malnourished or rankins Dragon I'm not sure?

yesterday I purchased what was supposed to be a 10 month old bearded dragon from a person on Craigslist. He told me that he'd been feeding the bearded dragon 5 mealworms a day and collard greens on the weekend. This animal not only appears to be malnourished, it also appears to be much smaller in size than my other female of the same age. she's about the same length 14 inches but appears to weigh half as much. also her head is shaped differently than my other female. is there any possibility that the dragon I purchase is in fact a rankins as opposed to a vitticeps? Any help will be appreciated thanks.

It appears to be a malnourished citrus leatherback to me.

It's not a rankins. The structure is all wrong. If the guy only fed mealworms and occasional greens, then he's probably malnourished. Do you know if he had the proper lighting? Because that determines the outcome as well.

He did have a uvb light for her, thankfully. I think that and the collards are the only reason she doesn't have mad (visually at least). Any tips on fattening her up? Currently feeding dubias, silkworms and mustard greens

Nope, I don't see a Rankins there, either. I would also give her a variety of other suitable veggies and also fruits, not just mustard greens.

Fortunately, if it truly is only 10 months old, there is still the possibility of a fair amount of compensatory growth with ample nourishment and proper housing.

i had one super tiny for her age, she is now HUGE. There is still hope for yours

Originally Posted by MoHawk84

He did have a uvb light for her, thankfully. I think that and the collards are the only reason she doesn't have mad (visually at least). Any tips on fattening her up? Currently feeding dubias, silkworms and mustard greens

Use calcium & multi-vitamin dust on her food (if you're using an MVB then make sure the calcium dust doesn't have D3, if you're using a UVB then make sure it does), make sure she has proper lighting (not saying that you don't, just reinforcing that she does) all sorts of greens, veggies & fruit.

I know my dragon LOVES collards & dandelion but doesn't like mustards, so I mix all 3 together and he eats them up. He loves strawberries, blueberries & bell peppers, but since he's picky, he won't eat his veggies with his fruit. He likes his veggies with his bugs, and his fruit on the side. He won't eat his fruit if there is dust on it, but he will eat his bugs if they're dusted. (I think he gets eating tips from my toddler or my toddler gets them from him...Either way, they're in cahoots. lol)

Reason I'm saying that is, you might have to try different things to get her to eat more. It's like feeding kids. Have to keep trying until it works, and once that happens, they'll probably change it up on you again. lol

Originally Posted by LauraB

Nope, I don't see a Rankins there, either. I would also give her a variety of other suitable veggies and also fruits, not just mustard greens.

Mustards don't give all the nutrients needed like when you diversify the offerings.

My Beardie and Uros really love the stems from rainbow carrots if you're trying to find more variety in the veggies.