Barbata.... why?

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Claudiusx

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Why are some breeders mixing Barbata into their lines?
I've seen it more thab a few times. Hybrid, 1/8th Barbata. Why?

-Brandon
 

Claudiusx

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Well it is but why? Lol

Like what does the Barbata bring to the table? Longevity? Health? A special spike pattern? Darker colors? I can think of a dozen possibilities but I'm curious as to what they actually are.

-Brandon
 

kingofnobbys

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I think it's because :
>> they are larger than centrals , up to 70cm
>> they are very rare outside Australia ==> can attract more $ per hatchling
>> more resistant to high levels of humidity (being found along the entire east coast of Australia from Victoria to Cairns in far north Queensland and even as far the tip of Cape York , and inland as far as Burke).

Personally , unless the hybridization is natural (occurring in the wild , the natural ranges of barbata & vitticeps have a large area of overlap and some natural hybridization is known to happen in the wild) I think it's not something that should be promoted in captivity.
 

kingofnobbys

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claudiusx":19z3mu8w said:
Why are some breeders mixing Barbata into their lines?
I've seen it more thab a few times. Hybrid, 1/8th Barbata. Why?

-Brandon

I/8th barbata is going to be hard to disprove without very good breeding records going back 3 generations.

I'd expect to see these here (NSW, Victoria, Queensland) where barata are relatively common in captive breeding programs , but overseas …. I'd ask to see the original pure or 1/2th breed barbata and then I'd be asking exactly how the overseas breeder got their hands on it (it wont be via legal means).
 

Claudiusx

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Interesting and good points. I can see size being one definitely as it seems breeding for morphs has caused dragons to shrink.
The humidity idea is an interesting one too.

Personally the hybrid term puts me off. Makes me wonder why you thought your bloodline needed strengthening in the first place. But like I said, that opinion is solely based on my thinking for why Barbata was bred into the line in the first place.

-Brandon
 

Drache613

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Hello,

Barbatas are stunning to say the least! I agree, size, color & the ability to sustain at higher humidity
levels.
There are a couple of breeders in the US I think that have some, but if so then they obtained them
illegally as they are not supposed to be exported from Australia. Unless there is old stock from
Germany or other countries that have had it for years before export halted out of Australia they are
not able to be obtained legally.

Tracie
 

kingofnobbys

BD.org Sicko
Drache613":3vonkdzz said:
Hello,

Barbatas are stunning to say the least! I agree, size, color & the ability to sustain at higher humidity
levels.
There are a couple of breeders in the US I think that have some, but if so then they obtained them
illegally as they are not supposed to be exported from Australia. Unless there is old stock from
Germany or other countries that have had it for years before export halted out of Australia they are
not able to be obtained legally.

Tracie

Not been legal to take them out of the country since the 1980s so any that aren't being bred as pure barbata breeding programs (in zoos most likely) outside the eastern Australian states since then are guaranteed illegal / trafficked.

I occasionally get an adult wild barbata visiting my front yard (loves to get into the lower branches of my gumtree after catepillars and spiders).
I had a pet adult barbata as a kid , was gentle as and great very interactive peT, dad found it up under the Hillman's front fender and I took it home (was none the worse for the encounter and kept as a pet in big outdoor bird house).
I used as a kid go for holidays at Tamworth and at Ulan (near Mudgee) and I'd often find barbata's on tree stumps and "roadside" fence posts , I was able to walk right up them and I could see that they aware I was there but they'd do their I'm invisible and a piece of the tree stump / post thing and I was able pick them up and they were always very calm , rarely threat displaying at me. Never bitten by one (they'd rather run away than bite you).
Super easy to catch.
As soon as I put them back where there were they'd be off like a flash , often running on their two back legs …. and disappearing into the scrub / long grass or up a tree.

I also regularly get a visit from a wild adult male eastern water dragon in my yard. (He's a magnificient dragon close to a metre long !! & scared of nothing.
 

Claudiusx

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Drache613":1ponk6o3 said:
Hello,

Barbatas are stunning to say the least!

Tracie

Oh don't get me wrong. I think barbatas are awesome. I'm just not really convinced that 1/8th barbata is. Especially if it calls for a higher price tag.

I think all the points made about size aesthetics and humidity are probably valid. Although aesthetically the only difference I see out of these hybrids is potentially more pronounced spikes. But I haven't seen many.

-Brandon
 
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