So how big does a bearded dragon get? knowing this information is important for New bearded dragon owners
The size of a bearded dragon depends on a few factors that you should know about if your bearded dragon to grow into a healthy full-size Beardie
There are many things that can influence the size of a bearded dragon like
- Genetics
- environment
- Health
- Diet and nutrients
A bearded dragon is actually fully grown around the 1-year mark. Baby Bearded dragons grow insanely fast. You can notice a difference week by week

Table of Contents
How Big Does a Bearded Dragon Get
Bearded dragons can grow up to 24 inches in length typically
Now one thing to note is your bearded dragon’s size matters the most because of how large you want the tank to be
Many owners don’t understand why its so important but bearded dragons do need the proper amount of room to be able to run around and feel enrichment from their captive lives
Bearded dragons grow really quick. What I did to prep for this was get a big tank anyways
I ended up buying a 120-gallon tank right off the bat so I didn’t have to keep buying new tanks
If a tank is too small Glass surfing can happen.
A stressed bearded dragon is the last thing you want to worry about since there are so many things to cover
The first 3 months of a baby bearded dragons life is going to be the most rapid growth period
afterward they are going to grow a little slower each week until they are fully grown
After 12 months of age, they are considered adults and full-grown. Some bearded dragons will be bigger and some will be smaller.
A lot of your bearded dragon’s size is actually going to come from its tail. Their body isn’t actually that big
Just like humans, there is no magic formula for telling how big one will get.
You can guess based on genes and environment but sometimes those aren’t the only things you need to think about
How big do bearded dragons get at certain ages?
I made a little chart for you to reference back to
This chart isn’t a for so thing. Think of it as more of a guideline on what should be happening
Size | Age |
3 – 5 inches | 0-1-month-old |
10 – 12 inches | 3 months old |
13 – 18 inches | 6 months old |
14 – 20 inches | 9 months old |
16 – 24 inches | 12 months old ( 1 year) |
Bearded Dragon Size By Breed and Subspecies
Depending on the species some will live longer and have different behaviors
There are about 8 different types of bearded dragon species
The names of these Bearded dragons are actually scientific names but its much easier to define this way
Pogona Nullarbor
This bearded dragon species will grow to be about 15 inches in length at max when fully grown
This species of a bearded dragon is actually rare and can be a little bit more expensive than other more common species
Pogona Minor Mitchelli
The mitchelli bearded dragon is the common name for this bad boy
They will grow up to 18 inches in length give or take and they are rare
Pogona Microlepidota
These guys are pretty rare as well. They remain tiny throughout their lives and only grow up to 6 inches in length!
They continue to look like baby bearded dragons for a long time
They are also known as the Drysdale river bearded dragon
Pogona Henrylawsoni
The Lawsons Bearded Dragon is the common name for these guys
They remain on the smaller side as well at 12 inches in length
Pogona Minor
These guys are commonly known as the Dwarf Bearded Dragon and they will grow to about 18 inches in their lifetime. Sometimes smaller than that though
They are rare too so they may be a bit more expensive
Pogona Minor Minima
The Western Bearded dragon is the common name for these beardies
They grow to about 12 inches in length
Pogona Vitticeps
The Central Bearded Dragon is the common name for these guys and they are the most common bearded dragon to find
They are gentle and loving and can grow up to the largest size which is 24 inches in length
Pogona Barbata
The Eastern Bearded dragon is the name of these guys and they can grow up to 24 inches in length as well
They can be territorial so don’t keep them around other bearded dragons which is usually a bad idea anyway because bearded dragons are solitary creatures
Here’s a chart for you to use as well
Bearded Dragon Subspecies | Size in inches |
Pogona Vitticeps | 20 – 24 inches |
Pogona Barbata | 20 – 24 inches |
Pogona Minor Mitchelli | 16 – 18 inches |
pogona Minor | 14 – 17 inches |
pogona Nullarbor | 12 – 14 inches in length |
Pogona Minor | 10 – 12 inches |
Pogona Henrylawsoni | 10 – 12 inches |
Pogona Microlepidota | 4 – 6 inches |
How fast do Bearded Dragons Grow?
Starting off with Baby Bearded Dragons which grow super fast. They will grow (depending on the subspecies) from 3 inches in length to 10 -12 inches in length
They will typically grow about an inch or two per month
Eventually, as they reach juvenile age their growth will slow down to about an inch per month
Everything happens like crazy during this phase
They will shed, poop, eat, drink and exercise more than ever
You can expect your bearded dragon to shed at least once a month
Once they have aged a bit everything will slow down. You can expect an adult bearded dragon to shed around 1 to 2 times per year
How Big Will My Bearded Dragon Get?
Your bearded dragon will grow to about 14 inches or so by 6 to 8 months
My bearded dragon followed this trajectory
He is now a fully grown beardie at 21 inches in length
If your bearded dragon has reached 14 inches or so in the first 6 months he will most likely grow to be about 20 inches
Bearded Dragons tend to stop growing once they reach sexual maturity which is around the 18 month period. Sometimes its sooner and sometimes it’s later
These things can be hard to predict because like anything else some bearded dragons will take more time and some will be ready sooner
My bearded dragon stopped growing after about 14 months or so. I honestly thought he was never going to stop
What Factors into the Size of the Bearded Dragon
There are a few things that will factor into the size of your bearded dragon
- genetics
- environment
- gender
- diet
- if they get sick
- lighting
- brumation
First, let’s look at
Genetics
This is the first indication of what will make your bearded dragon big or small
Like humans, we are boxed in by DNA
Sometimes there are rare cases where they might go way outside their genetic potential but those cases are rare among living creatures
Genetics will play a massive role.
