What morph is Darkon?

[darkon]

I've had my male Darkon since October of 2010, and he is my first bearded dragon that I ever owned. However, I hear all these terms "leatherback", "hypo", "morph", etc. being thrown around. Can anyone tell me what Darkon is?

Appreciate any help, I feel so clueless....

 

[Zeusmybeardie]

No tone can tell u his morph exept the breeder

 

[RandyMarsh]

are his nails clear or dark? From what I can see he looks to be some sort of citrus yellowish variety, but you'd need to examine the bloodline to be specifically sure.

 

[darkon]

His nails are whitish or clear. I got him from a local reptile shop and didn't know back then into the bloodline. I think they may have said something about him being a "leather back" too. That has to do with his skin texture right?

 

[Zeusmybeardie]

Yup

 

[ChrisMiller]

Looks awesome whatever he is.

 

[bdalton]

You see, without knowing the parents, you just don't know the exact genetics, but you would be able to tell by looking at him if he was a leatherback (reduced scales on back making it smooth), hypo (hypomelanistic, meaning bred without dark pigmentation giving them pure white bellies and 20 clear nails), translucent (bred without white pigmentation giving their bellies a bluish see through effect and solid black eyes), silk back (no scales, just smooth "skin") or just a normal (normal scales, normal colors)
Dragons can have multiple traits listed, such as a hypo leatherback or a translucent silk back.
All of the types listed can be of any color phase, which each individual breeder gives a particular name to their line of a certain color (ie Chris Allen red)
You will hear many different names for colors (citrus, rainbow, physco orange, super citrus, etc, which is the name the breeder gave them, but the color phases are normal (grey, tan, brown with hints of black and sometimes yellow and orange), orange, red, yellow, and white.
A full out normal would be a normal scaled, normal colored, which is what most pet stores have. You usually have to get a dragon from a breeder or reptile expo to get a particular morph. Every once in a while one will end up in a petstore. Another chance of getting a morph is getting one from the classifieds. Normals can still be colorful, they just don't have the genetic bloodlines behind them to use for breeding.
Any color morph can be one or multiple of the first traits I listed. (ie orange hypo leatherback)
You will also hear the term "het" thrown around, like het for hypo or het for trans. This is most likely for breeding purposes, as it means that specific dragon carries the gene, but does not show the trait. The percentages are based on the parents and grandparents. 1parent=50%het, 2parents=100%.

So...you don't know his genetics, but you can take a guess of what he is.

If I had to guess, I would say he's probably a normal with nice color, or even possibly some citrus. Either way, he's pretty! If you don't plan on breeding, it doesn't really matter. He's not a leatherback, though. Hopefully I didn't confuse you! Lol!

 

[darkon]

He has been bred, his first clutch is due to hatch any day now. He does have a pure white belly and his under chin is becoming bright orange.

 

[bdalton]

Most do have white bellies, but it's the clear nails that would make him hypo. Unless he has all 20, he's not 100%. A lot of times normals will get orange or yellow beards or around their eyes. My guess would be he's probably part normal and part citrus. I'm sure he will make beautiful babies, but unfortunetly since you don't know his genetics, you can't really to sell his babies as a particular morph. What was the female that you bred him with?
It's impossible to tell just by looking at him. I've seen normals more colorful and vibrant than high end breeders beardies, and others that are just grey or tan. A normal can appear to be hypo, which would be a pastel, and just not have the genetics behind them. The only problem with that and not kbosing thwir parents is that when you breed you have no idea what your going to get. Sometimes you will even find leatherbacks an translucents in a petstore. Beardies are such popular pets now and the color phases are becoming more and more in demand that it's actually getting harder to find normals as most breeders are adding more colors to their lines.

I think you've got yourself a nice dragon on your hands and im sure he will give you pretty babies! It is exciting that you have NO idea what the babies will look like since normals are all so different.