How Big Do Bearded Dragons Get?

So You’re wondering how big do bearded dragons get?

In this guide, I will dive deeper into how you can tell what will determine the size of your bearded dragon

After about 12 months a bearded dragon will be fully grown

After this, a lot of things will change. Things like mating needs, food changes, and sometimes you might have to get a bigger tank

now trying to guess how big your bearded dragon will get is really next to impossible but you can get close with the right information

Generally speaking, a Fully Grown bearded dragon will be around 320 grams to 530 grams in weight and about 16 inches in length give or take

Some will be shorter and lighter and some will be longer and heavier

How Big Do Bearded Dragons Get?

A fully grown bearded dragon will reach its full size and weight around the 12-month mark

They will reach a weight of 320 – 530 grams in weight and they will reach a length of about 16 inches – 24 inches in length

Sometimes it seems like they will never stop growing but they eventually slow down their consumption of food

Baby bearded dragons consume food like no other and they will be basking in the heat a lot to help them digest food

A lot of their size is going to come from their tail. About Half a bearded dragon’s size will come from their tail

Certain Bearded dragon morphs will be smaller in size and weight but if you don’t have a special kind of bearded dragon morph then it’s considered quite unhealthy for a bearded dragon to be smaller than 15 inches

Baby bearded dragon size

Baby bearded dragons (Also known as hatchlings) are pretty small usually no bigger than your longest finger

usually, these little guys will grow rapidly around an inch or so per week

Baby bearded dragons will be crushing all the food around them so you need to be aware of the proper diet they require in order to grow properly

Baby bearded dragons need a lot of insect protein

About 80 percent of their diet will come from insects

When you’re giving them their food make sure you dust it in calcium powder as well to ensure they’re getting enough calcium

You can expect babies to gain about 20 grams in the first month or so

A baby bearded dragon needs the right amount of protein and lighting in order to grow properly

The right UV lighting is required because it helps with digestion

You need to make sure that the UV lighting is placed outside the tank right above the tank

There is going to be a temperature gradient in your tank that will help you further and it looks like this

The basking side is where you’ll catch your bearded dragon after eating their food so they can digest properly

Juvenile bearded dragon size

Juveniles are considered to be juveniles after about 6 months of age

Bearded dragons grow incredibly fast so you will literally watch them become huge quickly and it will completely surprise you

This is where they will grow from about 20 grams to about 250 grams in weight between the first 3 months to the 6-month mark

Now one thing many owners completely overlook is the idea of space in their tank being a factor in their growth

Bearded dragons need tons of space to enrich their lives

I would already go for a really big tank (120 gallons) right off the hop so you’re not needing to buy more tanks as your bearded dragon gets older

I did this with my bearded dragon and he is happy and healthy

It did cost quite a bit off the hop but I didn’t need to make more major purchases as he got older

I only buy food and cleaner often

Don’t overlook how important their environment is to the health and growth of your bearded dragon

How fast do bearded dragons grow?

In the first couple of months, bearded dragons are rapidly growing

If you want to have your mind completely blown make sure you take daily pictures of them and then look back every couple of weeks and you will be shocked

Every month you should expect them to grow about 1 – 2 inches and gain about 20 to 40 grams

One major thing you need to know about is shedding

Bearded dragons will shed a lot when they’re babies

Since this will be happening more often you may see them slow down for a day or two as they shed

Don’t be alarmed at this behavior because it’s normal for them to slow down for a couple of days as they shed their skin

You can expect your baby bearded dragon to shed a couple of times a month

Adult bearded dragons shed around once or twice a year so this shows you how fast baby beardies grow

Bearded Dragon Growth Chart and Predictions

It’s hard to tell what size your bearded dragon will be at what time so I made you a chart so you have an idea of what to expect at what time

What can influence Bearded dragon’s size?

A bearded dragon will grow according to a few things in its life

• Genetics
• Environment
• Diet
• Gender
• Healthcare/Husbandry

Genetics

Genetics with play a role in how big or small your bearded dragon gets

In humans its the exact same idea

A lot of the time if you have a tall parent or a parent that has a certain hair colour you will take after that parent

Of course, you might not as well but it’s rarer for recessive genes to come through

Environment and tank size

The tank size will play a role in how big your bearded dragon will get

The bigger the tank you can get the better off you’ll be

When I bought my bearded dragon I went for the big tank right away at 120 gallons

This was helpful because I didn’t need to buy another tank and it was big enough for my bearded dragon to live in

One major thing that will be inside your tank that needs to be in good shape is the lighting

If your lighting is off you will be stunting your bearded dragon’s growth quite a bit

You need the right lighting which is easy to get and one thing you do need to remember is to change the lightbulbs every 6 to 8 months

