Vittikins Dragon?

[PrillyPayne]

Hello,

I recently picked up a new dragon from craigslist a few weeks ago. The add said she was a three year old bearded dragon but I was surprised by how small she was. When I met with the owner he said she had not been well taken care of by his ex-girlfriend and he even took it to the vet to find out why the dragon wasn't growing well. The doc just recommended some sort of bearded dragon pellet food.
As of April 15th, she is a total of 14 inches and from the tip of her nose to the base of he tail she is 6.5 inches. I thought it was strange how she could be three years old and be so small. So I did some research and found that "stunting" (a hindering of growth due to lack of space and nutrition) is sort of a myth and usually it is a different species of dragon. The two I found were Rankins and Vittikins. I feel she is more vittikins just by what I was seeing online. Is she a vittikins or could the previous owner just be B.S'ing me about how long he's had her?
I also noticed she has very reduced scales characteristic of a leatherback. I've always wanted one!

I can take more pictures if need be.

 

[PatsyB]

So it is sort of a myth about stunting their growth with a small tank however not providing the proper UVB lighting and not feeding it properly will definately stunt their growth. She could be just a small dragon. My boy isn't any kind of special morph or anything and he is 2 years old and 18" where my rescue we think is around a year old and she's 14.5 inches and that's with only 3/4 of her tail! They all grow at different rates.

 

[PrillyPayne]

So it is sort of a myth about stunting their growth with a small tank however not providing the proper UVB lighting and not feeding it properly will definately stunt their growth. She could be just a small dragon. My boy isn't any kind of special morph or anything and he is 2 years old and 18" where my rescue we think is around a year old and she's 14.5 inches and that's with only 3/4 of her tail! They all grow at different rates.

Thank you. We will be watching her growth now that we have her in a 40 gal tank and feeding her lots of fruits, veggies, and bugs. I guess time will tell.

 

[Bobbi]

In the picture of her full body, is the lower portion of her tail black? If so, could you take another picture of it?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Good looking dragon! I love her colors...Looks like a healthy dragon to me, just give lots of bugs and greens with fruit being a treat. Also making sure that you are giving her good vit's and supplements. She just may be a smaller dragon..
@Bobbi it is normal for their tail to get a bit black/darker in color when they are investigating something or in a "mood" like mating or dominance situation. It's when the tail is not shaped well, scales looking unhealthy that tail rot may in question. but good eyes!

 

[Bobbi]

Oh okay, good to know.

 

[PrillyPayne]

Good looking dragon! I love her colors...Looks like a healthy dragon to me, just give lots of bugs and greens with fruit being a treat. Also making sure that you are giving her good vit's and supplements. She just may be a smaller dragon..
@Bobbi it is normal for their tail to get a bit black/darker in color when they are investigating something or in a "mood" like mating or dominance situation. It's when the tail is not shaped well, scales looking unhealthy that tail rot may in question. but good eyes!

Thanks! She loves bugs but does not go after her greens as much as I would like her to. I'm looking forward to measuring her growth in the future.

I didn't know that about their tails either. Very interesting! In the picture with her tail looking dark she was in a bath with the other beardies. So that is probably why it was darker.

She is pretty skiddish. Its obvious the previous owner did not handle her much at all.

 

[Bobbi]

Thanks! She loves bugs but does not go after her greens as much as I would like her to. I'm looking forward to measuring her growth in the future.

I didn't know that about their tails either. Very interesting! In the picture with her tail looking dark she was in a bath with the other beardies. So that is probably why it was darker.

She is pretty skiddish. Its obvious the previous owner did not handle her much at all.

Then she's lucky to have gotten you! It sounds like you're doing your best with working with her, just take it slow and I'm sure she'll come around and learn she can trust you!