confused about colors and morphs

[khaleesi]

I've been reading today about morphs etc and I'm more confused than ever! I didn't ask when I picked up the babies what exactly their parents were (I know their Bearded Dragons LOL ) so I'm kind of playing a guessing game at the moment! So upon looking at pictures and reading lots of sites I THOUGHT I may have hit upon their morph but now I'm not so sure I don't see any resemblance in their colors to any of these
http://www.dachiu.com/beardeddragons/dragonpictures1.html
I stumbled upon these little beauties http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=le...WH0AWmooGgCA&ved=0CAcQ_AUoAQ&biw=1024&bih=653 and they are the nearest I've found to their coloring.
I read the morphs as I understand them post on the forum and to be honest make head nor tail of it
Just now I was reading the newbie posts and cole said something that got me thinking...I'll copy and paste so as to not be mistaken:

All we do know for sure is that one (the greenish little guy) is a leatherback.
The little guy that we think is a hypo has completely clear nails and the one we believe to be a translucent has a black stripe down his nails.

Read more: http://www.beardeddragonforum.com/index.php?threads/new-beardie-parents.6847/#ixzz27QKVeboV

My babies too have clear nails with thin black stripes along the edges of their nails and their bodies are lime green/yellow colored I'll attach a single pic so you can see.

Please help a girl not go grey haired or bald at 27 and share your thoughts on the subject. I would LOVE to know what exactly they are (apart from bearded dragons ) LOL

 

[khaleesi]

I just proof read after I posted and I've gone and confused myself even more I will say sorry now for any headaches you may get trying to understand my ramblings

 

[Germ]

A very colorful dragon. Please dont think im being funny or rude. With out knowing the genetics that went into it we can guess all day, and thats what ALOT of amateur breeders do. This animal could have citrus, sandfire, plain orange, chis allen red, cawley red, and any other color of the rainbow in there.

You, I & anyone else can guess all we want, as is said in the above quote by a very respected Breeder. If you do not know the genetics, other than if it is a Leatherback, Silkback, Mark Leucistic or Translucent, you have ruled out Hypo with the Black nails, no one can tell by pictures or even by looking at the BD itself. Athough they may have genes that you do not know, again if you do not know the parents genetics, you are poop out of luck.

The pictures you posted are not clear enough, but it does appear that you could have a leatherback in the second pic, the one showing the full tail. As far as color names go, these are specific names that breeders have pinned on their specific combination of color breeding. You can not claim yours to be one, just because it looks similar to a picture that you saw of one someplace.

"People" will give you 20 different descriptions for the same Purple crayon. The term that Petsmart uses "fancy bearded dragons" is a good name for them.

People will call any red dragon, a chris allen red. But unless it was bred by Chris Allen himself, or is from his line, its not a Chris Allen red.

Colorline is one trait for a dragon. When we read\write\say "morph", we should be thinking translucent, hypo, leatherback, silkback/smoothie, silverback, dunners, wiltbilts (however its spelled) or marketed leucistic.

The long & short of it is, if you do not know your BDs documented Genetic & Bloodline, you have nice colored\patterned BDs, one appearing to be possibly Leatherback. You can not steal someone's bloodline name to pawn off a nice colored Heinz57 BD, without having the documentation to prove it. Doing so just adds to deterioration of the trust put into legit breeders, that amateur breeders have seriously sullied the hobby with. Unless of course you want to add yourself to the steadily growing group of liars & false marketers that is already plaguing the hobby as of late, so badly that no one can trust anyone's claims any longer.

The thread that you linked to, were told very similarly the same thing.

 

[khaleesi]

Thanks for your quick reply Germ I understand what your saying and I have no intention of breeding or passing them off as a particular morph, I would simply like to know what they are I certainly have a pair of beautifully colored little dragons! I would love them just the same no matter what color they were

 

[Spikeleebd]

so if a person did want to get into breeding bd how can he/she stay legit and not be like alot of people who are just making up morphs

 

[Germ]

Learn the way Genetics work & if you want to be able to legitimately sell the offspring as a specific 'Morph' or as a specific 'Colorline' or cross, you must know the parents bloodline & have the documentation to prove it.

 

[Spikeleebd]

So before buying ask for documentation proof

 

[Kalypso]

So before buying ask for documentation proof

I would imagine with beardies, just as there were with Chameleons (the species I am more familiar with) there are well known bloodlines. You buy from the well known breeder that supply these well known bloodlines...that is what I did. My chams were all Screameleon's chams, and were all sired by WELL KNOWN chams from well known bloodlines. When I purchased my babies, the documentation was provided with my chameleons when they came via fed ex. If you are buying from a reputable breeder, this documentation will be provided to you without asking imo.

I am just sharing my experience, as this situation may be similar. That said, Khaleesi you have some very pretty dragons, and you're right, they do look green! Very cool!

 

[Mungi's Buddha]

I think and in my experience believe that no matter the species of creature you are purchasing that if it is an advertised "pedigree" you are always wise to insist that written documentation and proof of that pedigree be shown before shelling out your hard earned bucks as well as it being furnished to you when you buy. Any legit breeder will be happy to provide that proof because if they have it then they are proud of the bloodline they are continuing. The reptile world, as well as other species worlds, is full of folks that claim this or that pedigree because they know that by saying the animal you are purchasing is a particular morph they can charge a lot more for the creature. When making a purchase like that I don't believe in trusting a verbal only statement..if the statement is fact then they have the documentation and are happy to provide it...if not then "Oh yea...I will round up that info and those papers and send them to you later. Now what was your credit card number?...." is a sure-fire path to disappointment.
Just my opinion
Enjoy your Day!

 

[Kalypso]

Agreed. I always preferred to buy from the breeder that actually owned the original sire in the line, as opposed to several sires down the bloodline. This way there was no doubt in my mind about where the baby came from, and I suppose since I had one company to buy from I knew what to expect, and they always provide absolute proof...not that there was ever a doubt. Screameleons is the most well known and sought after breeder company for chameleon keepers.

 

[SouthernDissolution]

This is where ball pythons become so much easier. LOL