Try not to let it go longer than that

Lighting is really important for your bearded dragon to be able to absorb nutrients

If nutrients are not getting into the bloodstream then it will stunt the growth of your bearded dragon

Vitamin D and calcium are extremely important to a bearded dragon’s long term health

If a bearded dragon isn’t getting enough calcium throughout its life it can develop metabolic bone disease and eventually can die if not treated properly

Gender

When you’re wondering how big do bearded dragons get you must know that gender is crucial to their size

Male bearded dragons tend to be larger than females

Bearded dragons have something called femoral pores and males usually have bigger ones

Males also usually have bigger beards, heads, and tails

Males are usually a lot more aggressive as well. They will hiss and bite at you more often than a female bearded dragon will

Bearded Dragon Diet

Bearded dragons can eat a ton of different kinds of foods

You should only feed them food that has a lot of nutrients inside

Bearded dragons do need to get a complete diet depending on their age

Baby bearded dragons need a lot of protein for example and adults need much less

This chart is a big list of food that they can eat

As an adult bearded dragon, they should be eating more salads than anything else

This will provide them with the right amount of calcium for their bones to stay healthy

Now some of the foods on this list are going to be high in phosphorus so make sure you check out the link above for metabolic bone disease so you fully understand their diet needs

Bearded Dragon Healthcare and Husbandry

Like anything else, lack of healthcare can lead to disease and poor growth

Mouth rot, impaction, bacterial infections, mold, Parasites, and other kinds of bad things can happen if the tank is left uncleaned for a long period of time

Any of these things can cause your bearded dragon to show some strange behavior

they will seem sluggish, tired, and uninterested in being playful or wanting to be held

This is especially noticeable when you’re bearded dragon is the type to come to you for attention

Bearded Dragon Weight

Bearded dragons will normally stop gaining a lot of weight when they reach adulthood

if they do continue to gain weight they most likely eating too much food

When bearded dragons reach adulthood they should only be fed once a day or so

When you do feed adult beardies you should feed them a lot of salads as well

This is less harsh on their blood sugar level

Fat bearded dragons consume too much carb/sugar content and need to cut back

if your bearded dragon is over 510 grams you have a fat bearded dragon

it is totally unhealthy for a bearded dragon to be that big and you should cut their diet back

Some owners think it’s ok to feed their bearded dragons as they feed themselves

A bearded dragon has a much much smaller body and can’t deal with the potential side effects of overeating like humans can

too much weight will lead to disease in. your bearded dragon

make sure to let them out for exercise as well

Is My Bearded Dragon Fat?

There are ways to tell if your bearded dragon is overweight or not

You can tell if your bearded dragon is overweight by the size of its belly

If it looks unnatural and protrudes then they are overweight

It almost looks like a beer belly for beardies

there is one thing that can trigger them to be more hungry which is the temperature of the tank

This is something that most new owners don’t really understand

The hotter their basking spot is the more hungry they will be

The heat helps them digest food better and faster

If it’s too high it’s going to make them more hungry

Make sure the temperature is between 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit in their basking spot(check the chart above)

If at any point you need your bearded dragon to lose weight make sure they get plenty of exercise, reduce any sugar content and feed them salads

Something you can do to get them to run around a little more is get them toys

Bearded dragons actually do love to play around with you if you take the time to do it

Is my bearded dragon underweight?

Sometimes you might have the opposite problem and your bearded dragon can’t gain weight

this can happen because of parasites as well so it’s worth checking out to be on the safe side

You can tell if they have parasites by looking at your bearded dragons poop

the next step is to make sure they’re getting enough food altogether

Sometimes people can get busy and neglect their pets needs

This is something I went through during my college years

Impaction is another reason why they might not want to eat much as well

This is when they have something stuck inside their digestive tract

When this happens they will choose to not eat because they know it will only cause more pain

One more thing you need to be aware of is brumation

This is when they hibernate for the winter and try to conserve all their energy

During brumation, they won’t eat much at all

Many owners actually think their bearded dragon is dead

Once you go down the list of possibilities you can narrow down if you need to take them to the vet or not

Sometimes a bearded dragon won’t want to eat much

Sometimes beardies can have a big personality and will reject food

A little trick I use to get my bearded dragon to eat more salads was by putting a little bit of fruit inside the salad

He would eat the whole salad to get to the fruit

Summary

Wondering how big do bearded dragons get is common amongst new beardie owners and it’s pretty easy to figure out. Especially with the charts, I provided you above

Remember that bearded dragons will grow to their full size in about a year which is going to be about 16 – 24 inches in length depending on which kind you get

They will also be between 310 – 530 grams in weight when they reach full adulthood

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