Help me -> rescued dragon

[RMia123]

Hi I'm a new owner of a bearded dragon. The woman I bought it off thought it was a rankin dragon and female, she said she'd had it 4 yrs 1 month and that its birthday is in july... Birthday doesn't make sense! I've had him 2 weeks this saturday and am fairly certain he's male and perhaps even a baby beardie. He's 14" from head to tail, has no interest in veggies is very friendly, sleepy and playful. He was fed on KALE and morio worms with calcium dust. Is he just an extremely small adult? I'm worried as I'm unsure of whether to feed him maily live or mainly veg. Will attach photos.
Any help greatly appreciated!!

 

[mamaof2dragons]

it could be a small adult, my Stryker is 4 yrs old and only 15 inches long but weighs 485 grams. yours kinda reminds me of her except she is a little more reddish orange.
yours is a handsome dragon to be sure.

 

[BeardedHippy]

The way they are raised (food, light etc) can affect the size, but there is a chance it is just genetic. While she is small for her age, as long as she is healthy there is nothing to worry about. Her eyelids look a bit droopy in the pics, she could be a bit dehydrated. While it is rare they will drink from standing water, their super efficient livers extract their water needs from their food. Put a drop of water on her nose and she should lick it off if you want to get fluids into her.
Try get her into some different veg, kale is not good and should only be fed in moderation. Morio worms, we know now, are quite fatty, again not too good as a staple food. Try mixing it up a bit with some dubias or crickets. At her age she should be eating mostly veg, but some dragons can be a bit funny that way, some just wont eat anything that doesnt move. Gut loading your bugs is a good way to get veggies into your dragon if it wont eat the veg.
Here is a good nutrition list we all use here

http://www.beautifuldragons.com/Nutritionframeset.html

 

[RMia123]

Since having her I have been feeding her on crickets as a staple but I can barely get her to eat any veg. All I can get her to eat is a tiny bit of cucumber, tomato and apple. For a while I was wondering if she was about 6 months old as I thought the woman was lying especially since the woman said she was 4 years and 1 month old but her birthday is in july and I got her in january? I have only managed to get her to eat veg and fruit once while shes been here and I've offered her plenty of different salads. I will try and get her to drink but she only seems to drink when I bath her. Thank you for both leaving me messages!
So are you guys thinking shes an adult?

 

[RMia123]

Since having her I have been feeding her on crickets as a staple but I can barely get her to eat any veg. All I can get her to eat is a tiny bit of cucumber, tomato and apple. For a while I was wondering if she was about 6 months old as I thought the woman was lying especially since the woman said she was 4 years and 1 month old but her birthday is in july and I got her in january? I have only managed to get her to eat veg and fruit once while shes been here and I've offered her plenty of different salads. I will try and get her to drink but she only seems to drink when I bath her. Thank you for both leaving me messages!
So are you guys thinking shes an adult?

 

[BeardedHippy]

I think she is an adult that perhaps didnt get enough nutrition or UVB or heat as a juvenile, stunting her growth . Besides, it seems an odd thing to lie about, maybe you should just take her word for it, surely a juvenile is worth more than an adult. Like I said, as long as she is healthy, good things come in small packages.

 

[RMia123]

I absolutely adore her as she is, I just worry about her well-being as she wasn't looked after in her previous home and I want to give her the best life. Well the reason I think the woman lied is because she told me she was a rankin dragon to try to get more money off me... The woman also said she was born in july which would make her 6 months old and to me she looks very young and under developed.

 

[RMia123]

Also it's still very difficult to tell his/hers gender which would make sense if she was younger.

 

[BeardedHippy]

hmmm, maybe it is a Rankins, aside from being smaller they are pretty much identical to normal beardies. They aren't as common but they are out there in the pet trade. The size would be about right for an adult sized Rankins Dragon. Maybe someone else has a better idea of its genus.
Have you tried the flashlight test to determine sex? even at 6 months you should be able to tell, two bumps=male ,one bump=female.

 

[RMia123]

what about the beard though? Rankins dont have beards...

 

[BeardedHippy]

lol oh yeah, beardie then... well if it is still a juvenile you will soon know as it will keep growing, if its an adult it won't.

