile store who specializes in beardies) told me he must have been born around April so therefore was 5 months old. That being a month ago he should now be at 6 months of age. I measured him today and he is only 9.5" long and weighs 30 grams.
Setup: 40 gallon breeder, 160W Mercury Vapor- Solar Glo, Exo Terra
Basking spot 113 degrees Fahrenheit/ Mid tank 85-90* / Cool side 78* (All Temps taken at the time of writing this post, I have a Infrared Thermometer by Commercial Electric... his temp ranges are always a degree or two within those ^^^ parameters during the day) His tank never gets below 68 degrees at night. He has a hide which he's never bothered to go in, a large white rock in the middle of the tank that he hangs out on on occasion, a large branch for him to bask on that has varying height and a hammock in the hot corner for him to hang out on and get closer to his lamp if he chooses. There is an aloe plant in his tank that is in organic soil with no fertilizer, he has not tried to bite it.
His substrate is play sand, I have ordered reptile carpet to move him onto (he has not had any problem, but I know it is an impaction risk and will be changing this very soon).
Diet: He is eating regularly, he somewhat puts his nose up at his greens but he'll have a few bites of them per day (mustard, collard) he gets some snap peas and green beans (trying some squash this week). We are breeding our own crickets so I'd say he gets about 10-20 of those a day (less if I catch larger ones, more if they are smaller) and he also get's phoenix worms and the occasional meal worm as a treat. Crickets are dusted three out of four feedings with Rep-Cal phosphorous free Calcium with Vitamin D3 and twice a week crickets are dusted with Rep-Cal Herptivite with beta carotene Multivitamin.
Voiding: He goes everyday, sometimes twice a day. Everything seems firm, it's never loose, always a brown feces with a white urate.
Vet: I took a stool sample into the vet last week because I know how common parasites are, his stool sample was positive for Pin Worms. He received 0.5cc of Pyrantel pamoate, according to instructions I am to give him three more doses (@ 0.5cc) at two week intervals from his first dosage.
Activity: He gets a bath about 3 times a week. He is alert and is super friendly, he likes running around on my bed but also is a super sweet cuddler. He does do a bit of glass surfing during the day but he does not have any of the stress markings on his throat or stomach. When I do take him out (at least once a day) I make sure that it isn't for an extended period of time so his body temp doesn't get too low.
AND FINALLY MY QUESTION: Is he WAY under length and weight for his age, or do you think I was given the wrong date of birth?
The reptile store I got him from does have a LOT of beardies for sale (I'd say probably a couple hundred) cages were always clean etc.. They had some Leatherbacks, Hypos, Trans, and it seemed like he had some solid breeding stock of about 25 full grown beardeds, there were about 20 around Hue's size, about 20 that were a bit bigger, and maybe 40 that were a bit smaller and then a TON of tiny hatchlings. With speaking with him it seems like he did sell wholesale. I got the impression that Hue was bred there and he did at one point show me a full grown female that was most likely his mother. When we were filling out the paperwork and going over care he kinda hemmed and hawed over how old Hue was and picked 5 months ago from the day I purchased him as his date of birth. All of his dragons seemed to be really happy and healthy, I don't doubt he knows his stuff (although he does keep all the older juveniles and adults on play sand and seems pretty adamant that it is a perfectly fine substrate) but I am wondering if he was off about how old Hue was. ORRRRRRR was he spot on and Hue is just small for his age and the worm issue has somewhat stunted his growth?
In the month I've had him he finished shedding his tail (which was gray when I bought him) and hasn't shed since. I am head over heels in love and obsessed with this lil guy, perhaps I am worrying too much. 6 months old, 9.5 inches long from tip of nose to end of tail, and 30 grams. Is that normal? Is he tiny?
Thanks in advance, I'll post a few pictures of his setup and him. He really is quite the handsome lil guy (Sandfire Red I do believe)!
He would be quite small for 6 months so maybe you are right that the guy was not sure....you said he was stalling when it came to giving his age ? Was he maybe just an employee or are you sure it's the owner ? Employees aren't always up on everything going on in the store. Then again it could be that he is just over all smaller + a slow grower. Worms wouldn't necessarily cause stunted growth unless he is not eating well, but he would probably be lethargic, too if that was the case. By the way, you can feed him about another 10 crix a day if he'll eat them....that can help him pick up some size. Oh, and you only need to dust one feeding per day. 
