Beardie size question!

[Resa]

Hey all, I was wondering if there is research out there for average beardie sizes?

I ask this question bc my beardie is growing very large very quickly and now I'm curious about their growth rates and what is considered "normal."

My beardie was hatched in early September and we got him in the middle of October at 5 weeks old. He was one of the larger boys in the tank and we thought he was just being kept with younger babies too. He was 5.5" long when we got him.

In January he hit a growth spurt and I swear he was growing over night! Lol. He is now 7 months old and 19.5" long. Is that normal or does that seem a little large? Are there any health issues involved with larger dragons that I should be aware of? At what age do they stop growing?

He's healthy, temperatures are just right 110 basking, 85 on the cool side. Eats quite a LOT but I'm putting him on a diet (he's chubby lol). He eats romaine and kale daily and we switch out crickets, super worms, and D roaches randomly. And he gets one large horned worm a day.

Tomorrow I'll take a pic with him next to the tape measure.

 

[Eavlynn]

You definitely have a big boy! Beardies grow at different rates and I can't really say that there's an average you should expect to see. It sounds like he's thriving, and that's all that matters.

If he's chunky, cut back on his insects a bit, but give him all the greens his little heart desires, since he's still a growing boy. I'd go really easy on the kale, it's high in oxalates which binds to the calcium he needs. Try collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens and dandelion greens. Those are solid staple veggies that he should enjoy. I'd love to see photos of your boy

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[Resa]

You definitely have a big boy! Beardies grow at different rates and I can't really say that there's an average you should expect to see. It sounds like he's thriving, and that's all that matters.

If he's chunky, cut back on his insects a bit, but give him all the greens his little heart desires, since he's still a growing boy. I'd go really easy on the kale, it's high in oxalates which binds to the calcium he needs. Try collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens and dandelion greens. Those are solid staple veggies that he should enjoy. I'd love to see photos of your boy

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Thank you for the advice! He doesn't seem to care much for the kale so I'll definitely switch his greens to some of your suggestions.

We were feeding him 1 horned worm and then 30 super worms daily, I just cut him back to 15 about 2 weeks ago. I'm gonna give him another 2 weeks to see if the chubs drop some, but after that I'm nervous about under feeding. He's a piggy so that timing rule never worked very well. Even in 5 minutes he can pack away 40 worms. The only thing he doesn't engorge himself on is crickets. But he loves hunting them.

Here are a few pictures I just took. He didn't want to cooperate with me for close ups. So I'll try again when he's tired and loves to lay flat to sleep. The first picture he changed his color bc something scared the crap out of him while he was basking in the window. He goes more brown and sand color when he's pissed or afraid. He gets super vibrant orange when he's happy or hungry.

 

[Canicke]

i would LOVE a big boy like that! I prefer the larger sizes. horses, dogs, bank accounts - bigger is better!

 

[Resa]

i would LOVE a big boy like that! I prefer the larger sizes. horses, dogs, bank accounts - bigger is better!

Especially the bank account! Haha. I know what ya mean tho! My beardie is big, my ratties are massive, and my German Shepherd is 110lbs. I LOVE my big babies! Even my kids are big! Lol. But thats expected when I'm 6'1 and my hubs is 6'3.

 

[Eavlynn]

Oh my goodness, he really is a big handsome guy! He could use to lose some weight, but he looks fantastic otherwise Your boy makes my kids look quite small.

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[Resa]

Oh my goodness, he really is a big handsome guy! He could use to lose some weight, but he looks fantastic otherwise Your boy makes my kids look quite small.

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LOL I know! My son in the photo is a large kiddo himself. He's 9 going on 10 and he's a solid 6-12 inches taller than most of the kids in his class. And Thor makes him look like a Lil guy again!

Well it's nice to confirm what I was thinking, that my beardie is a Lil bit bigger than average. Time to move over to the D Roaches again for a trim belly. Haha

 

[Mom2Dovakiin]

Thank you for the advice! He doesn't seem to care much for the kale so I'll definitely switch his greens to some of your suggestions.

We were feeding him 1 horned worm and then 30 super worms daily, I just cut him back to 15 about 2 weeks ago. I'm gonna give him another 2 weeks to see if the chubs drop some, but after that I'm nervous about under feeding. He's a piggy so that timing rule never worked very well. Even in 5 minutes he can pack away 40 worms. The only thing he doesn't engorge himself on is crickets. But he loves hunting them.

Here are a few pictures I just took. He didn't want to cooperate with me for close ups. So I'll try again when he's tired and loves to lay flat to sleep. The first picture he changed his color bc something scared the crap out of him while he was basking in the window. He goes more brown and sand color when he's pissed or afraid. He gets super vibrant orange when he's happy or hungry.

OMG he's absolutely Huge! hehe I would hug him and squeeze him hehehe

 

[Hdrydr31]

He is a great looking dragon! My male is 20" long and weighs 484gr so your's doesn't look that overweight to be honest.. However I am glad that you've reduced the superworm amounts! Supers are a great staple however they are also fatty and can be like crack for them lol Having too much fat can lead to fatty liver disease.. My primary staple are dubia roaches and they get 4-6 supers every other day, with a nice bowl of greens and veggies every day.

 

[Rex Carnage]

You definitely have a big boy! Beardies grow at different rates and I can't really say that there's an average you should expect to see. It sounds like he's thriving, and that's all that matters.

If he's chunky, cut back on his insects a bit, but give him all the greens his little heart desires, since he's still a growing boy. I'd go really easy on the kale, it's high in oxalates which binds to the calcium he needs. Try collard greens, turnip greens, mustard greens and dandelion greens. Those are solid staple veggies that he should enjoy. I'd love to see photos of your boy

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Kale is an excellent green to include in the diet of both herbivorous and omnivorous reptiles. It has a good calcium to phosphorous ratio and has one of the lowest oxalate levels of any of the commonly used greens. This site has the oxalate levels from the analysis of the U.S Dept. of Agriculture
http://www.anapsid.org/iguana/cal_ox.htm...

It is recommended as a staple green for beardeds in the care site written by biologist Dr. Katherine Tosney

http://www.biology.lsa.umich.edu/researc...
as well as in the Bearded Dragon Manual chapter on nutrition, authored by Dr. Susan Donoghue a vet who specializes in the field of reptile nutrition.

The misconception that kale is high in oxalates if often repeated in reptile forums and on web sites. Kale and it's close relative collards can affect the thyroid if they are fed exclusively but no green or family of greens should be fed exclusively. Variety is the key to nutritional balance in a diet