Grey instead of Black beard (not shedding)

So after comparing some "angry" pictures with a few friends, I noticed Odins beard is very grey compared to their dragons. It's always been this way and he has shed a few times, so it's definitely not shedding. He's kept under a Reptisun 10.0 with a 105F basking spot and a good gradient on his tank. Fed a staple of collards, turnip greens, and mustard greens with other veggies and fruits a few times a week. Bugs once a week. All dusted with calcium, calcium with d3, or multivitamins. Otherwise very healthy per the vet. Estimated at age 5 as he's a rescue. His pre-rescue diet consisted of only crickets and pinky mice, and no lighting or basking spot. Could this be a result of the neglect and poor care of his previous owners?

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Also his beard is always kind of grey and some head scales have grey at the end of the yellow. Could this be related?

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Ignore the lip grey, that's calcium powder from his dinner LOL

cant see a problem

Looks fine to me as well. If there is an issue the beard usually goes really jet black.

Thanks guy! My worry was that his beard is grey instead of black, because all of my friends' beardies have their beards go entirely black. So if his beard is grey it means he's not fully mad?

Kellee":20jj5g09 said:

Thanks guy! My worry was that his beard is grey instead of black, because all of my friends' beardies have their beards go entirely black. So if his beard is grey it means he's not fully mad?

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You''ll see a range beard colors from these complicatedly moody lizards, from happy beards were they intensify their colours and literally glow, to full on jet black beards including black throats when they are very upset , in pain, very sick and when they are very cranky and also when they are strutting their stuff (to a lady beardie).
Grey beard is more an indication that a shed of the whiskers / spikes is imminent .

Good thing beardies don't play poker .... their beards would give them away everytime.

I've even seen our beardie with small patches of black in various locations on his beard while the rest of it remains a fairly normal color, often right after he wakes up from a nap, and then it fades out in a little while. I've wondered if we could ever learn to read the "code". :?

Agreed -- complicated moods and a lousy poker face. :lol: