What kind is my beardie?

[ersl12]

We got our bearded dragon last Friday from a local Pets Plus (which is family owned). They get all their bearded dragons from a local breeder. Initially, we were looking for a red or orange beardie, and were calling around places to see if any places had some. This Pets Plus told us they just got in 3 beardies that Thursday and one was a hypo red. We went there and looked at them, and it was kinda hard to tell which was the hypo because a) they all looked the same minus one which was a little paler and b) they had a reddish sand in their tank that partially "dyed" them all (their bellies and feet and hands were the same color as the sand). We asked a girl there (the manager) that we called and the guy who answered said there was one hypo and we wanted to know which was it, she then went over to the guy saying "why did you tell them that, we don't have any," but the guy said he helped deliver them with the owner and the breeder told them one was hypo red. She then went over and picked up the one she thought would be hypo (the one we have now). It's still hard to tell, because he still has some of the sand dyed on him, mainly his feet and hands, and a little on his belly. Since he's a baby and only about a week old, he hasn't shed yet.. so maybe that will give us a better clue to what he is once he does, but we are wondering if anyone that's really knowledgeable could tell what he is as of now. Before we purchased him, the guy rubbed off as much dye as he could, and the orange color on his skin (that we were trying to determine if it was sand), didn't come off. We purchased him and then after we got home we did research online. Compared to the "normal" beardies, he seems to have a different tint, more orange. However, we then began to wonder if the paler one was actually the hypo one, since hypo usually means paler. However, the store said the one we got was the hypo. We wished we would have read before we left, because we could have just looked at his nails, as hypos have whitish nails (at least some sites said). Some days our beardie looks more orange, other days more normal. Based on our pictures, does anyone have an idea as to what ours is? Either way, we love him and he's been great!

Here are some pictures. I know the light may have an effect, so I tried different angles and lights.

Thanks for your help!

 

[Gail]

There is no way to tell what morph a dragon is without knowing the bloodlines of the parents. That being said, I'd say your best bet is to call him a orange dragon. By the looks of it, he could develop some really nice orange as he grows.
He definitely isn't a hypo, as you read, hypos will have totally clear nails and it looks like yours has dark nails. He is a real cutie regardless of what he is. His colors will change a lot as he ages and once he sheds all the stains off, you will see a difference.

 

[ersl12]

That's what we kinda figured, but I just thought maybe someone could tell by the colors. Of course, I'm sure we'll get more of an idea once he sheds. We notice a lot more orange tint compared to normal beardies, so I think you may be right.

Funny thing is, when we went to the store to get him, the three were all priced pretty cheap. When they said one was a hypo we couldn't believe the price was under $100. After we purchased ours, we thought to ourselves the paler one had to be the hypo. The day we got him when we went back to get him, they picked up ours and was like this was the one we showed you that was hypo (but me and my boyfriend thought they originally showed us the paler one). I have a gut feeling the girl realized the paler one was the hypo, but it was priced wrong so she gave us ours. However, I'm happy we went with ours because the other two were so skiddish, ours is so calm and loves to be held.. so I couldn't be happier!