If you are noticing significant changes in your bearded dragon pet’s appetite, you might be concerned about their health. The issue can be anything related to overweight, obesity, or any other health concerns.
So, you may also get the question, Is my bearded dragon fat? Well, you can know this by weighing the bearded dragon. Also, you will notice significant changes in their features, such as the noticeable abdomen, fat pads, tails, etc.
However, this is a basic answer. I have got more to discuss. Further, I will cover how can you know if your bearded dragon is fat, their size chart, alternative ways that can make them look fat and much more. So, please read on to learn more about it.
How Do I Know if My Bearded Dragon is Too Fat?
You really want to provide your bearded dragon best diet. Also, you don’t want them to feed till they get overweight. So, it is perfectly normal and good to know if your bearded dragon is fat or if you have an obese bearded dragon.
However, there are some ways you can discover if they are healthy or if they are facing health issues such as being overweight or obese. Please check out below as I have explained everything about it here –
Unperceived backbone
The bearded dragons store fats in their backbone/spine. So when they are overweight or face obesity, it conceals their backbone.
So, when you try to feel their backbone, you cannot feel it. Therefore, you can know if they are overweight by checking their backbone.
Weight
Another way you can recognize if they are overweight or have obesity is by weighing their weight. A healthy bearded dragon typically weighs 300-700 grams depending on the age. Partially, if your bearded dragon is overweight, it will be around 750-800 grams.
If the bearded dragon weighs more than this, then it means that your bearded dragon have an excess weight. And it clearly indicates the sign of obesity in bearded dragons. So, you will need a weighing scale to measure their weight and know if they are too fat or not. If they are overweight, they need to lose weight as soon as possible.
Fat pads
When the bearded dragon is overweight, they will have fat pads on their body features. For example, you will notice significant changes in their tails, abdomen, jowls, and forearms.
These features will get quite noticeable and thick as fat is stored in these body parts.
So to examine if they are too fat, you can check these body parts and know if they are overweight or not.
Bearded Dragon Weight & Size Chart
You may have more than one beardie. So, If you want a way that can help you to find out the ideal weight of all ages bearded dragons, the table below will help you with that-
| Age | Weight |
| 1-2 months, Size (3-4) inch | 4-6 grams |
| 2-3 months, Size (4-9) inch | 8-40 grams |
| 3-4 months, Size (9-12) inch | 22-110 grams |
| 4-5 months, Size (11-16) inch | 41-115 grams |
| 5-6 months, Size ( 11-18) inch | 102-115 grams |
| 6-7 months, Size (13-18) inch | 183-188 grams |
| 7-8 months, Size (14-20) inch | 230-288 grams |
| 8-9 months, Size (16-22) inch | 252-327 grams |
| 9-10 months, Size (16-24) inch | 280-360 grams |
| 10-11 months, Size (16-24) inch | 350-465 grams |
| 11-12 months, Size (16-24) inch | 380-500 grams |
| 12-18 months, Size (16-24) inch | 380-500 grams |
| 18- 24 months, Size (16-24) inch | 380-500 grams |
Signs Your Bearded Dragon is Skinny
You have only found out the way to know if they are fat. But it is equally important to know the signs of skinny bearded dragons. So, your doubt about having a fat bearded dragon may completely turn the opposite.
To find out if you have a skinny bearded dragon, check out the symptoms below-
- The skinny beardie’s spines, forearms, leg bones, pelvis, etc. Become very apparent and noticeable
- Their head looks bigger than the body
- They will have a dehydrated look
- The skinny bearded dragon will have small muscles, thin legs, and tails
Signs The Bearded Dragon Is Healthy
You may have a bearded dragon that is not overweight or not skinny. They can be completely healthy bearded dragons.
So, some signs can help you to know if they have no health issues and are completely healthy. Please check out the below to learn about it-
- A healthy bearded dragon will move around a lot instead of sitting in one place for a long time
- They have bright eyes and smooth skin
- An unhealthy bearded dragon doesn’t eat enough. A healthy bearded dragon also has a strong appetite. They will feel hungry frequently.
- They will have normal breathing without a single gasp
- The healthy beardie will be doing more activities and also enjoy these activities
- They will have strong limbs and tails
Alternatives That Can Make Them Look Fat
You can sometimes mistake them for looking fat for some other reasons. Yes, other ways can make them look fat, but they are not unhealthy or overweight.
So how to tell if your bearded dragon is not overweight but the reason is something else? Here are the alternatives below that can make them look fat or overweight-
Bad stomach
Often, the problem is not their being overweight or having obesity, and the problem lies somewhere else. And it is not a significant issue as it turns normal after some time.
What I am talking about is constipation and a fat belly after a meal. Often you can confuse these things with being overweight.
Constipation can make their belly look fat as a lot of food is stored inside their stomach. On the other hand, when even we humans eat a meal, our belly can look fat. This happens with the bearded dragons as well.
When they finish a meal, their belly can look fat, which you can mistake as being overweight. So, as it will turn into normal after some time, you can wait. But if it does not, then you can consider this to be a real problem.
Pregnancy
Another thing that can make them look fat is pregnancy. In pregnancy, the bearded dragon will gain weight, and over time, bearded dragon’s belly will also turn big.
Also, you will notice the female bearded dragon is having difficulty in moving her body.
If you notice these signs, it indicates that they are not overweight or obese, instead, they are pregnant, which is making their belly look overweight.
How Can I Make Weight Loss In A Overweight Bearded Dragon?
If your bearded dragon is fat, overweight or have obesity, you must make them lose weight as fast as possible. It is important for them to maintain a healthy weight But how to make a bearded dragon lose weight?
These weight loss tips can easily help them to lose weight. The steps below will help you to do that:
Bring a change to diet
You may always provide your bearded dragons with foods with high fats. If that’s the case, then you need to change your bearded dragon’s diet.
