Wanted: Two Headed Bearded Dragon

[hooklinebrittany]

Ok so I know it sounds weird, but ever since I saw Zak and Wheezie I have wanted a two headed bearded dragon. Does anybody have one in the Akron, OH area? I don't really know how rare this oddity is but I really really REALLY want one. It's like twice the adorable love.

 

[DeweysMom]

I highly doubt any breeder with a two headed beardie would be willing to part with it (or maybe I should say them). I would also expect that they would require a lot of extra TLC than your normal beardie would.

 

[TASTIGER]

they do take ALOT of special care it took alot of work to keep Z&W as healthy as they are now

 

[Nasubi77]

Not to mention the cost of the animal itself. If a breeder did sell this rare oddity (which could be considered borderline immoral), there would be a pretty penny on it. I think Barbara was offered something in the 10's of thousands of dollars when Z&W were born.

 

[hooklinebrittany]

WOWWW! thats crazy.

 

[paperplanes]

does anyone know if its a genetic gene which causes the multiple heads? some sort of recessive allele?

 

[TASTIGER]

thats a good question you should ask barbara and see if she knows

 

[paperplanes]

lol cause ive always wondered if its some sort of ancient DNA when multiple headed lord of the ring type dragon things walked around

 

[TASTIGER]

:lol: id love to have an actual dragon

 

[ziggy23]

does anyone know if its a genetic gene which causes the multiple heads? some sort of recessive allele?

I believe it's the animal version of a siamese twin. I think it's extremely rare, but eggs can produce twins.

 

[paperplanes]

interesting. why doesnt it occur in other animals. most ive seen is in reptiles. like turtles and stuff

 

[ziggy23]

interesting. why doesnt it occur in other animals. most ive seen is in reptiles. like turtles and stuff

I imagine that many don't live through birth, if they even live that long. Mammals give live birth, and care for their young. The body tends to keep mind what will survive and what the mother can physically handle. Severe deformities are often rejected by the mother's body and miscarried. A severe deformity like that would be really hard for an animal to give birth. The mother needs to be able to live through the birth, or all the babies die (as far as the body is concerned).

Reptiles on the other hand tend to mass produce young and do not care for them after they're born. 100+ eggs per breeding is common in the reptile world. They do this to ensure that some do live. Eggs after they are deposited are still at the zygote stage and do not have a living body to monitor their development. The mass breeding is in part to counteract the possibility of deformities.

Conjoined twins in the animal world are not any different than humans when it comes to the problems they have. With any species many die as a result of it.

 

[Brandonmorales77]

My buddy is a breeder and has siamese twin dragons that are conjoined at the back and they are 5-6 years old very healthy and happy and he was offered 14k for his and did not sell

 

[paperplanes]

yeah but is it a chromosomal mutation? for example a person with zygote with down syndrome can still be born, or rather a fetus with patau's syndrome. or does the chromosomal content even matter if the physical deformities are too extreme? does that make sense?
what im asking is if two headedness is a genetic trait?

 

[Nasubi77]

does anyone know if its a genetic gene which causes the multiple heads? some sort of recessive allele?

It's not a gene. It is a case of twins forming from the same egg, but not fully separating. The same phenomenon that causes conjoined twins (a.k.a. Siamese twins) in humans or any other species.

EDIT: Nevermind....I see this has already been explained. For some reason, it didn't show me all the responses when I responded.