Bearded Dragon/Morphs

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Bearded Dragons are found in a variety of colour morphs, whose variations are largely dependant on locality, temperature, and in the case of the central and eastern Bearded Dragons, selective breeding. Below is an article detailing the more common morphs found in the hobby that are a result of commercial breeding. However, many hundreds of further variations are available as hybrids of existing lineages.

• Red Italian Leatherback Bearded Dragons - It is widely acknowledged that there are at least two distinct lines of these dragons. The Italian lineage is known as the Leatherback, the US morph is called the American Smoothie.

• The Leucistic bloodline of morph are completely white from head to foot, from the moment they hatch and into adulthood.

• The Blood Red Bearded Dragon boasts an intense red colouration.

• Snow Bearded Dragons are often confused with the Leucistic bloodline given their white colouration at adulthood. However, snow's are hatched as pale pink that begins to fade within a few days and continues to develop into shades of white with dashes of pink and yellow. Snow's very rarely achieve an absolute white coat, instead retaining areas of contrasting highlights of pink or yellow.

• Sandfire Bearded Dragons were originally bred selectively from red and gold dragon specimens in the early 90's. The selective breeding process eventually succeeded in producing the so-called Sandfire bloodline with it's unique appearance. The Sandfire is now one of the most well-known and sought-after specimens in the hobby.

• Salmon Bearded Dragons are derived from the breeding of Snow Dragons and Sandfire Dragons. Can develop a range of colours within the pink to orange spectrum, and usually lose their patterns as they mature.

• The German Giants are amongst the most robust and fastest growing of all the dragon bloodlines. Renowned for their ability to yield large clutch sizes, they are frequently used in the breeding process for their valuable genetic traits in the hope of producing high volumes of larger, more enticing offspring.

• The Sunburst Bearded Dragon has a fabulous yellow and orange appearance made even more spectacular with dashes of red either in recognisable patterns or randomly dispersed.