Gecko Morphs: Which Pet Geckos Have Morphs and What They Are

Gecko morphs are captive bred color, pattern or skin variants that differ from the wild type. Most pet geckos have some, but only the leopard gecko has a deep list of them, and just one of those has been studied in a peer reviewed paper. This page indexes the named gecko morphs and states what is verified for each.

How to read the gecko morph index

Gecko morphs get their names from breeders, so a name does not prove a trait exists or that it inherits the way sellers say. Each row below carries a source when one exists. Otherwise it carries the label “hobby name, inheritance reported by breeders, not independently tested”.

Inheritance falls into a few types. Recessive traits show only when a gecko gets one copy from each parent. Incomplete dominant traits show in one copy and look stronger in two.

Line bred traits come from selecting many generations of similar animals. They follow no single gene.

For Punnett square basics, see the morph genetics guide.

For the wider database of reptile morphs, start at the morph database.

Gecko morphs list with inheritance and health notes

Names that are not verified are still listed, because searchers meet them in the trade. Treat each unproven inheritance mode as a starting claim to check with the breeder’s own pairings.

Which pet geckos have morphs

The group as a whole is uneven, and gecko morphs are far more common in some species than others. Leopard geckos are the deepest case, while tokays and day geckos are mostly kept in their natural colors.

Leopard gecko

The leopard gecko has the largest set of named variants, from albino lines to Lemon Frost. Its wild coloring is yellow with irregular black spots and a white belly. The full list sits in the leopard gecko morph index.

Crested gecko

Crested geckos are bred for pattern lines more than single gene traits, and breeders describe several inheritance types. No peer reviewed genetics were found for them. The crested gecko morph index covers the named lines.

Gargoyle gecko

Gargoyle geckos follow a similar pattern to crested geckos, with color and pattern lines that breeders select. Their inheritance claims carry the same hobby label. See the gargoyle gecko morph index.

African fat tailed gecko

The wild African fat tailed gecko is brown or tan with light and dark blotches or bands. Some wild animals carry a white stripe from the head onto the tail, so a stripe is natural variation. The African fat tailed gecko morph index lists the captive names.

Tokay and day geckos

The tokay is gray with brownish red to bright red spots, and males are brighter than females. It can lighten or darken its skin. Day geckos in the genus Phelsuma get their blue and green from layered guanine crystals in the skin, not from a single pigment, and this is species level color rather than a morph.

What is verified about morph genetics in geckos

The Lemon Frost work is the clearest example in the group. Guo and colleagues mapped the trait to the SPINT1 gene and showed that homozygous animals look more extreme than heterozygous ones. More than 80% of carriers developed white iridophoromas between 6 months and 5 years of age.

A separate case report described malignant iridophoroma in three young or adult geckos with Lemon Frost ancestry. Its authors called the trait codominant and recommended against further breeding of the line until the disease is understood.

Sex is a second reason a Punnett square has limits. Leopard geckos and African fat tailed geckos determine sex by incubation temperature. In the African fat tailed gecko, 24 to 28 C mostly gave females, 29 to 30.5 C gave about equal numbers, and 31 to 32 C mostly gave males.

So a cross predicts color odds, but not the sex ratio. The banded geckos Coleonyx brevis and C. variegatus differ, because they use genetic sex determination.

Geckos overall have unusually varied sex determining systems. A study of 12 species found 8 newly described sex chromosome systems, including both XY and ZW types. Sex and color genetics can therefore differ between species, and one gecko’s rules should not be assumed for another.

Health traits linked to gecko morphs

Three concerns come up across the group. Lemon Frost carries a documented tumor risk. Enigma syndrome is described in a preprint as a heritable disease, with a chronic form where the gecko cannot eat unaided and an acute form with seizures, and Switzerland banned the morph in 2015.

Reports of eye problems in some Eclipse lines and a lethal super form in Lilly White crested geckos come from the hobby, and no source confirms them. Buy from breeders who name the genetics of both parents, and avoid pairing two carriers of a trait with a known problem.

Related guides

Natural colors, color change and pigment cells are covered in the gecko colors guide.

Genetics basics sit in the gecko genetics page.

Odds for a specific pairing belong in the gecko morph calculator.

For the group overview, see the gecko species guide.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a gecko morph chart?

It is a table that lists each named morph with its look and inheritance. The table above works as one, with a source or a hobby label on every row. Charts that show mode without a source repeat breeder claims.

Is a black morph gecko real?

Dark leopard gecko lines exist in the trade, but none of the sources reviewed here describes a black morph or its genetics. Eclipse is the nearest documented name, and it refers to dark eyes. Ask a breeder for photos of both parents.

Is the blizzard morph gecko recessive?

The Blizzard leopard gecko is described in the literature as light yellow with no other colors or patterns. Breeders report it as recessive, but that mode has not been independently tested.

Is the enigma gecko morph safe to breed?

The Enigma leopard gecko is linked to a heritable neurological syndrome. A 2023 preprint by Kronke describes it and notes the Swiss ban. Many keepers avoid the line for that reason.

Can I predict the sex of gecko hatchlings from the parents?

Not in leopard or African fat tailed geckos. Incubation temperature sets sex in both, so the parents’ genes do not decide it. Hatchling size and eggs per clutch are separate topics.

Do all geckos have morphs?

No. Wild colors vary widely across the group, but named captive gecko morphs are established mainly in leopard geckos, with fewer in crested, gargoyle and African fat tailed geckos. Most tokay and day gecko color differences seen in shops are natural variation or trade names.