Stunted Growth

[ReptileAddiction]

So I have a 1 year 3 month female dragon. She is very stunted and is only 200 grams. In part it is because of lack of improper uvb. Now she is living outside because of the nice weather we have but when she comes back in she will have a reptisun in her new enclosure . The other reason is because of huge amounts of parasites from the crickets she was raised on. (I am looking into new feeders. Done with crickets!) As soon as she would finish her rounds of panacur plus she would get them again! You have no idea how frustrating that was. Especially because I could not figure out where she was getting them. Now I am wondering if she will ever get to be a normal sized dragon. Should I keep her on a higher protein diet to make up for it? She is a gorgeous orange and red and purple sandfire tiger. Thank you for your help.

Edit: I forgot to mention I have had her since she was a couple days old. Other than the stunted growth and being small for her age she is healthy!

 

[ReptileAddiction]

BUMP

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

That is too bad, sometimes they can "catch up" but not always.
How is her appetite on average? How long is she?
It is possible for her to grow & fill out more well into her 2nd & 3rd year.
Do you have any pictures of her we could see?
Worms & parasites can really slow down their growth, but if she is receiving better UVB & nutrition now, she should continue to grow & fill out more right now. She is still young, so for now, you can keep her protein levels a little higher but also make sure she eats her greens & veggies too since she is of adult age. She is not physically mature yet though, nor of breeding age until 2 or older.
How often do you give calcium for her?

Tracie

 

[ReptileAddiction]

She has a great appetite and always have. She is about 16 inches. I give her calcium every cricket feeding (once or twice a week) with d3 mixed with the multivitamin and the rest of her worm feedings without d3 which is about 15 every couple of days. I have many pics of her but I will take one tomorrow next to a measuring tape.

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

It sounds like she eats very well. You could probably bump up the calcium another day per week to 3 times a week to be sure she is getting enough calcium.
Does she eat her greens & or veggies at all?
You can increase the vitamins to once weekly to ensure she is getting all of the vitamins she needs.

Tracie

 

[ReptileAddiction]

She gets calcium every live feeder feeding. Just with d3 twice a week and the rest without d3. She eats her greens very well and has since she was a baby. I buy a mix of greens from the store so she has about 20 different types of greens in her salad. Along with her veggies.

 

[ReptileAddiction]

I FINALLY have pics lol. I kinda forgot.... She is a whopping 15 and a half inches. She has an extremely long tail. She looks in these pictures kinda like the size of a normal dragon. They are deceiving. She is much smaller. I really think if she would not have had all her problems she would be a 22 inch dragon.
In these pictures she is VERY unhappy. So much she turned brown. She is normally a yellow and orange nd purple dragon. Her base color is yellow and orange with PURPLE bars They are almost unnaturally purple...

 

[ReptileAddiction]

I ad doubts that the pics would work lol WAHOOOOOOOOOO

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

When are you moving her inside to a tank?
Are her temperatures optimal for her outside right now? I would assume she is getting adequate UVB outside?
Those are cute pictures!
How often do you feed live feeders?

Tracie

 

[ReptileAddiction]

I move her inside to her tank every night to sleep. I dont want the coyotes o get her :shock: I kind of do it on a day to day basis. If the AMBIENT air temp is 80 or above I can get a 105 basking spot. But there are some days like yesterday when it was to cold so se had to stay inside. She is definitely getting adequate uv outside. I live in the costal desert area. I feed her as many live feeders as she will eat in 15 minutes (she usually gets full around 5) twice a week. Then all the other days I give her a great big salad with some worms after. All her feeders are dusted.