 

[RMia123]

Haha! I dont know why but I hadn't thought about that... she/he has already grown a lot since I've had him/her. Hmmm

 

[Virginia]

we've had a few beardies over the years, and that looks like either a young dragon, or a skinny adult...my guess would be a baby beardie.

 

[Elle]

I adopted my Male bearded dragon, I was told he was 4 yrs old. He isn't as long as adult Male dragon should be, because he was not fed the proper diet.
As well as calicum, make sure your giving your beardie herptivite, a multi vitamin as well. Consider giving your beardie, worms that have high moisture content and calicum. Horn worms, butter worms, calci- worms. Dandelion greens, turnip greens, papaya, catcus pears. Kiwis fruit. No bananas, it binds to calicum. I found a great website.

 

[Elle]

Page 2.

 

[Elle]

Page 3

 

[Elle]

She or he isn't 4, looks younger. Here is my Male bearded dragon. Godzilla. He's spoiled.

 

[OHnatalie]

Below, I cut and paste a response I sent to someone else. In addition to that, some additional suggestions:

Be sure you do a search of what actually to feed a beardie....I wouldn't encourage cucumber too often. Consider your staples Collard Greens, Mustard Greens, Dandelion, Turnip, Endive, add some prickly pear...stuff like that. My girl has been finicky off and on...but when I use the Emeraid in conjunction with the kitty boost (noted below), that really picks her up to then start eating, acting like a normal beardie. My vet stated (btw that's how we found out our he was a she) that in the winter months, sometimes the beardies want to go into hibernation and at the time our little girl was not fat/healthy enough to even consider it nor did our vet encourage that route. That is why my vet prescribed the Emeraid...and I do supplement it in the winter months. Initially I fed her Emeraid daily til she perked up (including using the kitty boost) and then I do it about once/twice a week just to be sure she is staying healthy thru the winter.

Here is a response I wrote to another beardie keeper, hopefully something in this article may be of some help. I don't think the first point is for you, but consider the second and/or third points...

A couple ideas.... First, I definitely would encourage out of the cage more, but only if your critter really wants down to run (sometimes my girl only wants to sit on my shoulder.) Sorry, mine is a girl, yet I've notice when she is getting ready to shed, or thinking of hibernation cuz of the winter light, she does have changes in personality and mood.
Secondly, when my girl is in one of her "moody stages", she too doesn't seem to want to eat so my vet recommended a supplement (Emeraid Systems, for exotice animal critical care - life saving nutrition, Emeraid.com) that I feed her by syringe...to keep her weight up. Keeping up the nutrition aspect insures whatever she is going thru she is healthy. (I tend to mix this with either veggie water I've made, or the emeraid powder mixed with cooked sweet potato/acorn squash and water) and boy does she LOVE that mix!!!! But you really only have to mix it with water. Occasionally I'll add a little calcium....oh, my vet recommended the calcium NOW brand (people stuff) vs the stuff found in pet stores...a little more potent.
Third, I have been using essential oils on my animals (cats and dogs) via Dr. Melissa Shelton AnimalEO.com who has been treating/practicing for over 20 years on all types of critters. Recently I've gotten serious since my cat with feline aids has been having issues. By researching dr shelton's on-line site I have learned I can use these on the beardie...and I've notice a difference with her too. You may want to research these oils, especially..kittyboast I've learned you can take a drop, rub it in your hands and then lightly hold your critter. Been giving my beardie the pick-me-up boast she's needed -more active, eyes brighter... Another you might consider is open air if your noticing any type of respiratory issues...I've been lightly diffusing this in our house and see it helping all of us...both critters and humans. If you are on Facebook, AnimalEO has a group you can join. You can learn lots there as well as ask questions.
I'm no expert, these are just suggestions. Be sure to research all before you decide in any direction. Just hope one of these avenues helps you to take care of that special little guy

 

[RMia123]

She or he isn't 4, looks younger. Here is my Male bearded dragon. Godzilla. He's spoiled.

he's gorgeous!

 

[OHnatalie]

he's gorgeous!

Very pretty, looks just like our Dashell ! (Ok, so maybe I'm biased ....hahahaha) Here is a couple photos of our baby....looks real similar doesn't she ....and don't ask, second one...she's still in her "sleeper"...hahahaha