Not growing?

[EnviousSins]

So I picked up a bearded dragon about a month ago. She is a runt to begin with amd much much smaller then she is supposed to be. She is approximately i think around 4 months old. The same age as my other beardie. Shes in a 65 gal tank, eating, and otherwise just fine. But one thing i dont understand, is she has shed once, othr then her tail seems to be in a constant state of shed. But she is not growing. She gets all the proper lighting and temps. As well as gut loaded dubia roaches. It seems almost like shes getting skinnier at times? Shes pooping normally too. Ill include a pic of a beardie the same. Age

next to het too.

I am at a loss because all of her siblings are already hand sized and she hasnt even surpassed an 8 week old. Do you think this is a horomone issue? She gets herptivite once a week and calcium dusted dubias. Otherwise im just mystified and wondering if theres something i can give to boost her horomones. Or if i should opt to bring her into a vet. (Which id hate to do since most vets are just expensive and dont know what their doing when it comes to reptiles)

Any help would he appreciated. She will only eat about 8-10 dubias a day and i have to sneak her salads inbetween them. Pics are around the time

I got her and now.


Sorry about split images here. Idk why the forum did it

 

[EnviousSins]

I do want to note i just got a scale but i need AAA batteries. Which ill be picking up after work.

 

[EnviousSins]

Perspective. After dinner today i weighed her in at 8 grams at 16 weeks old.

 

[Janelle]

8 grams at 16 weeks? That’s extreme. Do you house the two beardies together?

 

[BeardedHippy]

Its most likely a stress issue caused by housing two together, but you cant rule out a parasitical infection. She should be eating a lot more than she is and parasites could be using up the nutrients she needs for growth.
When 2 or more beardies cohabit one will always dominate the other, taking the majority of food and the best basking spots. This causes stress in the least dominant, slowing development. This will only get worse as they get older and could cause other problems and undesirable behaviour. You will see, if you seperate them, that her appetite should increase after a short time when she realizes she no longer has to compete for food and her stress level reduces.

 

[EnviousSins]

They were not housed together. They are also fed outside their tanks in a bin with the roaches placed directly over a salad. I put them in together to show the size difference

 

[EnviousSins]

The one on the right i picked up on sunday. Both are eating just fine

 

[Janelle]

Crazy difference in size! I’d have a fecal done at a REPTILE vet right away.

 

[EnviousSins]

Yeah im going to. So weird. I talked with the breeder. None of the siblings have parasites or anything. The tank she was in hadnt been used in years and was thoroughly cleaned. I guess ill habe to do some more premade art work and sell it online. Need my money for rent and bills. Getting another set up cleaned me out lolz.

Ill see about talking to a reptile vet. Its $66 just for an exam fee here. X.x the testing and meds are going to be a painful charge. Uhg.

 

[Janelle]

They can pick up parasites from feeder insects, unfortunately. So sorry!

 

[EnviousSins]

I would not be surprised if the crickets i was feeding first had them. Or if she already had them from what ever her breeder was feeding. She came this way at 12 weeks old. Ill look into it thank you

 

[Hdrydr31]

Crickets are prone to having pinworms, beardies have some low levels of parasites it's when those levels get out of hand that cause issues.. Then there are the dragon babies that just fail to thrive not really sure why some don't when the majority do just fine..
What I'm wondering is 65 gal tank how tall is it? what are you using for heat and UVB?? It may just come down to she's not getting enough from the lighting to thrive.

 

[EnviousSins]

So i went to the vet last night but since shes refusing to give a fresh fecal sample we werent able to do anything. Verlt said shes too small to give any dewormer too without risking her life. Because it would be difficult at 7 grams to get a correct dosage (yea 7 before food) and not potentially overdose her. But that she seems healthy, no block in her belly, and cant do a cloacal swab due to how tiny she is. So without any fecal matter (and trust me we tried a warm bath and still didnt work) we cant test it. But she said that some dragons are just smaller then others but she doesnt think she has a parasite otherwise she would be more lethargic and not eating. I gave a thorough run down of my set up and she said i have the perfect balance of everything. But to just wait and see if she grows. But if i manage to get a fresh poop that hasnt hit the paper towel to bring it in asap. Which we all know beardies dont poop on command or heck even on schedule XD

But yeah i have no idea whats going on. She mentioned it may be a genetic mutation or possibly because she is a runt thats causing it.

Idk shes healthy and thriving but Tiny is just Tiny. Im concerned but curious. I want to peave this thread open however for just in case someone has also dealt with this and may know a bit more? Sometimes vets are wrong.

 

[Janelle]

Thanks for the update. Please keep us posted on her progress and weight gain. Hope she’s healthy and continues to grow!

 

[EnviousSins]

Alright since I said I would keep everyone posted on my beardies progress here goes.

Dez is sitting at 59 grams (the big red boi) and Tiny is at A lovely 20 grams <3 While she is still growing oh so very slow, I am more then happy to say shes actually gaining weight and a little bit of size. Granted she is still prob bout half the weight she should be for her age, Im just glad the lil twerp is doing so much better!

I know shes a runt but man. Can a beardie worry a momma. Esp when she likes to refuse to eat anything some times. But her appetite seems to have increased at least. So heres to a lovely pair of beardies! I will randomly pop in once in awhile with progress shots for you all to see <3