Dunner Bearded Dragons
Dunner changes the shape of a bearded dragon's scales, not their colour, trading the usual bands for a broken, spotty pattern and a rough texture on any colour line. Before you buy, ask the breeder what their own lines look like, especially around the feet.
About the Dunner gene
The Dunner gene is dominant in the central bearded dragon (Pogona vitticeps). It changes the scales but does not affect the colour. Instead of lying flat, these raised and cone-shaped scales point in random directions. The standard striped or banded pattern is broken into irregular blotches, dashes and spots by the gene. Because of this texture and the broken pattern it puts over any colour line, keepers buy it.
Appearance
The hand provides the clearest tell. Because the scales on the belly, tail base and spine sit at odd angles, the back feels rough instead of smooth. Swirls and mismatched patches break up the usual neat rows on the belly. Instead of pointing straight down, the beard scales point forwards, sideways or up, giving a textured look even to a closed beard. On the tail, the normal banding is replaced by short dashes or scattered spots, and this pattern fades as the animal grows. A Dunner can show the same scale effect and still carry any colour line because colour and pattern genes sit on top of Dunner and are not changed by it. A Witblits dragon or patternless Zero can also be a Dunner.
Genetics
Because Dunner is dominant, the full look is achieved with one copy. Pairing two Dunners has produced no separate, more strongly marked super form, unlike leatherback and its silkback, so there is no het or super Dunner in the trade. Kevin Dunne of Dragon's Den Herpetoculture established the mutation as its own line after it first appeared at Sandfire Dragon Ranch. It belongs to no complex and has no known allelic partners. Breeders stack it with Witblits, Zero, Genetic Stripe, Leatherback, Translucent, and Hypo, as well as with colour lines, because it changes scale shape independently of colour.
Known issues
Certain early Dunner lines featured larger feet and toes that were crooked and unusually long. This is not a Dunner trait according to breeders who outcrossed away from those lines, as they call it a defect that has since been bred out. Because some others still count longer toes and bigger feet as normal for the morph, it is disputed whether the problem is still around.