If you’re contemplating getting a bearded dragon as a pet, one of the things that you might want to know is how first these creatures grow and how big they will become when fully mature. Knowing at what age your beardie will be fully developed and its estimated size is crucial for decisions such as the size of the enclosure and the amount of food and conditions you need to provide.
Bearded dragons are expected to stop growing at about 12-18 months. At this age, the scaly friends will be about 16-24 inches and weigh about 0.85 to 1.1 pounds (380 -50 grams). However, they are several factors that will influence a beardie’s size.
Let’s delve into an in-depth discussion and answer a few questions about bearded dragons’ age and size.
At What Age Is Your Bearded Dragon Considered Fully Grown?
Although bearded dragons have a lifespan of between 7 to 10 years, you’ll be surprised that they are considered fully grown at 12-18 months.
Bearded dragons boast four distinct growth stages, each with unique challenges and growth milestones. They include:
Hatchlings
This is the first stage when lizards come out of the eggs. During this stage, your scaly friend will grow between 1.5-2 inches per month. In the first three months, bearded dragons experience rapid growth due to their fast metabolism rate. Baby beardies must eat several times daily to keep up with the energy requirement.
Juveniles
When three months are over, your beardies get in the juvenile stage. Here, beardies grow like weeds, but not as fast as the baby beardies. At this stage, lizards grow 1-1.5 inches and put on around 50 grams monthly. Juveniles need lots of food to keep growing. For this reason, they need to be fed 2-3 times daily.
Subadult
By the seventh month, beardies get into the subadult stage, characterized by a relatively slow downed growth rate. Lizards will grow steadily and have some increment in size and weight, but not like juveniles and hatchlings. The stage lasts from 7 months to around 12 months.
Adults
Bearded dragons will be considered fully mature from the moment they are 12 months of age. By this age, lizards are fully grown and will not add an inch in body or tail length. However, you might notice the creatures bulking their frames and becoming muscular and stocky. They’ll focus on building strong body muscles.
Once your bearded dragon is 18 months, it won’t grow any bigger or increase in size. Even the slow-growing beardies will have reached their maximum length by 18 months. However, watch out for obesity when the scaly friends are above one year old.
Since you’ve been used to rapid growth in the preliminary stages, you might be tempted to serve your beardie too much food to maintain a constant growth rate. However, this is unnecessary as beardies don’t eat much when they mature.
Once beardies reach 12 months, they should be fed at least 2-3 times weekly. A significant part of their diet should be veggies and greens.
How Big Will My Bearded Dragon Get?
Bearded dragons will experience accelerated growth during the first three months after hatching. During this phase, their size can increase rapidly from 3 to 11 inches and gain about 10 to 50 grams monthly.
The scaly friends will start to grow at a slightly slower rate. Juveniles will grow at an average of 1 to 1.5 inches and gain up to 50 grams monthly. For bearded dragons to grow, they must shed off their old skin and develop a new one.
During the early years, beardies shed their skin multiple times. However, once they reach 12 months, they don’t grow anymore, and shedding becomes an annual occurrence.
Essentially, bearded dragons can reach up to 24 inches in length and weigh up to 1.1 pounds when fully mature. However, on average, a fully grown bearded dragon above 12 months is 16-24 inches. This is the measurement from the nose’s tip to the tail’s end. They weigh around 350 to 550 grams (0.85 to 1.1 pounds).
Check the growth chart below to determine how big your bearded dragon will be at various times.
| Age | Size |
| 0-1 months | 3-4 inches |
| 2 months | 5-9 inches |
| 3 months | 8-11 inches |
| 4 months | 9-12 inches |
| 5 months | 11-16 inches |
| 6 months | 11-18 inches |
| 8 months | 13-20 inches |
| 12 months | 16-24 inches |
However, several factors come into play regarding how big a beardie becomes when fully mature.
3 Factors Influences a Bearded Dragon’s Size?
Although most bearded dragons attain the average size in their lifetime, some things might influence the size of your bearded dragon.
1. Genetics
Genetics is a great determiner of how large your bearded dragon will get. Currently, there are 8 recognized bearded dragon species. Bearded dragon species usually differ in size as well as other subtle features. However, only two of these species are kept as pets; the Pogona Vitticeps and Pogona barbata.
Most of the fancy bearded dragons, including those with flavorfully bright colors, are bred from the Pogona Vitticeps species. Most of the lizards from these species grow to around 18 to 24 inches. However, the German Giant Morph, which is part and parcel of this species, can reach between 24 and 30 inches.
The Pogona barbata species boasts shorter and thinner lizards than those from Pogona Vitticeps. They average a length of 20-24 inches when fully mature. They also tend to be darker and feature prominent spikes.
2. Gender
Your bearded dragon’s gender will also influence its size. The male and female beardies have differences in various aspects, one being size. Other differences between male and female beardies are observed in their femoral pores and the bumps on their tail’s ventral area.
A fully-grown male beardie is relatively more prominent than its female counterpart. Typically, male bearded dragons grow to reach a length of 20-24 inches. On the other hand, female lizards measure around 16-20 inches. Conversely, males weigh closer to 1.1 pounds than females who weigh less than 1 pound.
However, this is dependent on whether your bearded dragon is obese. A female that is overweight can weigh more than a male lizard. Therefore, monitor and keep an eye on your bearded dragon’s diet to ensure it doesn’t become obese.
