The Albino Leopard Gecko and it's 3 different Strains

The Albino Leopard Gecko

There has been a tremendous interest in the Albino gecko since the first known hatchling which happen in 1991. Leopard geckos come in many different variations including Lichtenfelder's,(Vietnamese Leopard Gecko), high yellow, the leucistic and the albinos.

For the Albino leopard gecko there are three different strains, they are the Bell, the Tremper and Rainwater (Las Vegas). All three strains of albinos are recessive traits. Which simply means that, if you were to breed a Rainwater gecko with a Bell or Tremper albino, they would produce normal looking babies and not necessarily albino babies.

Recessive traits are the result of a mutation of certain genes that manage a specific part of the development of the animal. These traits are usually revealed randomly, so there is nothing that can be done to increase the probability of discovering a new recessive trait. This kind of specific breeding depends a lot on luck.

The three different strains of albin can be difficult to distinguish apart from one another. Sometimes, it is an educated guess as to which strain an full-grown albino leopard gecko is. The Tremper strain does apprear to be the most common of the three different albino strains. They were the first of the albino strains to be seen. A lot of times these albino geckos are actually brown and marketed as the "Mocha Strain".

They can sometimes be pink or bright white in color. There eye color can range from slightly lighter than a "regular" non-albino geckos eye color, to bright red. The color of the body as well as the eye color can differ in geckos incubated at different temperatures. Usually, a higher incubation temperature will result in a gecko that is darker in color.

The Rain water albinos are the second most common of the three varying albino strains. It is thought that they are pinker then the other strains but that is not always true. The Bell strain of the albino's is actually the rareist of the three different strains. They often have a high contrast, with "pink" areas that are a lot of the time much darker than other albino strains.

The eye color of the Bell albino leopard geckos is the reddest of the three strains. While the red eye color of young animals often changes as the geckos ages to the normal beige color in the other albino strains, the Bell albino eye color has a tendency to stay red or pinkish even in adult animals. All three strains of albino gecko are sensitive to bright lights, and they will close their eyes tightly if they are exposed to it.

It is possible that many more dominant recessives will be realized in the next few years. The breeding of mutations with mutations will accelerate the rate of variation making these already unique animals even more unique.

Debbie Miller is a pet lover and Leopard Gecko Expert. For more Great information on The Albino Gecko and to get Expert Advice on buying, keeping and breeding beautiful, healthy Leopard Geckos visit her website and get your Free 10 part Mini-Course at http://www.leopardgeckoscenter.com