Yearling & Hatchling Albino Dragons

[Namn8r]

Very nice lizards Gonzo, hope they survive and get stronger. I would suggest trying dimmer light also as someone else has already suggested.

HTH

Nam

 

[Gonzo]

CodeRed & Namn8r - they have been offered food in low light, and it didn't make any difference.
Spide879 - what breed of dragon are they?

 

[Jay84]

Gonzo they are beautiful lizards, the normals are also lovely colours.

Such a shame that the little albinos are affected by poor sight. It must be draining having all those babies to handfeed. Good on you for having the dedication and patience. Hopefully, in subsequent clutches you may get some without this problem and start establishing them.

 

[spide279]

The parents are centrals suppose to be red phase.More like orange we think.The first clutch had 3 albinos and 7 normal .1 albino survived for 11 days ( earlier pic) .Second clutch 6 albinos and 9 normal .I have one albino surviving for approx 2 weeks at the moment.( this one seems to be the strongest of the albinos so far).when he wants he can be as quick as the normal hatchies and dosent have his head down all the time and slow as previous ones ! All normal hatchies are doing very well. cheers

 

[Gonzo]

I'm posting any replies that I make to question that I receive by email or pm here.
This is the first.

How much?
I'm going to wait a few days and let the market set the price. I don't know their value either, and I don't want to sell them for $??? and then find out that the person that I sold them to re-sells for double, triple or more.

Long term survival?
Albinism in snakes doesn't seem to cause any problems, and the snakes are no harder to keep than the non albino variety. With bearded dragons, it's a totally different situation. Whoever buys an albino bearded dragon, is buying something with a major defect. It will require constant assist feeding. It may have a shortened lifespan. It may be incapable of breeding. Whoever buys one of these is going to be taking a risk.
What are my experiences with long term survival? From what I have heard, my yearling is the longest living albino bearded dragon. Albino bearded dragons have been bred in Australia for years . So Where are the adults? The fact that there aren't any, supports the view that they are difficult to keep alive, and could possibly have have shortened lifespans regardless of how well you attempt to look after them. Or perhaps people are keeping quiet about their successes?
This yearling that I have is not the only one that I've bred. Some died while I was learning how to take care of them. Others, I gave up on, because I thought that the assist feeding was too invasive, and that it wasn't a pleasant experience for the lizard to be continually put through.
The yearling had an albino sibling for about the first three months, but at that point I decided to focus just on the stronger or more developed of the two. I don't have all the answers and I'm not making any promises, or giving any guarantees with these lizards. They could die tonight or live for 10 years.

I can now feed the 3 albinos hills ad using a small syringe in 5 min. much easier, cleaner and quicker than the smear technique that i was using initially.

 

[richardsc]

i dont get the albino trend,people go on about cruelty with other stuff,yet breeding animals that light hurts there eyes ect and they generally are difficult to raise and need to be assist fed for there entire lives,give me a normal apearing one any day,no offence,its just a shame they dont thrive i guess

 

[euphorion]

very interesting, im keen to see how they turn out.

 

[jimtaylor]

Hey Gonzo do you still put a uv light on these guys in there tank most of the stories ive read the albinos tend to hide from it cause its too bright if so what type do you use or do you hit them with the vitamin d suppliment

 

[Gonzo]

The yearling was raised without any artificial light. It has floor heating and is taken out into sunlight as often as possible.
gonzo

 

[Renagade]

were you trying to breed albinos? that is a question for both gonzo and spide 279 I can only guess by the % of albionos hatched out of a clutch that it was your intended goal. were both the parents hets? I don't understand how with such a shab survival rate that breeding was so possible. has anyone bred with an albino dragon in aust?
ren

 

[Splitmore]

were you trying to breed albinos? that is a question for both gonzo and spide 279 I can only guess by the % of albionos hatched out of a clutch that it was your intended goal. were both the parents hets? I don't understand how with such a shab survival rate that breeding was so possible. has anyone bred with an albino dragon in aust?
ren

I've hatched dozens of albino viticeps and mitchelli and never had a single one last more than a few months. That one of Gonzo's would probably be the longest known lived albino beardie. There is obviously something well and truly missing in the albino dragons that prevents them thriving. They aren't blind, mine would react to sudden movements but they just refuse to eat.
I'd be very cautious about paying anything for an albino, they have been hatching in this country for years but no one has managed to get them established

 

[antaresia_boy]

Isn't it cruel deliberatly breeding them, knowing they are going to have eye problems and unlikely to survive? seems like human greed to me. Pretty animals at the expense fo their happiness and health. Correct me if I am wrong because this thread is all i've read of albino beardies.