Environment
A bearded dragon will grow differently depending on its environment. Their tank will play a massive role in this as well
i always tell new owners to go for a tank that seems too big for them. I would get a 120-gallon tank off the bat and be done with buying new tanks for the life of the bearded dragon
If a tank is too small your bearded dragon simply won’t grow as big as it can
Make sure you get a tank that is about 3 times the size of them in inches give or take
Lighting
If you don’t have good lighting your bearded dragon will not grow very big as well
They need proper UVB lighting
Make sure you replace the bulbs every 6 months even if they haven’t burnt out.
They will stop giving off the same UV lighting they did when they were fresh bulbs so replace them
Diet
For your bearded dragon to grow into a healthy big beardie they need the right diet.
They need lots of calcium and protein to grow big when they are babies
The right diet will need to continue for them to stay healthy of course but when they are young they will need good supplementation and diet requirements
First, you must make sure they have the right amount of calcium. To do this make sure you feed them a good amount of vegetables and dusted insects
When a bearded dragon is young it is best to feed them more protein and as they get older you can slowly introduce more vegetables into their diet
Baby bearded dragons should be eating 75 to 80 percent protein that is gut loaded and dusted
adult bearded dragons will eat 75 to 80 percent vegetables and 20 percent protein with some fruit here and there as a treat
Gender
Depending on if a bearded dragon is a male or female will make a difference in size most of the time
Male bearded dragons are typically longer and bigger
females tend to be wider. Female bearded dragons will be slimmer compared to males like their heads.
Disease and sickness
If your bearded dragon gets really sick early in life it can easily stunt its growth
MBD or metabolic bone disease is a serious disease that can happen to beardies if you’re not careful
this is basically when your bearded dragon doesn’t get enough calcium in its diet
They can also get parasites early on as well which can affect how much they eat because they won’t want to eat or what they actually do eat isn’t getting absorbed
the best thing you can do to prevent disease is to
- Keep the tank clean and free of any bacterial and fungal buildup. Do a deep clean once a month
- use a good substrate thats easy to clean and not loose
- Loose substrate can cause impaction which can lead to them getting sick
- Keep wild insects and food away from your bearded dragon. stick to store bought stuff only
- Change the water frequently and use clean water every time
if you see them acting slow and sluggish take them to the vet and be on the safe side
Early brumation
This can happen as well and its basically when a bearded dragon hibernates
When this happens everything slows down and your bearded dragon won’t grow like its supposed to
Brumation will happen during the winter months because its hard to find food and resources that would be more plentiful in the spring and summer months
Their metabolism slows down which means if they enter early brumation they will slow their growth
When a bearded dragon is in captivity brumation can still happen if they have a view of the sun and they can feel the temperature fluctuations happening outside
make sure they stay away from the windows as much as possible
it’s honestly okay if it happens during adulthood but when they’re young it’s not too good
Bearded dragon Weight
Bearded dragons are quite small creatures so we will use grams to measure their weight
My bearded dragon is about 430 grams. He was heavier but I cut back how much fruit he was having and now I make sure he gets more exercise
Most bearded dragons are going to be between 350 – 520 grams give or take
As they are growing you can watch their weight if you want to. some owners take this seriously and others do not
I personally don’t. I pay close attention to how my beardie is acting and if he is acting strange he might be sick
I do regular vet checkups as well so I’m not too concerned about this
just make sure your bearded dragon doesn’t get overweight which is around 520 grams or higher
To weigh them you can actually get a food scale and place them on it
They may run around so you can weigh them in a container. First, weigh the container itself and then weigh the bearded dragon and subtract the weight of the container
How you can tell if your bearded dragon is getting overweight
He will simply have a big belly and will be pudgy on its sides
don’t mistake them for lying flat as being pudgy
when bearded dragons lay down flat is because they’re usually trying to absorb more heat from the bulbs
They would do this in the wild too
Make sure that the tank temperature isn’t too hot or cold
The basking spot should be between 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit
if it is too hot they can get more hungry so make sure it’s in a good range
If they are gaining too much weight put them on a diet of mostly greens and get them exercising more. Get them out of the tank and let them run around inside your house if you can
How you can tell if your bearded dragon is underweight
They will look sickly if they are too skinny
They will have these little fat pads on their legs that won’t really be there
Their belly will look flat and sunken
You can easily see their ribs and spine whereas when they’re in good weight it’s hard to see
If they are underweight start adding more protein to their diet and start adding more fatty foods like waxworms and mealworms
Again if they are too sluggish it could be because of brumation so know that
Summary, FAQ’s and things you might not know + questions
a typical bearded dragon will wight between 350 – 520 grams and will be about 15 to 24 inches in length
as a bearded dragon gets older it will need to switch from a diet of mainly protein to a diet mainly made up of vegetables
your bearded dragon will stop growing rapidly after about 6 months or so and it will enter the juvenile phase
Questions
How big does a bearded dragon get in the first 6 months?
bearded dragons grow from 1 to 3 inches to 13 to 18 inches in the first 6 months