Bearded Dragon

I have a normal bearded dragon that is 4-5 months old. The problem is he is only 4 1/4 inches long. The man the petstore said to only feed him every other day 3 small crickets. Is this right or is my beardie just gone be small like a dwarf beardie.

Your dragon is highly undersized for his age.

He should be eating as much as he can within a 10-15 minute time period. He should probably be eating 1/4" crickets (or whatever crickets fit safely between the space of his eyes), whichever are smaller.

What other information did the pet store give you? Because somehow I think that the majority of the information will be wrong, especially with them giving you the wrong info about this guy.

Hi Ryan...how sad yet another pet store that knows nothing about reptiles and gives info that isn't anywhere near accurate....Brandi is correct,babies need LOTS of little crickets.The size of the dragon that you have is the size that most dragons hatch out...no exaggeration.Your little dragon is not ever going to grow much and I can't tell you how long it will live...every baby dragon should be eating crix 2-3 times daily...EVERY day. You could get away with once a day if it ate pellets+all it's veggies but NEVER skipping days in between.How sad that many stores give that info...how is the baby doing?Once they are that stunted they often never get to having a "normal" appetite.

Originally Posted by BaseballBeardies

I have a normal bearded dragon that is 4-5 months old. The problem is he is only 4 1/4 inches long. The man the petstore said to only feed him every other day 3 small crickets. Is this right or is my beardie just gone be small like a dwarf beardie.

Your dragon is undersize and malnourished.

If you dont already have put a good uvb light and a basking light on its cage.

I feed my dragons twice a day with veggies dusted with calcium in the morning and bugs in the evening.

try soaking it maybe twice a week in shallow water so it can drink and hydrate itself.

Temps are very important for a growing dragon.

Good luck with it.

Yes,Ed mentioned the proper lighting being CRUCIAL...don't ask them at the pet store,they obviously don't know.Let us know how you have it set up.Also,I always feed crickets in the a.m as well as greens,same again in the evening....it keeps multiple dragons from getting hungry+munching on their cagemate's toes or tail,and it also gives more time to digest their larger meal.

I feed my guys 3 times a day, 1 time in the morning with greens and crickets, 1 in the afternoon just greens and 1 time at night both greens and crickets.

Again we can't reiterate how important your lighting setup is. What do you have for your UVB and your Heating?

I have about 19 watts of UVB and have a 108 degree basking spot I think I'm good with lights I also have an extra UVB repti sun I don't use I don't know if I should use. I bought little crickets and am going to start bathing Him twice a week and put more veggies in his cage. Thankyou for the help!

Should I use the extra UVB approiximately how many watts are you suppose to have for UVB on a dragon. I couldn't find any good sights with an anwser

I use a Reptisun 10.0. What UVB are you using? Also what are your temps?

Yes,what is the brand of your uvb bulb? As far as veggies,give him very finely shredded turnip and mustard greens...they are very high in calcium+minerals...any veg must be finely shredded for a tiny dragon.