 

[Gonzo]

I agree. I've said the same thing in my earlier post.

Long term survival?
Albinism in snakes doesn't seem to cause any problems, and the snakes are no harder to keep than the non albino variety. With bearded dragons, it's a totally different situation. Whoever buys an albino bearded dragon, is buying something with a major defect. It will require constant assist feeding. It may have a shortened lifespan. It may be incapable of breeding. Whoever buys one of these is going to be taking a risk.
What are my experiences with long term survival? From what I have heard, my yearling is the longest living albino bearded dragon. Albino bearded dragons have been bred in Australia for years . So Where are the adults? The fact that there aren't any, supports the view that they are difficult to keep alive, and could possibly have have shortened lifespans regardless of how well you attempt to look after them. Or perhaps people are keeping quiet about their successes?

The only reason anyone should buy one of these, is if they like things that are unusual. Raising the Yearling was difficult, but I'm glad that I put in the effort, and that I have him. I've learned from the experience. At the same time anyone who is considering buying one needs to understand that the thing that makes these animals unusual (albinism) also causes health problems.

I agree that they aren't totally blind. In some posts I've written that they can't see well enough to eat, other times when I'm lazy or in a rush, I write that they are blind. Maybe they can see something the size of your hand or the shadow it makes. But when it comes to hunting something the size of crickets, their eyes aren't up to the task, so they are functionally blind.
gonzo

 

[richardsc]

i made a comment on the issue of it being possably cruel breeding for the albino trait when it appears so far that they struggle to survive,thats one thing i dont like about albino lines,as with alot of folk its the albino they are after not the animal,and its the limelight and potential profits to be made,not the animals best interest,by no means am i having a crack at folk who breed them,maybe one day the eye issues will be able to be worked out,other albino lizard species dont seem to suffer it,but i guess skinks have the benifit of smell and taste to find food,where dragons rely alot on visual cues,are the albino water dragons suffering the vision issues the beardys are

hopefully one day they eye/feeding issues will be sorted,and with out future breeding trails,its hard to fix

good luck to all working with them

 

[Renagade]

The culinary extravagance known as foie gras, the “fatty liver” of male ducks and geese, is created by grossly manipulating an animal’s body to provide a fleeting gustatory pleasure to the palate. The foie gras industry uses an invasive technique to force-feed ducks and geese until they have become so obese their livers are engorged with fat. The diseased livers of the slaughtered birds are considered a delicacy in many high-end restaurants, which have attracted protests from outraged activists who regard foie gras as a frivolous appetizer inseparable from the egregious abuse of animals.







I fail to see how this differs. You are creating something that is visually interesting as oppose to tastes interesting. I can't believe you haven't had animal rights activist slam you. Is this not the exact reason that it is 'illegal' to knowingly breed animals with defects?

 

[Renagade]

Wow, I have to say I'm a tad underwhelmed at all the pro animal rights members rushing in with support here.

 

[spide279]

We bought this pair of dragons just over a year ago.Albinoism didnt even come into the picture.My son wanted a pair of red centrals. Breeding season came and they didnt know what to do and we were told by a friend they were too immature,so we thought next year we will try.They did end up having three clutches ,the last is due in a week or so.We were very surprised when the albinos were hatching alongside the others.This is hardly a breeding program trying to pump out albinos.Just a fluke and while they are some in the clutches we will try and get them to survive . My son was getting a little upset when any albino didnt survive ,but he is getting used to it. .All the rest of the clutches are as healthy as and growing quite rapidly and if anything should happen to one of those im sure he would be just as upset. We paid just under $400 for the pair and am sure if the previous owners knew what the were capable of producing they would not of been up for sale, or at that price anyway.We have had snakes for a few years and these are our first dragons.cheers

 

[Reptile_Boy]

i was talking to a breeder and he said something that they are only aloud to eat sweet potato only ????? i didnt think it was true but idk

 

[Renagade]

Thanks for responding spide279, I understand your scenario. It's a shame that with feeding and husbandry requirements the efforts a seemingly futile. Is it a slow always a slow decline or do some deaths take you by surprise? how much hope do you have for any surviving to maturity? what was the % of the clutch that was albino? was there any/many well developed hatchies that never made it out of the egg? cheers.
ren

 

[pythonsrule888]

now what i don't get is how a forum about albino beardies changes to a forum about ducks????