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Average size & weight of a 5 month old male bearded dragon?

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14K views 4 replies 2 participants last post by  Toddsville  
#1 ·
So about a month ago I got my first dragon and he's been great (I will try and link some photos). At first he didn't eat all that much but now he's better, and eats most bugs/calsi worms I offer during his feeds. He doesn't seem too fond of greens right now but I'm told that's not unusual for a young dragon.

Today he is roughly 5 months old and weighs 147 grams and is about 12" long. Was just wandering if this is a normal size for a dragon his age in order to accurately develop his diet as he gets older. I have looked elsewhere online and the general concensus is that they all grow at different stages etc. Just want the opinion of other experianced owners so I can know if i'm not over/under feeding him etc.

Just some general info on setup:
Basking spot 40-41 °C (100W bulb)
Cool end is around room temp
Use arcadia 12% uvb
4ft x 2ft x 2ft viv
Feed him live food twice a day (variation of crickets, locusts, dubias & calsi worms)
Offer fresh greens daily (but he doesn't seem too interested)
 

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#2 ·
He looks in good shape.
I see nothing wrong with the length and weight, he has fat reserves on his tail/head/body etc and he looks healthy. Might be slightly on the shorter side but youve still got a few months yet that they actively grow, even though it will have slowed considerably compared to the first 3 or 4 months of life.

How big are those twice daily feeds? You should be looking at reducing the amount of live feed over the next month or so, the majority of his growth spurt while young will have passed and you need to create some interest in those greens.

Maybe switch to one live feed, and keep it as the later on in the day one. You will need to scale the live feeds back and reduce frequency over the next 12 months, he should pick up on the salad and if you encourage him too that will help.

Mine are all adults and i would only give two or three live feeds a week, pretty randomly spaced due to my routine with them, but they get a good feed as well with each of those live feeds and then its salad in the rest of the time. probably about 40 live to 60 veg in total balance, and ill drop off the live food first if they start looking a bit too chunky/loosely follows time of year as well.

The basking spot could be raised a couple of degrees, have you set out the UV and basking spots so the basking area is raised and the UV gives it full cover and is the right distance?

Its worth just checking over once youve had them a while, make sure everything is working well with the setup.
 
#3 ·
I'm glad to hear he's healthy. Live feed size vary from day to day. A normal live feed he'll normally eat around 20-30 bugs (he'll usually eat more locusts than crickets because he loves them). Also I'll offer calsi worms too on top of his normal staple every few days and he will literally not stop eating them. He goes crazy for them.

One feed a day sounds like a good plan because i've noticed lately if I feed him in the morning he won't eat as much in the afternoon/evening feed so hopefully doing so will encourage him to eat more greens.

Basking spot is raised and uvb covers whole tank just to answer your questions.
 
#4 ·
20 to 30 bugs is quite a lot even with smaller bugs....

Definitely time to start reducing, two feeds of that amount and he'd be totally stuffed.

Mid afternoon feed, a little smaller than what youve been giving an as average single feed, and really push the veggies, can also try tempting with a bit of fruit see if that helps encourage.

Papaya is a good choice, as is apple, blueberries and grapes.
Cut into smaller mouth sized bits and give it a shot, but dont over do it, treat them as sweets...