leopard gecko morphs to avoid

Leopard Gecko Morphs with Genetic Issues Contributeur

Leopard Geckos are one of the most popular pet lizards in the reptile hobby, and come in cpuntless colorations, patterns and forms. But sadly, with so many genes surfacing through selective breeding, some can have negative effects on our beloved pets.

In this wiki I wanted to list some of the genes and combinations that you wanna be carefull about.

Enigma is a dominant gene that can turn a generic Leo into a stunner looks wise. It enhances colours and can change or even eradicate patterns. Some also have a natural red hue to their eyes, without being albinos.

The downside: Enigma Leos suffer from a neurological disorder called “Enigma Syndrome”, ES for short. It is similar to the “Spider Wobble” in Ball Pythons. Some breeders claim it can be bred out, but in all the years it has been around this has not been the case, as most “symptom free” Enigmas are displaying at least mild, more subtle symptoms. The symptoms are also stress related, so an animal that shows little symptoms at the breeders can turn out with severe symptoms if moved, or a Leo can look fine in some videos, but might not even be able to hunt on its own.

Symptoms:

• Circling (walking in circles, it looks like theyre chasing their tail)

• Balance issues (often seen walking around very wobbly and randomly falling, oft similar looking to convulsions)

• Bad aim (they target their prey but then usually jump too short, or swerve to a side before reaching it repeatedly)

• Stargazing (randomly staring at the ceiling with nothing in sight, usually heavily excitement/stress triggered)

• Head Tilting (head tilted at a certain angle, randomly occuring with no target in focus)

These issues can worsen gradually, starting with a slightly wobbly walk and head tilting, and ending in a gecko that keeps falling over and cant get back onto their feet, or start at any other stage and increase. Some also have stagnant symptoms, looking normal but on certain occasions the suddenly fall over, start spinning, etc. The symptoms might look like theyre listed according to severity, but there have been Leos that would only display Stargazing, but could not eat because them getting excited for food triggered it every time. Common results of these symptoms are geckos that cant eat, injure themselves or often regurgitate and drop their tails on random occasions. Some of these things have resulted in having to ultimately get Enigma geckos euthanized.

ES is also just as present in any combination of Enigma, such as Black Hole, Dreamsicle, Crystal, etc, and Enigma Leos are extremely sensitive to stress, things that wouldnt bother a healthy Leo can heavily upset an Enigma.

If youre thinking about getting an Enigma Leo its recommended to rescue one instead of supporting a breeder that willingly forces such issues onto their animals.

White and Yellow is a gene thats very similar to Enigma, allthough seen as a better “alternative” to it. W&Y can cause a usually less extreme form of the Enigma Syndrome, often titled. “W&Y Syndrome”. The key difference to the ES is, that it can be outbred with a very high chance. If bred responsably most W&Y will not show any symptoms, with rarely occuring ones that display head tilting, wobbly walks or Stargazing.

However, if not bred as carefully, which is often the case with animals from huge breeding facilities/mills, a W&Y can also end up displaying more severe issues, often resulting in having to be tong-fed, being a display animal only, etc.

If youre looking to buy a White and Yellow Leo make sure to get them from a responsable breeder, who knows their animals well. A person labeling a W&Y as “pet only” due to symptoms is usually a better sign than a person trying to play it down, or just not knowing at all.

Lemon Frost has gained a very sad reputation in the short few years this gene has been discovered. They have a very unique and striking look that hasnt been seen in any other morph before. But their unique appearance comes at a high cost. The gene is directly linked to developing fatal tumors, many LF dont even make it into adulthood, and if so, they dont live very long. There are no issue free Lemon Frost Leopard Geckos to this day.

Along with this very prominent issue, there are others, less “severe” ones. They often hatch with swollen eyes and other facial deformaties, usually effecting their face shape, such as short noses, under/overbites, etc.

Another, very hidden issue with them is that their likelyhood to develope tumors is apparently also genetic, transfering to offspring that is not carrying the Lemon Frost gene as well, and is passed on through several generations. So if you are inquiring to buy a Leo from a breeder that offers Lemon Frosts as well, be very carefull about the ancestry of your gecko, because even if they dont look like a Lemon Frost, they might come with the same issues.

The original breeder of this gene confirmed that this is not only a dominant gene, but actually an incomplete dominant gene, meaning there are technically Super Lemon Frosts. The breeder did test breedings to check for that and had a high mortality rate both before and after hatching, and hid the first few viable ones, due to them haching with a “slight jaw deformaty”, even before facial deformaties with single gene Lemon Frost Leopard Geckos became a frequently documented issue.

This might come as a surprise for many, as this is a commonly seen morph, even more so as White and Yellow, but the issues are similar. If bred responsably your Mack Super Snow should be a healthy little gecko, but if the breeder didnt pay attention, sometimes even to subtle signs, or was just straight up very unlucky, it can end up with a few issues.

Some common issues with Mack Super Snows, also called MSS or simply SS are for example too small nostrils. This might sound like a peanut considering the issues listed with other morphs, but its still worth noting. Due to that Super Snow geckos can have more troubles shedding their noses than a usual gecko would, leading to stuck shed, which can, if left untreated, lead to nose infections. Often times an issue like that stays unnoticed because the stuck shed is in a spot thats not very accessable or even visible for the owner. This condition makes them more prone to become nose infections in general, which might require simply more vet care than a healthy Leo would.

