How Big Does a Bearded Dragon Get?

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

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

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

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