Central and Eastern Beardies.. what's the difference?

[OReilly]

Hi guys,
I attended the reptile expo in Newcastle today and i got phone numbers from 2 breeders, one breeding eastern bearded dragons, and the other breeding central bearded dragons.
Obviously they live in different areas of Australia but is there any dramatic differences? Size? Growth rate?
What is your personal preference, and what do you think i should get according to what you like about them and know?

 

[lizardjasper]

Well I have one of both! The only real difference is that easterns are more spikey, grow bigger, and have a more slender / longer face. And Easterns have 3 spots on their heads, whereas centrals have stripes. I haven't noticed much difference in their temperament, and I keep mine in the same tank (both girls) without any hassle. Just the nomal "queen bee" fights.
I don't have a personal preferance, they're both great species. Getting one or the other - its up to you. They're both as easy to look after and tame and are as gorgeous as the other. Of course, I'm only talking about the girls... Male easterns could be a different story (central males are just as wonderful as the females).

 

[MrSpike]

Central Bearded Dragon's are generally hardier and easier to look after.

 

[nicman72]

G'day OReilly, I'm also fortunate enough to keep both these varieties of beardy, and like lizardjasper, my eastern is a girl. She has the most 'ladylike' demeanour of all our female lizards; she's absolutely lovely to the other girls (who all free-range around the house), although she's older.
I believe easterns do get bigger than centrals, however one of our female centrals is heavier (not longer) than our eastern.
Although many people suggest that centrals are the easier of the two to keep, personally, I could not separate them based solely on ease of husbandry. They both have identical needs in this respect.
Our eastern is a grey girl, but she can go from so pale to be almost white at night, through to almost completely black basking in the full sun.
To my partner and I, she's absolutely beautiful, both in looks and personality, and is probably the friendliest of our lizards. However, if you're after a lizard that makes a statement with colour, I'd look at the centrals; you'll find all sorts of colours these days. Mind you, I saw a thread on here a while back with photos of a wild eastern, and it had some STUNNING colours on it - red and yellow from memory.
All in all, whichever way you go, you'll end up with a great pet; what you get will depend on what you are looking for in a lizard... colour? breeding stock? companion? display animal?
Make sure you let us know which way you eventually sway, and some pics of the new lizard would be great!
Cheers,
Nic

 

[Klaery]

Male easterns can be absolute beasts. I found a wild one here that was definitely over there commonly accepted 50cm length and was built like a tank. Something to keep in mind when thinking how you are going to house them.

 

[OReilly]

howdy guys, thanks for the responses! In respect to housing, im going no bigger than a 4 ft tank for my beardie. I just couldnt fit a 6 ft.
I am going for a central but im starting to like the more slenderness of the eastern beardies, i also like their darker beard. It actually looks like a beard haha.