This is a very simple overview of the genetics of Leopard Geckos. I use it for reference so it was made to my own personal understanding. If you have any questions or would like me to go into more depth, please feel free to shoot me an email.
Dominant- Dominant traits are those that do not skip a generation. If they are present in either parent, they will be present in the offspring assuming the parent is homozygous for the trait. Usually denoted in Punnett Squares as a capital letter. Examples: TUG Snow
Codominant- In Codominance neither phenotype is recessive. Both are expressed in the offspring, often in an enhanced way. For example Giant Leopard Geckos when bred to other Giants will produce Super Giants who will be larger than their parents.
Incomplete Dominant- Often called Partial Dominance, when individuals carrying certain traits are bred together an intermediate is formed. The classic example is the Carnation flower. The trait for red is Incomplete so when bred to a white flower, half the offspring are pink.
Recessive- Recessive traits are those in which each parent must contribute a particular gene in order for it to be expressed in the offspring. Usually denoted in Punnett Squares as a lower case letter. Examples: Blizzard, Bell Albino, Rainwater/LV Albino, Tremper Albino
Incomplete Recessive-Same idea as Incomplete Dominant, only for recessive traits. Examples: Bold Stripe
Line Breeding- two visual mutations are bred together to achieve the desired phenotype. Polygenic traits are bred this way
Examples: SHTCT, Line Bred Snows,
MORPHS
APTOR- Albino Patternless Tremper Orange
Blizzard- discovered in 1995, is very similar to the Murphy Patternless morph. Completely patternless and their colors will vary from white, to yellow, to a deep purple. .
Blazing Blizzard- Blizzard crossed with an albino, Bell Blazing Blizzard (BBB) is rare
Bold Stripe- pattern runs along the sides of the Leopard Gecko leaving a dorsal stripe
Carrot Head/Carrot Tail- varying amounts of orange color on the head and/or tail respectively. This coloration persists through adulthood.
Diablo Blanco- Ron Tremper 2006, white with solid red eyes made by a combination of four recessives: Blizzards, Tremper Albinos, Tremper Eclipse, and Patternless Stripe
Eclipse- An eye trait where the entire eye is solid. It is found in three different strains: Mack Super Snow, Blazing Blizzard and Tremper Eclipse.
Ember- Murphy Patternless crossed with RAPTOR
Enigma- Mark Bell 2006, hatchlings have spots that are blotchy and tails almost white. Adults have increased spotting that sometimes become speckles.
Black Hole- Mack Snow Eclipse Enigma
Super Snow Albino Enigma- Debbie Prince February 2008, white with pink or brown speckles
Dreamsicle- Mack Snow RAPTOR Enigma
Nova- RAPTOR Enigma
Super Nova- RAPTOR Super Snow Enigma
Giant- A giant is just that, giant. My giant male, Titus, is 15 months old and over 10" long. He weighs almost 100 grams.
Hybino- A Hybino, also known as a Hypo-Albino, is a combination of the Super Hypo and any one of the three albino strains. Also known as Sunglows.
Jungle- Irregular patterns on both the body and the tail
Lavender- Any gecko that shows lavender in its body color, a rare morph
Mack Snow- Began as a random genetic mutation in which hatchlings were born with white bands as opposed to yellow. They white eventually fades out. Also, there is no proof that MS can be temperature sexed.
Creamsicle- SHTCT Mack Snow
Super Snow- homozygous form of the MS, identifiable as having solid eclipse eyes and black brokenpin stripes. Purplish in color as hatchlings.
Murphy Patternless- A patternless morph unrelated to the Albino Patternless. Various crossing has led to Banana Blizzard (MP X B) and the Carrot Tail MP.
RADAR- JMG Reptiles 2007. Bell Albino equivalent to the RAPTOR. Like the RAPTOR they have an orange patternless body along with solid red eclipse eyes or snake eyes.
RAPTOR- Red eyed Albino Patternless Tremper Orange
SHT/SHTCT/SHTCTB- Super Hypo Tangerine/Carrot Tail/Baldy (no spots on tail). A basic Tangerine is any gecko that shows orange in the body.
Snake Eye- A variant of the Eclipse that appears in the Tremper Eclipse and Blazing Blizzards. Half the eye is solid.
Sunglows- see Hybino
TUG Snow- Axanthic (lack of yellow pigment) genetic anomoly produced by selectively breeding Wild Type (WT) geckos. Called TUG because they were originally produced by The Urban Gecko.