The bearded dragon will get overweight if they daily have foods that have high in fat and sugar. So, if you are feeding them such foods, you must stop doing it right away as it can increase the bearded dragon’s weight.
For example, worms can make your bearded dragon slump. Specially larvae can be the main source of their huge fat store if this thing includes in their diet.
So, leave these foods out of their diet completely. You can feed them flowers or green leaves, which can help them to stay healthy.
It will also stop them from getting overweight or obese. However, feeding them gut-loaded insects can also help them to lose weight and stay healthy.
So, feed them insects but give a gap between days to feed them food. This will help your bearded dragon to lose weight.
Serve food on a large plate
The bearded dragons can easily eat large amounts of food quickly in a bowl. It does not take too much time to finish a bowl of diet.
After finishing that bowl, they can even ask for more food. So, the trick to reduce the excess fat is to increase their eating time and serve them low-quantity foods.
But how can you do this? Giving them food in a small bowl will lead to the same situation again. So you must serve them food on a large plate, so it takes them time to finish that food.
The main trick is to serve them on a large plate by spreading low-quantity foods all over the plate.
This way, they will not demand more food. Even if they do, you can repeat this strategy in the second round too. As a result, they will not only have fewer quantity foods but also eating slowly will help them to lose weight in this easy tricky way.
Knowingly, there is another way that can decrease bearded dragons’ eating frequency. You may always cut foods into small cubes so they can easily have the foods.
But you can cut these foods in slices, it will help them to finish these low quantity foods in a slow time.
Make them exercise
If you do not have anything in the bearded dragon’s enclosure to make them exercise or do any activity, that’s the biggest mistake ever. Not doing exercise can make them gain too much weight in addition to the wrong diet.
You must keep them in an enriched environment where they get climbing structures. Moreover, you can also take them for a walk, so they can move a bit every day.
It can also reduce their weight. Don’t worry about making them lost, you can use a leash to keep them with you throughout the walk.
Brumate
Brumation is a period when reptiles go into hibernation. During this time, they use their already stored fat reserves to support them during hibernation. During brumation, the bearded dragon lose weight as they eat nothing in hibernation.
So setting up such conditions will help them to lose weight fast. You can induce brumation in your reptiles and reduce the temperature.
By doing this, they will naturally lose weight. Please note that baby bearded dragon less than one year old should not be induced brumation.
What Happens If Bearded Dragon is Overweight?
If you have an overweight bearded dragon, it will lead your pet to have many health issues. It can also put them at risk of having a shorter lifespan.
Therefore, reducing their weight to normal and making them healthy is a lot important. However, you will get to know some health concerns they may face for being overweight in this section:
Liver disease
When your bearded dragon becomes overweight, it will have liver diseases. Liver diseases can put their lives at risk. In the worst cases, it can even kill your pet bearded dragon.
Breathing problem
An overweight bearded dragon can make them have difficulty in breathing. It happens because their weight gets heavy for them to carry around. So overweight beardies may gasp when breathing. You can even hear them gasping.
Dystocia
Dystocia is a kind of disease where female bearded dragons will fail to lay eggs and do reproduction. Although the female beardies get mature to lay eggs, this disease will not let them lay eggs of being overweight.
Leg bones pressure
When the beardie has overweight, the legs of these bearded dragons cannot handle the massive weight. They are designed to only handle a certain amount of weight. So this problem leads them to have pressure on their leg bones.
However, owning a bearded dragon is not that easy. But it is not that hard too if you know to handle these reptiles well. Having an overweight dragon will increase the diseases of bearded dragon. You must let your bearded dragon walk outside. Moreover, it will help to maintain the bearded dragon’s overall health. You must feed your bearded dragon a proper diet. It ensure your bearded dragon’s good health.
Conclusion
If you have bought a new bearded dragon, it is normal to be concerned about his diet and health. You may get the thought, is my bearded dragon fat? Is he healthy? After all, if they are already fat, overweight, or have obesity, feeding them an improper diet will worsen their health.
However, by reading this article you know if your bearded dragon is healthy or overweight. In addition, if they are overweight, you can also help them to lose weight by bringing a change to their diet, serving food on a large plate, and making them exercise. I hope this helps!
FAQs
All of the readers have some common questions regarding the bearded dragon’s fat issues. You may also get your answer in case you have any doubts. Please check out the below to learn the answers:
Is It Normal For A Bearded Dragon To Have A Big Belly?
Bearded dragons usually do not have big belly. Most often, this means that the beardie is affected by the parasites. Also, bearded dragons can become fat due to pregnancy.
What Is A Healthy Weight For A Bearded Dragon?
An adult bearded dragon needs to weigh around 400 to 550 grams. Wheres a baby healthy dragon should weigh 4 grams to 20 grams.
Can Obesity Shorten A Bearded Dragon’s Lifespan?
Yes. When a bearded dragon is extremely overweight, it can shorten a bearded dragon’s lifespan. Eating improper food can lead them to gain too much weight. As a result, the tissue becomes infiltrated and the organ cannot function rightly. It leads the bearded dragon to a short lifespan.
Hugues Beaufrere is the Exoticpetia’s senior writer and reptile expert. He has been fascinated by reptiles and monkeys since he was a kid and had years of experience in herpetology and primatology. He has cared for various kinds of Monkeys, Lizards and Reptiles and loves to share his knowledge and passion with others.
Dr. Patrick Simon, DVM, is a qualified veterinarian specializing in exotic animals, especially reptiles. He has a master’s degree in zoology and a doctorate in veterinary medicine from the University of California, Davis. He has worked with various reptile owners and rescues for over ten years, providing expert care and advice. He is passionate about educating people about the fascinating world of reptiles and their unique needs.