How To Tell If You Have A German Giant Bearded Dragon

Are you wondering if your large bearded dragon is a morph?

One of the most uncommon morph types of bearded dragons is the German Giant.

These morphs need a more extensive habitat than others.

Therefore, you may need to know how to tell if you have a German giant bearded dragon.

It is tricky to tell if you have a German Giant bearded dragon. However, here are a few qualities you may want to watch for:

• Parent genes
• Blood test
• Length check when grown
• Weight check when grown

Read on for more details about German Giants and other bearded dragon morphs.

4 Ways To Tell If You Have A German Giant Bearded Dragon

In this section, we’ll look at the ways you may be able to tell if your beardy is a German Giant.

Use these details to help you figure out if this is what you have.

Parents Genes

The best way to determine if your bearded dragon is a German Giant is by looking at its parents.

If you’ve bought your beardy from a pet store, your chances are slim to none for your lizard being a Giant. 

But if you’ve bought from a breeder, they should be able to give you insight into whether or not there’s a chance your pet is one.

Still, it’s unlikely due to recessive genes and the dwindling strength of the gene itself. 

Blood Test

Some exotic vets can do a blood test and process the genes to tell you what morphs are present.

This isn’t a guarantee at all vets, but it’s worth asking if you’re curious.

Just keep in mind, this will cost extra on your routine vet visit.

Length Check When Grown

The most defining trait in German Giants is their larger size.

One key element is the length.

German Giants grow up to 25″ inches in length, with some growing up to 30″ inches.

This won’t help you identify a young beardy, but you’ll know at the end.

It’s a common myth to judge a German Giant at youth by its length as it grows.

Bearded dragons grow at different rates, but you can’t use the length until the beardy is fully developed. 

Weight Check When Grown

Along the same lines, it’s possible to use weight to help determine if you have a German Giant bearded dragon.

This beardy will end up weighing around 24 ounces or more.

However, this is only when fully grown.

But even then, this is less reliable than length.

Bearded dragon weight can fluctuate depending on diet, health, life cycle, and just natural difference in bearded dragons (just like people weigh differently).

Care Concerns For German Giant Bearded Dragons

This section will look at the main concerns when caring for a German Giant compared to an ordinary bearded dragon.

Habitat

German Giants grow to be much larger than the average bearded dragon (some have grown up to 30″ inches).

This results in a need for a much larger tank.

While we feel comfortable with the standard 50-75 gallon suggestion for most beardies, the Giant needs at least 100 gallons to be entirely happy.

Remember, bearded dragons are used to space and territory in the Australian desert, so don’t crowd them. 

And since we’re talking about pet happiness, check out this post on how to tell if your bearded dragon is happy for a quick and easy reference guide on the subject.

Diet

Bearded dragons are pretty hungry creatures.

German Giants still need to be fed by the 3-day cycle (one day veggie, one day protein, one day off).

But you’ll need to be prepared to feed them more at these meals.

Even though the extra length may not seem like too much, these beasts will eat more than you think.

Just make sure you don’t load them up on all insects; they need their greens, as well.

Health Issues

While not official, most owners report their German Giants to seem to be more susceptible to parasites.

Whether this is because they eat more or a defect in their immune system is unclear.

Regardless, you need to take extra care to clean out the tank more often and make regular trips to the vet.

What Is A Bearded Dragon Morph?

Morphs are another word for fancy bearded dragons.

These words are interchangeable and describe bearded dragons by their classic look, size, or coloration.

Most natural beardies are colored either yellow or brown.

These colors organize themselves in shapes down the body.

The scales will naturally point towards the beardy’s tail and be symmetrical.

Scales have a bumpy texture, and the nails will have a dark color.

It’s when there are variations in these features we have morphs.

The colors may be different, while some are translucent.

Others can have smooth skin.

Some can even be bred to be Giant (like the German Giant bearded dragon in question).

There are many types of bearded dragons out there.

Learn more about the types of bearded dragons.

Brief Explanation Of How Morphs Come To Be

Morphs come from a different combination in the bearded dragon’s DNA, which results in a different look.

A breeder finds two bearded dragons with the same or similar traits and then breeds them together.

This results in a morph with a similar mutation but often stronger.

Over time with tracking, and breeding, bearded dragons are born with more and more different looks.

For example, a breeder has many bearded dragons.

They notice two which have more red in their coloring than the others.

The breeder has two mates, and some offspring have a lot of red in their skin.

The breeder finds another bearded dragon of more red and mates these two.

Now the next generation of offspring comes out with deep red of different shades.

This is a simple example of how this all works.

Note: Fancy dragons or morphs are often much more expensive than standard bearded dragons.

The German Giant is a morph, but they also require a disappearing Giant gene in the family.

I thought it would be an excellent opportunity to link you to our post listing the best bearded dragon breeders and online pet stores with all this talk about breeders.

Conclusion

We hope you enjoyed learning about how to tell if you have a German Giant bearded dragon.

These unusual bearded dragon morphs are larger than the average, so you’ll need to be prepared with a more considerable bearded dragon habitat.

But the German Giant is another twist on an already-fascinating pet.