Bearded Dragon not growing...

[Loki1108]

I'm wondering if anyone will have any reason why Uther, the tiny Beardie, won't grow

So, back in Febuaray, I got my boyfriend a Bearded Dragon (after quite a few months of talking about it), since he's grown a bit, but not much, he was a baby when we got him, still is, and is around 6.5 to 7months old maybe? We didn't get his exact hatch date, but when we got him, he was the largest in his clutch... Now he's about 3 inches with his body size (not indcluding head and tail... so we'll add abt 4inches, since I haven't seen him since May 20th). He had gotten bigger since I babysat back in April for a week, since my bf was leaving town, and I am, and was, only one Uther would let hold, and eat from on a regular basis.

Now, like I said, between the month I babysat him, and the last time I saw him, he has gotten bigger, just... not length wise... We took him to the vet when we first noticed he wasn't growing like we thought he should, and that was begining of April, from the end of Feb. he had gained 1/3 of his body weight in Feb. We're going to get my new Ball Python checked out after he eats and has his first shed, and bringing Uther with us for a follow up weight check (BTW- our Herp vet is AMAZING! Free appt for Uther last time )

He recently got moved to his big terrarium, from a ten gallon, to a 40(?) its 36''x15.5''. Could a small habitat have inhibited his growth? Or could he be a Rankin's Dragon? Or just have dwarfism? (Which the petstore offered to take him back for a replacement Dragon if that was the case, we said no ty, we love him even if he won't grow )

Additonal Info:

-We don't plan on breeding him
-His diet consists of small crickets daily, as many as he'll eat in a 10-15 min period, and collard greens, every other day, the crickets are dusted (well, about 3/4 of them) daily, and once a week, he gets them dusted in vitamin dust, instead of calcium...
-He was impacted the weekend before Memorial Day, cause unknown, so he's getting Reptile Carpet and then we're done with mealworms til he's bigger, if we can, we're switching to silkworms (BTW Impaction was cleared with several warm baths and tummy rubs in two days... he didn't sit still long enough apparently to have a nice long one til his business was done. And has been happy since ^_^
-Temps and humidity kept where they should be, my bf is very... whats the word.. well he always checks so a bit of a very watchful Daddy


I'd post a pic, but none have worked for me yet...Though there is one in my gallery of him.

[AkHerps]

Do you have UVB/UVA lighting?

What are the temps and how are you measuring them?

I do not believe the tank would have inhibited him from growing.

There is an old saying a reptile will grow to its cage.

But if you put a crocodile in a 10 gallon tank, its not going to stay tiny!

[Loki1108]

Yes, he has the UVB/UVA lighting, and his temp atm I'm not 100% sure on as I'm not there to check but every time I'm there, the temps are about 85-90 in the hotspot, measured with a digital fluker hygrometer/thermometer, while he was here, his temps also stayed in the 85-90 range.

[AkHerps]

Babies should have about 105-110ºF basking spot.

Although I don't know if that would stop him from growing...hmmm...

[Loki1108]

>< Darnit.. Ment hot SIDE... I'm very excited atm... so not speak/typing correctly, new Ball Python is very friendly and has no issues being handled

But, next time I'm over there, I'll try and determine his hot SPOT and if it's low, we'll upgrade the bulb and see if we can't find other ways to get temps up... But he's active, very very much a piglet though is only keen on me actually pickin him up... OH! It isn't 100% if he is actually a he too... We haven't (including his vet) been able to sex him... We're assuming he though.. "He" just looks it

[Atrax]

What kind of UVB do you have? As not all UVB's are good, some are rather useless.
Hotspot should be around 41°C, low heat also contributes to them not growing properly, as is lack or too little nutrition (food items).
Salads should be given everyday, and if beardie is a young one insects should be given everyday too.
Hope he's ok otherwise.
Good luck with the little guy!

[DC Reptiles]

when my hatchlings would become juvies I would put them in a 20 gal long. I would feed, endive, collard, dandelion, bok choy, squash, even fruit as a treat such as grapes and strawberries again given in moderation. I also would start feeding pellets right out of the egg. As far as temps go, mine liked it around 125 in the hot spot and around 80 in the cool. Make sure you are giving plenty of water. Here is a site to sex dragons its pretty easy.

http://www.beardeddragon.org/articles/sexing/

[Loki1108]

He's in a terrarium measuring 36x16 now, which is just slightly bigger than what my Ball is in (he's in a 36x12x). And unless he gets longer than the width (not sure if he will at this point since he's growin so slowly) he'll stay there.

He's offered water frequently (everytime he's held pretty much, since he knows how to drink from the spray bottle) and his terrarium is misted at least once or twice a day. He has two water dishes (one is kept dry... he sleeps in it EVERY night..) and the other is a low dish so he has water, except when he's fed his crickets.

Unfortunately, our herp vet is out of town for 3wks so he won't be seen until he gets back. And he's the only qualified/certified herp vet in our area. We have one thats about 2hrs away, but my boyfriend and I agreed, that if our vet is out of town, then that's our emergency vet if any issues come up.


He has grown since I saw him around 5/19. He's still tiny for his age we feel though, so now I'm startin to think he's just one of the slow growers, even though he was the largest in his clutch when we got him...

Also, on sexing him, we would have tried already, but again, he's still young, and fiesty, so he won't sit still, so waiting until he's older and (hopefully) calmed down, isn't an issue... And apparently, he's getting "aggressive" though I'm thinkin its more he's scared...

Probably somethin like this

*Reach hand in terrarium to hold Uther*
Uther: OMG! IT'S GONNA EAT ME!!!!!!!

instead of:

*Reach hand in terrarium to hold Uther*
Uther: GET OUT!!! OR I'LL BITE YA!

[AkHerps]

My bearded Dragon is genuinely aggressive and territorial most of the time. He hit puberty and breeding age and now is out for blood when anything goes into his terrarium. He wants a woman, and I can't provide for one. So he is in an almost perpetual state of head bobbing, and fighting for his territory.

Sexing is fairly easy. You can lift up the back of his tail and look for two bulges. Males also usually have pores\ type things along the inside of their back legs. They look like larger circle scales.

[Homegrownscales]

Grab a picture if you can or do you have one to post? I think that would
Make the world of difference in trying to help you. At least that way we can establish whether you've got a Rankins or an actual baby beard.

My babies grow fast! They start out as little Tiny things and within a month they are almost 6 inches snout to vent. If he is a little beardy I'd look at some sort of nutritional thing because of a perhaps a bad UVB light. Thats generally the cause for poor growth. Some are absolute crap. What type of UVB is it? Coil/ tube/ brand/ output density? Like is it 2.0/ 5.0/10.0? How close can the baby get to it. Generally they usually need to get within 12 inches of it.
Hopefully if you get some pics and specs up here we all can help.



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