A Glance At The 3 Species Of Bearded Dragon You Can Keep As A Pet

There are 8 types of Bearded Dragon found in the outback of Australia, but only 3 can be kept as pets, which are; the Pogona vitticeps, P. henryilawsoni and P. barbata. So lets take a peek at each one.

First is the Pogona vitticeps (Ahl, 1926), also known as the Central or Inland Bearded Dragon and it is the most common type of dragon found in pet stores today. Although they are found in every state, they are native to Central Australia.

They come in an array of colors, from brown and grey to red, oranges,  yellows and even white. These Inland beardies are the biggest among all beardie species and an adult can reach to about 2 feet in length. There is an even larger version being selectively bred in Germany, under the appropriate name, German Giants.

The next one is Pogona henrylawsoni or also known as the Black Soil Bearded Dragon ( Wells and Wellington, 1985). This nice-looking beardie is named in honor of the famous Australian poet and author, Henry Lawson, but is also called Rankin`s Bearded Dragon or P. brevis. They are the second most popular species of beardie and most of them are native to Queensland, but some can be found in the Northern territory. They have virtually no beard and are a sand/khaki color. The popularity of this dragon is increasing as the success rate of their captive breeding increases.  as per  http://joselyn.articlealley.com

The last one is the Pogona barbata, also known as the Eastern or Common Bearded Dragon (Cuvier, 1829). It is found mostly in the wooded areas of Eastern Australia, south of the Cape York Peninsula. Babata is Latin for bearded and they were the first species of beardies to be discovered. They look like a smaller version of the Central Bearded dragon, but they are usually much more aggressive.

Their color is a dark grey-black, that can also be a yellowish-brown, reddish-brown or dark-brown, although babies are paler in color. The baby Eastern beardie also has a pattern that fades as he matures. While maturing, this beardie develops a subtle pale yellow, blue or green tinge on the forepart of its head. Adult males have a dark grey to black beard. There are also cross-breeds available, like the Vitikin (Vitticep and Rankin), but these morphs are quite pricy!

Image  source  en.wikipedia.org  used with permission

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