beardie too small?

[Thesuperdragons]

Hi everyone, I have a 1 year old bearded dragon named Smaug and I'm worried he's a little small. He's 17 inches long in a custom enclosure (I think a 3 foot by 2 foot by 2 foot). When he was a baby I mainly feed him black solider fly larvae with crickets and some canned dragonfly larvae and veggies like bell peppers and strawberries and dandelion greens. I am part of a reptile discord server and they told me that solider fly larvae is a bad staple food for dragons and started attacking me about it and calling me a bad owmer, but I've read everywhere that they're really good. Is that why he's small? or is he just a slow grower ?

 

[Reptilelady86]

Hi,
I am curious did they explain why BSFL's are bad staples? Based on these websites http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
https://symtonbsf.com/blogs/blog
Shows that they are good high calcium to phosphorus ratio.
All bearded dragons growth vary to one another so it could just be your beardie growing slower.

 

[Thesuperdragons]

this was him a month ago

 

[Thesuperdragons]

Hi,
I am curious did they explain why BSFL's are bad staples? Based on these websites http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutrition.html
https://symtonbsf.com/blogs/blog
Shows that they are good high calcium to phosphorus ratio.
All bearded dragons growth vary to one another so it could just be your beardie growing slower.

That's the thing they didn't really tell me why they just said that the proof was that my beardie was small and just started referring to him as stunted even though I'm pretty sure that he's not but I don't know.

 

[BeardedHippy]

Ok, first, for a year old he isnt small at all, you have to remember there is some genetic variation between dragons just like there are short and tall people. At a year both of my dragons were 18 inches and they were fed on dubia roaches. I never thought of them as being small, in fact they are a good size.
Second, you have your dragon on a good varied diet. BSFL are high in calcium unlike other insects, they have always been considered to be a good feeder, but they shouldnt be fed exclusively, which you dont.

The people on that forum were completely over reacting, you are not a bad owner in the slightest, pay no attention to them.

 

[PatsyB]

My boy is 18" at 3 1/2. My guy is husky though, what he lacks in length he makes up for in girth. Variety is the key in feeding these guys and sounds like you do offer variety.

I just had one question, what kind of UVB lighting are you using and when was it last changed?

 

[Hdrydr31]

It really is dragon specific they all grow at different rates.. BSFL are really good feeders but as Patsy said variety is best so you get all areas of nutrition covered.. I agree what lighting and when was it changed.

 

[AnandaTheDragon]

I don't think that 17 inches at a year is necessarily overly small. Mine was a little longer than that, but not by much. Are you making sure to give your dragon calcium? Also, they need good UVB light in order to properly digest food. I would recommend mercury vapor UVB lights because they produce more UVB light for longer than the cheaper lights.

My vet also recommends trying to vary the diet as much as possible. I try to give mine baby food periodically (veggies, meat sometimes). Also trying to keep them hydrated is pretty important. I soak mine several times a week at least.

Dave

 

[Lindsey-Star Duhe]

Maybe they were referring to the canned larvae? That part isn’t the best for them. My dragon is overtly large, so I don’t know what is “normal” size at a year.



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