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Bearded Dragon

BaseballBeardies

BaseballBeardies

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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.
 
BaseballBeardies said:
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.
Click to expand...

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!
 
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.
 
I agree. I use a mini chopper and chop them up until they're really fine. I use Mustard, Dandelion, Collard and Turnip greens. All at the same time. Mine love the mixture I make for them.
 
Ok, that's a great UVB. How old is the bulb, and what are you using to take the temps with? Is it a round dial thermometer or is it a probe thermometer? The round dial thermometers can be as much as 20 degrees off the real temp. Temps should be between 110-115 for babies, 105-110 for juvies, and right around 100-105 for adults.
 
Yes those temps are good for the basking site but it's CRITICAL to have only a small area that is that hot so you must have a tank that is large enough for the other end of the tank to be 75-80 degrees.
 
We used flourescent UVB bulb on our boy for his 1st 7-8 years. The last five or so years he was under a powersun. He lived 13.5 yrs with us. He was 1 year old when we got him. Sadly he passed away last year. He was the only dragon I have ever kept. How is 13.5 yrs for a captive lifespan?
 
Oh-oh...98 on cool side is WAY to high!!it will not survive..Did you mean hot or cool side??Cool side MUST be below 85...absolutely...how is your dragon doing...what size is the cage ...usually a small[10 gal. tank] will not allow for a heat gradient..use at least a 15-20 long!!!.
 
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