An issue that can have a more drastic outcome is the fact that some MSS are a victims to stunted growth. This means that your gecko is not growing as fast as it should, and ultimately ends up at a smaller body size than a normal Leo. In a best case scenario, thats all that happens. But stunted growth, even if genetic and not a symptom of malnourishment, can cause troubles. Sometimes certain body parts are more heavily effected than others, causing the gecko to have a weird look to them, this rarely gets so bad that it would actually effect vital functions like walking or eating, but it can be the case. Some stunted Leos end up having a funny walk etc, which does not bother them, while some very unlucky ones can barely move properly. Another effect of this that females can get eggbound, as they usually produce normal sized eggs, which can be too big for a stunted Leo to pass. Stunted growth like this is a thing that occures early on in a Leos life, so a responsable breeder should be able to identify that before the gecko is old ebough to go to a new home, and it being severe enough to harmfully effect a Leos mobility is also incredibly rare.

Another issue that can, and compared to the others does appear more frequently in Super Snows, is a flat head. This is in any case I have known of an exclusively cosmetic issue, and does not bother the gecko at all.

A lot of these things might sound horrifying, but if youre choosing your gecko carefully you should end up with a healthy one, as most of Mack Super Snows ultimately are.

Again an issue that can occure, but does not have to, and can usually be dealt with fine. Albino Eclipse (any albino strain) can have eyes that are sensitive to light. Some albinos in general can be sensitive to light already, but it happens more frequently with albino eclipse Leos, especially those with solid red eyes. This issue is usually easily dealt with by offering a lot of coverage from light, and using no UVB lamps, and in very bad cases even dimming LED lamps.

Mack Super Snow Albino Eclipse

In a combination of the 2 previously named things the potential issues basically add up. A SS Albino Eclipse can be perfectly fine, or be ridden with any issue mentionned for the composing morphs. Leos like that, also often labeled as “Super RAPTOR/RADAR/TYPHOON” also have a higher chance of hatching with smaller than usual eyes, or being completely blind. They are also more likely to get eye infections, which again, required more frequent vet care.

Again, this does not mean that you have to avoid these morphs completely, as carefully bred ones will most likely be issue free.

Noir Desir Black Eye

Noir Desir Black Eye is a fairly new recessive gene, that enhances the colour of the Leo and gives them a very unique eye shape and colour. Originally the morph was described as a very unproblematic trait, not causing any issues with eyesight or vitality in any form, not even combined with albinism.

The downfall of this morph is basically human greed and the fact that it is a recessive gene, because to cater to the sudden high demand people started to heavily inbreed NDBE and het NDBE Leos, resulting in basically destroying the majority of the gene pool of this morph, producing animals that had actual eye deformaties, high mortality rate, stunted growth and infertility, just to name a few.

Noir Desir Black Eye is currently a very expensive morph and it will take a while of responsable breeding to bring the gene back from the point where it currently is, but hopefully it will make its way back to be able to be erased from this list.

A very popular and yet highly debated gene to this day. It produces bigger and apparently also more calm Leopard geckos. The problem with these guys is similar to NDBE, high demand from early on resulted in a lot of inbreeding, an issue that has been partially resolved by now and is a lot less of a problem than it is with NDBE. But they are still not clear to not be on this list. Currently the debate is going on if it is an incomplete dominant gene or recessive with heavy line breeding. Which leads us to the actual issue with this morph, which is in general heavy overfeeding. A lot of Giant/Super Giant Leos are overfed from an early age, to make them fit the weight limits of this morph. Therefor you could end up with buying an overfed Leo, instead of an actual Giant. Another issue with them is scamming, as the gene takes effect later in their developement, which means that with many Leos the breeders are not able to tell if their animal is a Super Giant, Giant or just a normal by the time they are ready fot their new home, leading to a lot of misslabeling because Giants and especially Super Giants are obviously worth a lot more money than Normal sized ones.

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Problematic Leopard Gecko Morphs

FAQ

What leopard gecko morphs have issues?

Enigma and Lemon Frosts are the main morphs that are the “super bad ones”, however there are a few more that might get the axe. Enigma:The issue with Enigmas are the Neurological issues (balance issues)- this can cause them to wobble, circle, death roll and stargaze.

What is the most sought after leopard gecko morph?

Black Nights are the most expensive morph. They’re generally quite inbred and good quality stock usually goes for over a thousand dollars per animal. It’s not a gene, it’s line breeding, so if you outcross them it dilutes their color pretty significantly many times. Besides that, there are no rare morphs.

What is the best morph of leopard geckos?

• Baldy.
• Creamsicle.
• Tremper Albino.
• Mack Snow.
• Enigma.
• Diablo Blanco.
• Patternless.
• Red Stripe.

What is bad for leopard geckos?

Any insects that light up are poisonous for geckos. Wild insects. This means any insects you find outside or in your home—there is no way to know where they’ve been or what kind of chemicals they have been exposed to.