Do Bearded Dragons Grow to The Size Of Their Tank? Answered!

There are lots of factors that will determine how big your Bearded Dragon will grow.

When i was a new Bearded Dragon owner many people would tell me that having a large tank would help my Bearded Dragon to reach its full growth potential, so i did some extensive research to find out if this is actually true.

So do Bearded Dragons grow to the size of their tank? Bearded Dragons will actually only grow to the size of their environment. If a Bearded Dragon is kept in a tank that is too small whilst it is still growing then it can hinder the overall size when it reaches adulthood.

Read on to find out what size tank you should have for both baby and adult Bearded Dragons, how big they should grow in their first year, what can harm their growth and more.

Why Do Bearded Dragons Grow to The Size of Their Tank?

Lots of animals and even certain fish will only grow to the size of their surroundings. This is very common and allows animals and reptiles such as the Bearded Dragon to always feel comfortable and the right size for its environment.

This may seem self-explanatory but as your Dragons grows, so should not only the tank but the other elements inside the tank.

You should make sure that their hides are big enough for them to fit into with ease as these too can affect the overall size of your Dragon as they can naturally stay smaller to fit into them.

Usually, this won’t be something you have to worry about unless they are so small that your Dragon is struggling to fit inside the hide when they are a baby.

It’s important that you learn the recommended tank size that you need for different ages of your Bearded Dragon so let’s take a look.

Here are the tanks I recommend for baby, juvenile and adult Bearded Dragons. These tanks are high quality while allowing your Dragon all the space they need to grow and be happy.

What Size Tank Do I Need For My Bearded Dragon So It Can Grow?

Picking the right tank size from day one can help your Bearded Dragon to grow to its optimal size and also save you some money in having to purchase additional tanks in the future as your Dragons keeps growing.

You will have to get a larger tank as your Dragon reaches adulthood but if you pick the correct size tank to start off, then you should only have to purchase 3 tanks maximum throughout its entire life.

Here is a guide to help you choose the correct size tank for your Bearded Dragon.

(Please note the tank sizes are in ‘gallons’)

Why Do Baby Bearded Dragon’s Need a smaller tank?

It can be tempting to go straight in and purchase a huge tank then your Dragons is a baby and think that this tank will do for the rest of their life, however, this isn’t actually a good idea.

When your Bearded Dragon is a baby they will actually need a smaller tank

The smaller tank will help them to be able to catch their live feeders as babies often struggle with this.

Trying to do this in a large tank will often result in the baby not being able to catch them at all and a smaller tank is required until they gain better hunting skills.

Having a large tank when your Dragon is a baby can mean that you will have to resort to hand feeding them instead of letting them catch their hunt their own food.

I actually recommend the Exo Terra all glass terrarium for a number of reasons. This post right here shows you the exact size I recommend for babies and the best place to purchase it.

The Right Tank Size For Juvenile & Adult Bearded Dragons

Your Bearded Dragon will grow at a rapid rate until adulthood and they will move out of their first tank pretty quickly.

Then they are classed as a juvenile you can then move them to a tank that is much bigger anything from 50 Gallons right up to 75 Gallons if you just want to give them a small adult tank and you are confident they can catch their live feeders efficiently.

By the time your Dragon is an adult then I would recommend giving them the biggest tank you can.

Anything from 100-120 Gallons but certainly no smaller than 75 Gallons to really let them have wide open spaces and keep them stimulated.

Carolina Custom Cages are the brand I recommend for both juvenile and adult Bearded Dragons. Here you can see the exact tanks I use and how you can get hold of them.

The aim here is to give them an environment that allows them to grow when they are a baby, juvenile and even adult whilst trying to replicate their natural habitat as much as possible.

At What Age Are Bearded Dragons Classed As Babies, Juveniles & Adults?

We have now talked about what tank size you should have for babies, juveniles and adults to help them grow and keep them happy but at what age do they actually become adults, juveniles and adults?

Below is another guide for you to take a look at.

Using this guide will help you to determine when you need to move your Bearded Dragon into a new tank.

This will also depend on how big the tank is that you have, and how big your Bearded Dragon is (not just it’s age).

Measuring Your Bearded Dragon to Pick The Right Sized Tank For Good Growth

One of the best ways to determine what size tank your Bearded Dragon needs to be able to grow and also be healthy and happy is to simply measure your Dragon.

To accurately measure your Dragon you should measure it from the tip of its tail to its nose.

I have provided a guide to help you see what size tank you will need as they grow.

Please remember – this is only a guide and there are lots of variables that can affect growth such as genetics, species of Bearded Dragon, if it’s male or female and so on.

I have used the average size of ‘Pogona Vitticeps’ (Central Bearded Dragon) in this guide as this is the most popular Bearded Dragon species in households across the world.

What Else Can Effect Your Bearded Dragons Growth?

Ok, so you know that the size of the tank can affect the size of your Bearded Dragon but their also other factors that can affect growth too.

Let’s take a look at these factors so you can be sure your Dragon is going to have the opportunity grow healthy.

Heating & Lighting Can Effect Growth

Having a good lighting system can affect the growth of your Bearded Dragon.

You need a high-quality UVB light so your Dragon can process calcium.

If this does not happen then this has the potential to cause a lot of health problems for your Bearded Dragon including metabolic bone disease that can hinder growth.

They also need access to a basking lamp to aid digestion. Without a basking lamp, your Dragon won’t be able to digest food and process nutrients.

This will obviously effect growth and their overall health in a big way.

If you want to learn how to set up the heating and lighting correctly in a Bearded Dragons tank then check out my ultimate heating & lighting guide here

Alternatively, you can check out this post here and see my recommendations for UVB lighting, basking lamps and other essential tank equipment such as thermometers.

Diet Can Effect Growth

Another main factor that can affect growth is diet. This is something that you will need to pay close attention to when your Bearded Dragon is a baby onwards.

Baby Bearded Dragons need feeding up to 3-5 times a day in the first 3 months of their life and then 2-3 times a day from 3-8 months old.

If you don’t feed them often to support the rapid growth that is taking place in this first few months of their live then it can have an effect on their final size when they get to adulthood.

If you want your Bearded Dragon to grow properly and healthy then it’s vital that you have a good dirt plan in place.

The foods that you feed your Dragon are also hugely important.

As a rough guide, a young Bearded Dragon should have 40-60% of their diet protein from insects and 20-40% from vegetation.

This will give them a good balanced diet and everything they need to grow.

Related Questions:

How big do Bearded Dragons grow in the first 12 months? Bearded Dragons will usually grow anything from 16-22 inches in the first 12 months of their life. This can depend greatly on a lot of factors such as the specific species of Bearded Dragon, gender, genetics, quality of lighting and quality of diet.

How long does it take for a Bearded Dragon to become fully grown? It takes around 18 months to 24 months for a Bearded Dragon to become fully grown. Although a Bearded Dragon will grow to 90% of its full size in the first 12 months of its life.

What is the maximum length of a Bearded Dragon? Bearded Dragons will usually grow anything from 20-24 inches when they are a fully grown adult. This will depend on the quality of lighting and diet along with genetics and specific breed.

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