Underweight? *Pictures Included*

[Sparx]

Perhaps I'm entirely wrong about Sparx's age, which shame on me - I forgot to ask the breeder when I purchased her, but I always said she was about two months old or so when I bought her (again, that's entirely an "uneducated" guess on my behalf). Now when I got her she was about 6" roughly and a little over a month later she's 8.2" but she hasn't "chunked" up.

A little information on her care -
She's currently in a 20 gallon tank with a screen cover, UVB (ReptiSun 10.0), Basking Light and a CHE for additional heat as needed. The warm side of the tank stays at about 107-110*F easily (today it was 109*F) and is set up so she has a heat gradient.
She's given a daily salad which normally consists of Turnip Greens and Butternut Squash (daily) and of course gets the occasional goodies of things like carrot, cilantro, kale, etc (Only had them a couple of times). On top of her salad she gets as many crickets as she pleases and [once was given] freshly shedded Mealworms (I'm not fond of them - but that all I could really coax her into eating during her shed). Her crickets are gut-loaded with a Calcium rich diet (both water and food) before being fed as well as Calcium-dusted 5x per week. I should also be getting my shipment of Dubias Roaches and Reptiworms in this week (tomorrow or Friday!) - fingers crossed she likes them!

Also, she's bathed every evening for about 15-20 minutes in luke-warm water.
*Note: She will be getting upgraded to a new cage soon. My father has actually agreed to help me make a DIY tank made from a wardrobe/dresser type deal - so it'll be a custom job, just for her. The spoiled thing. :lol:

Anywhoo. Now, she hasn't been showing signs of an illness as she's perfectly active/alert, eats normally, and so on. BUT she's not becoming "hefty". Either she's holding onto her baby appearance, is younger than I assume she is, or I'm doing something wrong.

Day I bought her/brought her home (September 7):




A couple days ago (finishing her shed):




She was a wee-bit skinnier than usual during her shed (it took about a week to get done as it was a full-body shed) as she didn't hardly eat. No hip bones or anything showing though. She's since got her appetite back...and then some.

Any thoughts or suggestions? :3

 

[AHBD]

She looks good, very pretty too ! Some dragons have a slimmer build than others. If she has a good appetite and is active then she is fine. Young ones can eat crickets 2-3 X a day , as much as they want, for maximum growth so that's the way to go.

 

[Sparx]

She looks good, very pretty too ! Some dragons have a slimmer build than others. If she has a good appetite and is active then she is fine. Young ones can eat crickets 2-3 X a day , as much as they want, for maximum growth so that's the way to go.

Thank you for your response and compliment! It definitely calmed my nerves quite a bit. She's definitely eating good and is active. She also gets crickets 2x a day (sometimes 3x) and gets as many as she can possibly eat. She used to not eat too terribly much (maybe 25 crickets or so a day - even with being offered more) but lately has been putting away about 25-30 each feeding and frequently eating most of her salads.

I'm actually quite pleased that she's finally eating the "normal" quantities I've seen many people posting :3

 

[CooperDragon]

That's a very healthy appetite. Shes a good looking little dragon. Sounds pretty happy =)

 

[Sparx]

That's a very healthy appetite. Shes a good looking little dragon. Sounds pretty happy =)

Thanks for the reply! My nerves have definitely been calmed. Being a first time Beardie owner (and technically this being my first properly kept reptile - only had a few when I was young but due to moving so much, I couldn't keep them for longer than a couple months), every little thing makes me nervous. :lol:

 

[Drache613]

Hello,

She is adorable, very colorful girl!
She will eventually fill out but when they are young, their bones are lengthening so they wont always fill out as quickly as they get longer.
It sounds like she really has a great appetite, too. That is excellent, she surely will grow from all of that food.
I am sure her tank will turn out beautiful also.

Tracie