Beardies in the US how do they get colour?

[ihaveherps]

Hi guys and girls,

I own a few vitticeps that i was content with, until looking into the animals getting around abroad. Somehow they have colour morphs and such we havent heard of, and IMO the ones we do have are no-where as extreme.

I guess the point i am trying to get at is: Do we have these extreme morphs here, and if so post them please. Also would any experienced keepers have any tips about bringing the colours out, as i am sure there is a few trade secrets.

Thanks
Simon

Simon,

Its just a case of getting a coloured beardie, breeding it with another same coloured one, and keeping the best of the best hatchies and breeding them on further. Takes a few seasons, but eventually the colour genes will become stronger in the animals till you have a nice colour line of your own.

The only downside, is sometimes the side effects of inbreeding can become apparent after a few too many seasons of sibling mating.

[Jason]

its as teamsherman said just pick the best to breed with the best, there is alot of inbreeding in the us with beardies though, they have to be very careful when breeding cause chances are they have related beardies even if they got from different breeders because their gene pool is so small compared to ours. there are heeps of beardies in australia as good as what they have imo, you just have to find the right breeder i have been considereing getting to orange phase beardie hatchies next season and breeding them and holding back hatchies so i couls get a pair that produce crakers, but then you end up inbreeding to much. but i believe we will have beardies like that on the market in larger numbers in the next 3-4 yrs. also when you look at websites over there the breeders are only showing the best of their collection, so not all are that great.

[spongebob]

Hi,
When it comes down to it selective breeding is about commercial viability. Australia is a small market. Captive bred herps can easily and legally be moved between countries in the USA, Europe, Asia etc. So a breeder in one country has the potential to sell in another. I know people in the UK who have been breeding beardies since the late 80's and have to put a lot of hard work into care and supplying food in a cold climate. Normal phase beardies are currently around $100 for hatchlings.
Also I note USA commercial set ups often have a disclaimer about colour. All beardies change colour depending on a lot of factors. Heat the animal up, get it excited at the sight of another male and a well coloured animal can look fantastic. This is 'blue' unfortunately now deceased but I hoping for grandchildren this year or next.
Bob

[da_donkey]

ihaveherps,

Just do what i do when i get bored with mine, paint them! it doesnt last forever but you can have a new morph every shed.

I have lived in the USA and seen alot of what they are doing and i also have seen what we have, as what was said before i belive in the next 5 years there will be some great beardies produced by Australian breeders.

P.S I was joking about the paint.

[newtosnakes]

donkey, I wish you had told me your were joking about the paint before I went and repainted my entire collection a wonderful bright green. Was I supposed to get waterbased paints???

[Jason]

hi spongebob, just wondering with that red phase (which i think looks great) does he go all red when calm, eg the black on the back goes red all over, cause if it does then that would be one of the best beardies i have ever seen, and i would love to see some of your other pics, of the generation yo currently have.

as i said earlier i have no doubt that we will have some stunners in australia soon and thats when i will be getting more beardies

[ihaveherps]

Awesome pic Bob. That is one of the few true reds i have seen, not like how most of the time they are only red around the eyes or something. Of course i understand line/selective breeding plays a large role in the colour development, it is just i have only seen a handful of boomer specimens, thus having one or even a pair seems too few and far between. I am looking forward to seeing the development over the coming years and if i can track down some worthy specimens i will be working towards a similar project.

[spongebob]

Hi,
I'll post some pics of the next generation to blue when I have some time. They are not as brightly coloured as the mother was more normal in colouration. I'm hoping by selective inbreeding to get back to a simlar strength of colour. I bought this particular dragon for $60 as an adult, and I don't know of its history, but I don't think it was selectively bred over generations, just a particularly well coloured individual. When aroused it was jet black underneath from chin to base of tail and orange/red most brightly on the head, but this did extend down the back and sides gradually phasing out around the tail. He had little patterning on him.
I notice with the three pairs of beardies that I have that there is a lot of colour and shape variation-some dumpier than others etc. I'd be interested to know if anyone has knowledge of natural geographical variation, both in size,shape and colour.
Bob

[ponybug]

hi,
this is a pic of my red male, i've just moved my pair outside today, the girl was hiding, lol, he is half way through a shed, only his legs and head is finished, but it should give you a idea of his nice red colour, when at his best he is red all over, he is only a yearling so i hope to bred him next season,

[SLACkra]

steve he is gorgeous!

andrew

[pike1]

heres a pic of my orange female, unfortunately now gone as well.

[Caveman]

Here's an orange female and a couple of her offspring. The male was a nice golden color but I gave him away. I reckon there are heaps of nice color beardies around, orange one's like these are everywhere.

Mum, this is the only herp we have that I consider to be a pet.





Female at 6mnths.





Male at 5mths.

[beknluke]

I love beardies

[reptililian]

Oh boy, me too! I'm ULTRA-LOVING this thread cos I get to see lots of them. And I check Princess Fiona every time I log on. *sigh* I wish I had a dragon.