If you’re a Bearded Dragon owner, then you surely want to know how you can get the age of the pet from its size. This is especially true if you want to buy a pet dragon and want to make sure you get one of a specific age. There are some characteristics that will tell you if the beardie is either a hatchling or an older specimen, and differences can be found between pets aged three weeks, four weeks, two months, three months, four months, and so forth. Even though these characteristics will give you a pretty good idea of the age of the dragon, there is no real way of knowing anything with certainty.
Even so, based on the specimen’s size, you will get a somewhat clear image of whether you are dealing with a baby dragon, a juvenile, a subadult, or an adult beardie. You will usually have to measure the pet by taking the full length from the tail to the snout.
So how would beaded dragons differ based on their size?
Hatchlings are usually a few days old
You might also like my articles on whether bearded dragons can eat grubs, kohlrabi, or banana peppers.
Newly hatched bearded dragons are called hatchlings. They shouldn’t measure more than four inches, but usually, they will be between two to four inches in length.
A bearded dragon aged 0 to 2 months old is called a baby bearded dragon
The typical size of the baby bearded dragons is anywhere between five and nine inches in length, with the younger ones being smaller, and the older ones closer to the higher end of this range, of course.
A beardie with an age between 2 and 7 months old will be called a juvenile bearded dragon
Any bearded dragon that is between the ages of two months and seven months will be called juvenile. When they are younger, they will be anywhere from five to nine inches in size but as they age, closer to seven months they will have a length of anywhere between 12 and 19 inches.
Dragons between the ages of 7 months and 18 months old are known as subadults
Beardies that are aged between 7 and 18 months are called subadults. This is the time when they will usually get close to their adulthood. These changes will usually depend more on the specimen’s size rather than its age. They will usually be somewhere between 12 and 19 inches in length at seven months and should reach a size of around 20 inches when getting close to 18 months of age.
Fully developed bearded dragons are called adults.
You should expect an adult beardie that is completely developed to be somewhere between 18 and 22 inches in size, although some might even reach 24 inches, especially while growing in the wild.
6. The typical age to size chart
You can use the chart below for an easier understanding of the connection between the size and the age of your bearded dragon.
| The Age | The expected size |
| 0-1 months | 3-4 inches |
| 2 months | 5-9 inches |
| 3 months | 8-11 inches |
| 4 months | 9-12 inches |
| 5-6 months | 11-16 inches |
| 7-8 months | 13-20 inches |
| 9-12 months | 16-22 inches |
Other ways to find out the age of your bearded dragon
Using the size to figure out the age is not the only way to find out how old is your pet. You can also use these other ways:
Consider its reproduction maturity
A first step in figuring out the age of your dragon is by considering its reproduction maturity. the gender of the pet will usually become easier to determine once the pet reaches its adulthood.
Ask your vet
Vets have a lot more experience with these pets so it will usually be easier for them to approximate the age and gender of the beardie, especially if the pet has reached its adulthood.
Ask the previous owner, the vendor, or the breeder
It’s easier for the previous owner or the breeder to figure out exactly the age of the reptile because they know when it was born. This is why this technique is usually the most reliable one, as long as the breeder or previous owner is a reliable one. Along with the pet’s age, you can find a lot more important details about it, like the expected lifespan, health history, and parents.
When buying from a pet shop, things will be slightly different. The vendor might have some information but might not know other details that you might want to find out.
If you don’t want to go through all of this hassle and only want to know the age of your pet out of curiosity, then using its size to get an idea about its age is still pretty reliable.
