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I have not read the books, but in the TV series Daenerys's dragons are very small and don't seem to grow. I was wondering how long it will take them to grow to the size that they can be used in battle? Is this mentioned in the books? Will they be of any use in battle for Daenerys or are they merely "diplomatic" tools?

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    This isn't straightforward answer, but: don't hold your breath waiting for the dragons :)
    – Andres F.
    May 2, 2012 at 14:43
  • A fully grown dragon would be a terrible weapon if controllable. Maybe a skinchanger could possess it.
    – TheMathemagician
    Apr 10, 2013 at 8:41

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The whole answer is a spoiler if you haven't read all of the last (so far) book, A Dance With Dragons:

I can't find a reference right now to the exact timing, but her dragons are about two years old at the end of the last book, and Drogon (the largest, black and red) is large enough for Daenerys to ride on his back.

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Whitebeard tells Daenerys:

Balerion the Black Dread was two hundred years old when he died ... He was so large he could swallow an aurochs whole. A dragon never stops growing, your Grace, so long as he has food and freedom.

When Daenerys asks about freedom, he goes on:

... it was noted that none of the [Dragonpit] dragons ever reached the size of their ancestors. The maesters say it was because of the walls around them, and the great dome above their heads.

So presumably, in the wild, for a dragon to keep growing, it needs to find food and a progressively larger series of caves.

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    As a service to future readers: "aurochs" is not a typo.
    – einpoklum
    May 17, 2019 at 15:58
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Dragons do not grow to a final size, though males tend to be more muscular then females. Dragons never TRULY stop growing. As long as the dragon lives, it will grow.

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    Can you cite something from the books to back this up. It sounds right, but I can't think where it's stated.
    – Niall C.
    Oct 13, 2012 at 14:46
  • given the nature of dragons as being portrayed as being reptilian in wester mythology (where GRRM got his inspiration), it's a good guess.
    – jwenting
    Apr 10, 2013 at 6:06
  • Some character does say that .. maybe Mormont to Daenerys .. I can't recall either. However the character may be wrong.
    – TheMathemagician
    Apr 10, 2013 at 8:39
  • I remember that being said as well at some point in the books, though I also can't recall who said it.
    – Dan C
    Apr 10, 2013 at 17:33
  • I think this answer is slightly incorrect. The books say somewhere that there is no such thing as a male or a female dragon.
    – Peter Shor
    Apr 10, 2013 at 17:50
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There is a sort of prequel book, it talks about the dragon masters and their dragons. It says as long as the dragons live they never stop growing. In one picture the master looked like a bug on the dragon's back, and the dragon looked to be about twice the size of a very large plane.

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