A question about Bearded Dragon Morphs...

[wikidinc528]

Hi,

I'm still new to this site so forgive me if this has already been discussed in detail. I have been looking online at breeder's that have these different colored morphs; reds, whites, oranges, yellows, etc. What I was wondering is does all this breeding for traits result in genetic defects? I studied genetics in college and I know that many times when you manipulate an organism's genes it can have adverse effects on the health and longevity of the animal. Have any of you heard of such ill effects or witnessed them first hand? I don't really know how I feel about shelling out $200 for a sunburst yellow beardie unless I am going to breed it, which I don't plan to. A beardie is a beardie is a beardie, right? I would also be worried about spending that much on an animal and then have something go wrong and the poor thing die. Any thoughts, experiences, etc??

Thanks,
Jenny

 

[vickson420]

Hello
Welcome to the forum .
That is a very touchy subject you have just posted.I will do the best I can to put my 2 cents in on this.The color morphs are generally problem free IF they have not been inbred to speedily create the line.I have 4 different types of beardies with varying color morphs but I was very sure to find out the parental lineage as best I could before getting them.Now there are other types of morph that have caused great concern to some of us in regards to genetic abnormality resulting in possible poor health.Morphs like leatherbacks,silkbacks,transluscent,etc are where the discussion becomes a tad sticky because they are all fairly new lines and there is some concern in regards to inbreeding.The Italian leatherbacks from what I know were not inbred but just a genetic anomoly that was created by an unrelated breeding pair however the US leatherback is actually a different type of leatherback and I cant honestly say one way or the other how exactly they came to be.Transluscent are beautiful beardies but they are such a new morph that I cant personally say for sure if they are without problems in regards to life span,etc although I hope so because I do love their appearence.Silkbacks well to me its just scary and I (again personally)believe there will be major issues with that morph simply because of the scale formation.

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

There are some really beautiful morphs out there, but in the end a beardie is a beardie. If color is not important to you then why pay extra for it. They are great pets and color doesn't have anything to do with personality as far as I know. I got Scorch from a small pet store and paid around $80. We chose not to buy from a breeder because my son wanted to be able to hold her and check out her personality to be sure he was getting a sweetie. She had only a tiny bit of orange by her ears @ 2 months old and has progressively gotten more and more color as she has gotten older, so sometimes even if you intend on buying a plain brown dragon you get a surprise in the end.
P.S. If you are not set on a baby, check out getting a beardie rescue. You can also find adult dragons cage and all on Craig's list for very little or no money.

 

[Rozen]

Silkbacks...I've never even seen a picture of one before...

EDIT: I JUST FOUND A PICTURE

*shudder* It looks so werid @_@

 

[VEGASLIZARD]

I'm not trying to be rude but that poor baby looks more like a toad than a beautiful beardie!!

 

[wikidinc528]

Those "silkbacks" look sickly to me, and I agree, the poor lizard does look a little like a toad. I would think that having no scales would be a major ecological drawback to a lizard. Why buy a lizard if you don't like scales? You just wait, before we know it these darn primadonna celebrities will have silkback beardies in pink leashes and purses.

Personally, I think that the silkback and possibly the leatherback is going too far. I think that the color morphs are very beautiful and I hope that they are healthy rather than plagued with genetic defects. I may consider getting one from a morph breeder, but one that show a little color rather than the holdback or private collection grade of color.

Thanks for the answers!

 

[Ethelia]

Im with you, I think silkbacks are just going too far. Playing god for the sake of it some may argue.

Morph wise you may be correct in some cases where beardies have basically been inbred and inbred to get those ultra high colour scales, but any breeder worth his salts should be able to provide evidence of their blood line.

There is of corse another arguement, that every species that is bred has a weakened system of genetics, and so this is inescapable.
I bought my dog as a puppy, a pedigree Cavalier King Charles. Although pedegree is slang for in-bred and pretty (sometimes!) he lived with me for 15 years and was a highly intellegent creature. So it could be argued no matter if you get a 'normal' beardie or a specially bred beardie you are still getting a lottery of genetics and possible complications.
Just playing devils advocate if you will

Anyway there are quite a few breeders on these forums that contribute wonderful advice and produce stunning babies.
Id be happy to PM you some names, or you can yourself look at the FOR SALE section of these forums.

I do believe breeders also reduce their price of babies who are produced from clutches which are not as highly coloured as others if that is what you are interested in.

Best of luck!
Holly