Hello everyone! I’m looking for some advice or information. I breed bearded dragons, and one of my latest babies is a chimera! I can’t believe it. One side is leatherback and the other side is dunner hypo. I have so many questions, like are there health concerns? Can it be two genders? Is it reproductive? Has anyone seen one for sale anywhere? Does anyone know anything? Please let me know if so. Many thanks!
5 Likes
There is a fairly lengthy discussion of this topic here:
6 Likes
I’d love to see some pictures if you would be ok sharing 
8 Likes
The babie’s left half is Dunner. Right half is almost leatherback. Also one half is hypo (clear nails on one side only).
3 Likes
That is a very interesting Dragon. I have never seen one like it before.
1 Like
So cool! We had one years ago that was half silkback, half leatherback. He had no health complications and was awesome!
3 Likes
That’s great to hear and sooo cool!!! Did you report it anywhere or have any idea about an estimated value? I would love to see pictures.
1 Like
Wow that’s unbelievable and incredible and definitely special 
2 Likes
Wow! Thats definitely unusual and special. 
1 Like
Chineras are the result of 2 fertilized ova combining in a single egg. They are the ultimate paternal twins.
One ova being leatherback the other being std. The Leather back morph is ax expressed recessive gene.
When one parent is Leather back some of the clutch may be Leatherback. When both parents are leatherback you will get some std. some Leatherback and some Silkies. This is you breed a Leatherback to a Standard you will have the possibility of some Standard and some Leatherback fertilized ova. Two of these combine to create a Chimera. While they are not common they are frequently seen. We at Animal specialties have seen quite a few Chimera. They do fine and usually make it to adulthood. They are not a genetic morph but a result of accidental combination. They will not breed other Chimera. But they are interesting (like two headed Dragons) and do better than most attached twins!
2 Likes
Often, but not always. There are a few other ways you can get chimera
4 Likes
Basic genetic definition of Chimera …in egg laying animals …Mosaicism denotes the presence of two or more populations of cells with different genotypes in one individual who has developed from a single fertilized egg whereas chimerism denotes the presence of two or more genotypes arises from the fusion of more than one fertilized zygote in the early stages of embryonic development.
In mammals the mother and fetus can share cells leading to other forms of chimerism. However in egg laying animals it s not possible to share cells between mother and fetus.
1 Like
I did not need that definition, I am very well versed on ‘mosaic’ and ‘chimera’. If you had followed my link above, you would have seen that
This is not correct. It is significantly less common than in placentals, but it has been documented
4 Likes