Should I buy this bearded dragon off Craigslist?

[Beardiebeth]

Hello! I’m new to bearded dragons and I’ve been reading up on them.

I found a 9 month old that is 13.5 inches in length and eating 4-6 large crickets a day along with a daily veggie mix. He has a big tank and a heat and uvb dual light.

My question is- is he underfed and too small for his age? He isn’t skinny at all. I’ve read about dragons half his age being that size and eating way more crickets than that. Is there any harm in buying him and feeding him more if that is the case?

 

[Hdrydr31]

It's always buyer beware when it comes to craigslist.. He should be eating more than that at his age for sure..If you do get him once settled a vet check to be sure he's not got an underlying issue causing the small size..How much are they asking? do you have any pictures?

 

[Beardiebeth]

150 including everything.

 

[Hdrydr31]

Doesn't look to be in bad shape so thats good. 150 is a fair price. So they are using a MVB for. The heat and UVB then?

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[Beardiebeth]

I asked about a uvb and heatlight. They said they had a dual light.

 

[Hdrydr31]

I asked about a uvb and heatlight. They said they had a dual light.

That fixture doesnt look big enough for a MVB so they likely only have a coil bulb in there. Which may be the reason its not bigger by now or eating like it should be. Lighting is key

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[Beardiebeth]

Is his length a problem?

 

[Beardiebeth]

Should I ask what type of bulb it is?

 

[Beardiebeth]

So if his lighting hasn’t been sufficient would that be a reason not to buy him? Or will he be okay if I get the right lighting?

 

[Hdrydr31]

He looks small for 9 months but if lighting hasnt been ideal he's still young so he should be fine. You can see if he will take a pic of the bulb..I would bet it's a coil

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[Beardiebeth]

Is there a certain amount of crickets he should be eating a day? Large?

 

[Hdrydr31]

Is there a certain amount of crickets he should be eating a day? Large?

A dragon his size should be fed med crickets and would likely eat 10-20 each feeding

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[Beardiebeth]

How many feedings a day? Thanks for all the help!

 

[Hdrydr31]

How many feedings a day? Thanks for all the help!

Young dragons should be fed 3 times a day . This dragon looks more like 6 months in age. You decrease feedings to 2 times a day closer to 10-12 months

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[PatsyB]

He doesn't look bad but as Hdrydr31 said, it should be eating much more at this age. The UVB light is a problem, but from the picture doesn't look like it's caused much damage to him. It's hard to tell his health from a photo.

 

[BeardedKevin]

My dragon Leezard was 6 months old when I got him. He was also small and hasn't really grown. He's now 6 years old he's doing well he's just small. The vets believe that there was a problem with his incubation process and the lighting can't have been great when he was tiny.
I personally wouldn't recommend a coil UVA bulb either you'd be better off with something like a 12% uva T5 strip bulb by Arcaida or Reptisun. I also personally wouldn't recommend the MVB as they can't be controlled with s Stat and get really hot too hot to bask.

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