3. Diet
For robust and sustainable growth and development, you must provide your bearded dragons with a healthy and well-balanced diet. Beardies should be given meals with the right nutrient combinations.
Babies should eat meals with 75% insects and 25% greens, while juveniles should savor foods with 50% insects and 50% greens. In contrast, adults should eat 75% veggies and 25% insects.
Avoid feeding your scaly friend with low-nutrient plants such as lettuce. As for proteins, avoid serving your beardies insects with high fat and phosphorus content.
Will the Tank Size Affect Bearded Dragon Growth?
The size of your bearded dragon’s tank will have a significant impact on the growth and development of your bearded dragon. Most animals will grow to a size their surroundings permit, and our scaly friends are no exception.
When you keep your beardie in an enclosure that’s too small, they might fail to reach their expected growth milestones. Bearded dragons raised in small tanks are likely to be smaller because of the constant stress and lack of adequate exercise space.
A condensed tank will mean that even the rest of the amenities inside the cage, such as hides, climbing rocks, artificial plants, and other accessories, will be tiny and won’t provide a near-natural experience.
Therefore, consider investing in a sizeable tank for your bearded dragon form when it’s a baby. Then, keep adjusting the size of the terrarium as the beardie grows.
Baby beardies need a smaller tank to learn how to capture live feeders and perfect their hunting skills. You should start with a 20–40-gallon tank and expand to a 40–75-gallon tank when your lizard is around four months.
For a fully grown bearded dragon aged 12 months, you should provide a larger tank with up to 120-gallon capacity.
What Leads to Stunted Growth in Bearded Dragons?
Sometimes, you might notice that your bearded dragon is not developing and growing as fast as expected. Unfavorable conditions inside the bearded dragon’s terrarium can lead to stunted growth in beardies. These include:
Parasitism
Parasites can heavily destabilize the bearded dragon’s growth cycle. These creatures not only suck blood from beardies but also prevent the beardies from getting enough nourishment. Whether internal or external, parasites are enemies of sustainable growth in various animals.
For instance, excessive intestinal worms can reduce the nutrients absorbed by beardies. This will mean that the nutrient will not reach the intended destination, hence a slow growth rate.
Conversely, these creatures might lead to parasitic infections that take a toll on the lizard’s health and lead to profound implications, such as loss of appetite.
Therefore, if you suspect your beardie has parasites, you should visit an exotic pet who will offer proper medication to help get rid of these parasites.
Poor Lighting and Heating
Bearded dragons are ectotherms (cold-blooded), meaning they rely on external heat sources to regulate internal temperatures. Conversely, they need adequate UVB light for sustainable growth. When these two elements are not provided in the right proportions, they might lead to bearded dragons becoming stunted.
Without adequate heat, bearded dragons won’t be able to perform bodily functions such as digestion. This means they will not get the energy and nutrients vital for growth. Additionally, UVB light plays a critical role in facilitating the absorption of nutrients from the food your bearded dragon eats.
Lack of optimal temperature and adequate UVB light means that your beardie won’t be able to digest nor absorb food into the bloodstream. This will lead to a slower growth rate.
A bearded dragon’s tank should have two zones: a basking area with temperatures between 95 to 105 degrees Fahrenheit and a cooler zone of 75 to 85 degrees Fahrenheit. Additionally, your scaly friend should enjoy at least 8-12 hours of uninterrupted lighting daily.
How Will I Know If My Bearded Dragon Is Growing?
Keeping up with your beardie’s growth rate is crucial if you want to know whether they are attaining the recommended growth milestones. However, the most pressing question for bearded dragon keepers is how they will know if the bearded dragon is growing.
The best way to know whether your beardie is growing is to measure its length and weigh it. Then, use these figures to cross-reference with the growth chart mentioned above. If the two figures correspond, your bearded dragon has a steady growth pattern.
Observing the shedding frequency is the other way to know whether your lizard is growing. As aforementioned, beardies must get rid of their old skin to give room for a new one as they grow.
Juveniles and baby dragons grow more rapidly; thus, they shed more. They will shed their skin every four weeks or even more. If your bearded dragon sheds its skin at least once every 4 weeks, it means they are growing just fine.
Additionally, pictures can help you notice the differences in size at various stages of growth. You’ll be able to compare the photos and see whether your scaly friend is adding weight or increasing in size.
How To Ensure That Your Bearded Dragon Attains Its Full-Size Potential
- Provide an enclosure of the right size
- Offer a proper diet as well as calcium and vitamin D supplements
- Ensure that the tank has adequate lighting and heating
- Treat your bearded dragon against parasites
- Provide clean and healthy living conditions
Wrapping Up
Bearded dragons are excellent pets to have in your home. However, to provide the best care possible, you must know everything about them, including how big they can grow when fully mature. As discussed in this guide, these are the key points when it comes to lizards’ size when they mature:
- Beardies are considered to be fully mature when they are 12 months of age
- At 12 months, the scaly reptiles weigh around 1-11 pounds and are about 16-24 inches long.
- Bearded dragons won’t increase in size once they reach 12 months
- Various factors can affect bearded dragons’ size, such as
- Gender
- Genetics
- Nourishment
- Size of enclosure
- Poor husbandly
- Monitoring your lizard’s growth and development will help you know whether they are healthy and happy.
