Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi everyone,

I've got my fair share of herps, but the boyfriend has his mind firmly set on getting a beardie in the next year or so. My one concern is that he is smitten with one particular coloring that I'm not sure is very obvious in a young or even juvenile beardie. BUT he wants to raise a baby..

So my question to you folks: how does one select for adult coloration? I was under the impression that you basically follow the lineage and hope for the best. To be clear, he's looking for a red red dragon with a black beard. Does the black beard follow a certain genotype? Is it something that pops up in some and not others? Is there *really* a way to look at a baby and have some inkling of what that kid will become, outside of considerably obvious coloration?

Clearly dragons are not my strong suit. I'm a snake gal.

Thanks for any help!

-Tami*

Im sure someone who is an expert will give you more information but really the color starts from when they are very young. Some dragons tend to lose a little of their color some gain color. Usually after their first year they will stay about the same color for the rest of their life. The black beard is something they do when they feel like they are in danger or when they are mating. The male dragons tend to be able to have darker beards though. Although when you are trying to get a baby beardie it is harder to know if it is a male or female from my understanding. Im sure someone else will give you more info but thats what I have come to understand. Hope it helps.

Black beards aent permanant - although males tend to display them more - the black beard display is something they do when angry, threatened, or "showing off" for a female. So you arnt going to get a dragon that has a black beard all the time - at least, as far as i know there is not a morph like that.

As far as coloration - pick one that comes from a goodline, look at the parents for estimation of coloriton. Although they will have pretty vivid colors even as babies so that will help too.

Proper husbandry, good lighting, good UVB is essential for maintaining good colorations. Natural sunlight is good for bringing out good colors - so depending on where you live, getting your beardie outside for some good old natural sunlight is a great idea.

Basically, if you pick a dragon with good coloration from the get-go, from a line with good colors, and house them properly then you should have a nicely colored dragonf or life
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1.1 Bearded Dragons
2.2 Leopard Geckos
1.0 Uromastyx (Mali)
1.1 Corn snakes
0.1 Mexican Black Kingsnake
1.0 Bairds Ratsnake
1.0 Rosy Boa
1.1 Green Anoles
1.1 House Geckos
0.0.2 Flying Geckos
0.0.1 Red Eye Tree Frog

Genetics is everything. If you want to be sure of getting a red, red dragon, make sure both the parents are strong reds. Lots of breeders' websites will even show pictures of the parents and grandparents (a few even great-grandparents) of their dragons. If you see three generations of nice red color, you have a good shot at winding up with the color you're after.

If you want a black beard, best to get a male, though they won't show the black all the time. There again, if the father of the clutch has a black beard, it's more likely to show up in his progeny. I do have one Hypo Pastel female that fires up a black beard but she is a freakish little thing anyway, lol. She is short and fat and looks more like a toad than a dragon.

If you can get your boyfriend to wait a few more months, "dragon season" will be in full swing and he will have lots of red babies to choose from.

Thanks everyone for your help!

We'd seen a striking male with a dark black beard when we toured the NERD facility & weren't aware it wasn't a permanent coloration.

Definitely will do some more research on some nice red parents.

Cheers!

-Tami*