We think we were lied to about our baby's age? :/ How old is

[shelldom]

When we bought Petri, we were told he was 3.5 weeks and hadn't had his first shed yet. We only noticed shedding on his tail in the 3 weeks we have had him. We were relieved when we thought he was at his 6 week point, hoping we wouldnt have to worry about him stressing out and dying at any given point. In case you couldn't tell, this is our first beardie ever. All of his temps are correct, he eats up to 45 pinheads per day, unless we feed him Phoenix worms, but he is only about 3 inches from snout to the base of his tail. However, he was definitely grown in the time we have had him. How old do you think he is? Also, do can you tell what color he is? Or is he just a standard baby? Thank you for your help!
I posted the same question on faunaclassified.com but am still awaiting a response: meanwhile, we are kind of panicking!
Heres a link to the pics of him: http://www.faunaclassifieds.com/forums/showthread.php?t=133453

 

[UTreptiles]

My guess would be that your beardie is about 6 weeks give or take a week. Hard to really be exact with size as some just grow faster or slower than others. Sounds like he is eating well so I wouldn't worry about it too much. They have growth spurts and when they start one they can grow fast. At this age it would be almost impossible to tell the sex of the dragon. If it is a female it will grow a bit slower. But you can't really tell at this age. Sounds like it is well on its way to being a fat and happy dragon though.

From the picture it looks like a "normal" dragon. That is a fine looking baby you got there.

Good luck to you.

 

[fresnowitte]

First...
Hello & Welcome to BD.org!

Thanks for linking us to the pic's your little one is an adorable little bubble head. Sorry that's what I call babies because of the shape and size of their heads at that size.

I have to agree with UTReptiles it is really impossible to tell a beardies age unless you actually know the hatch date. Many things determine the size and growth rate...but if I were to take a guess I'd also say 5 to 7 weeks.

As far as color only time will tell after a few sheds. Without knowing the parents it would be hard to say. However your baby is beautiful. :wink:

 

[shelldom]

Thank you so much for the welcome! My boyfriend and I just became beardie parents, and even though we did tons of research beforehand, we quickly learned that there is no such thing as TOO much research! We were just concerned because we have read from several places that they can be up to 6 inches by 6 weeks and he's only about half of that! I feel so much better now, thanks again for the quick responses

 

[fresnowitte]

Your Welcome!

BTW are you measuring your baby from the tip of nose to tip of tail? Babies are usually around 4 inches when they hatch. It's okay...a small beardie is not so bad as long as it is healthy. :wink:

An as for the research well lets just say I've had beardies for over 6 years now an I'm still learning something new everyday. :lol:

 

[Embee]

BTW are you measuring your baby from the tip of nose to tip of tail?

Ah yes, this. When you see measurements of beardie length, MOST OFTEN this measurement includes the tail.

Welcome! :mrgreen:

The best,
Em

 

[shelldom]

hmm interesting...well from snout to the tip of his tail I guess he would be about 6 inches? thanks for all your help everyone :wink:

 

[Embee]

Here is a link to a reputable growth/size chart that might be helpful to you as well:

http://www.dachiu.com/beardeddragoncare/growthcharts.html

The best,
Em