| Ever heard of leopard gecko patterns like the | | | | The next major finding was the albino morph, which |
| Ruby-Eyed Tremper Albino morph? What about the | | | | wasn't discovered until the mid-to-late 90s. The |
| Patternless Mack Super Snow? Or the Tangerine | | | | Tremper Albino was first, followed later by the |
| Super Hypo Carrot-Tail? You might not have heard | | | | Rainwater and then the Bell Albino. |
| of any of these, but they're out there and available | | | | Once the genetics of the leo started to become |
| for you to purchase. Even as you read this, | | | | well-known in the late 90s, the gloves really came |
| professional leopard gecko breeders are hard at | | | | off, and today there are at least 80 distinct morphs, |
| work producing ever more amazing morphs (that is, | | | | with more being bred all the time. |
| visually distinct leopard geckos) for people to fall in | | | | Techniques |
| love with and buy. | | | | These morphs are brought about by selective |
| But where did this all begin? How is it done? And was | | | | breeding in captivity. This is a time-consuming |
| there a time when this little leo actually looked kind | | | | process, as the traits that the breeders want to |
| of like a leopard making it the only option for the | | | | bring out are frequently the results of random |
| wannabe reptile owner? Read on to find out more... | | | | genetic mutations and are recessive, meaning that |
| Beginnings | | | | they will be expressed in only 25% of the offspring |
| The first 'designer' leopard gecko was born in 1991, | | | | of two parents who both carry a single copy of the |
| and it was a high yellow morph (high yellow morphs | | | | trait. Breeders play the numbers game by breeding |
| have the same amount of black spots as normal | | | | hundreds of leos at once. |
| leos, but with a brighter and more intense yellow | | | | Today |
| background color). Prior to this the only pattern that | | | | With all the leopard gecko patterns currently available, |
| was possible to buy was the standard 'wild' leo. | | | | what's left to do - are there still any 'holy grail' |
| The high yellow morph, while more striking to look at, | | | | morphs that no one has been able to breed yet? |
| is obviously not far removed from the ordinary | | | | The answer (at the time of writing in 2010) is yes, |
| leopard gecko, and that's why it wasn't until the next | | | | absolutely. Chief among the morphs that everyone |
| big discovery a little later that the practice of | | | | wants to develop are an all-black morph and a true |
| developing different leo morphs really took off. And | | | | all-blue morph. There's probably no doubt that these |
| what was that big discovery? It was the 'leucistic,' or | | | | morphs will be achieved soon...so start saving your |
| 'patternless' morph. | | | | pennies! |