Get To Know The Albino Leopard Gecko

When designer leopard geckos where first hatched in 1991, the new breed of lizards in new and magnificent colors and patterns have elicited a huge interest. These variations in leopard geckos include high yellow, leucistic, and albinos.

There are three strains of albino leopard geckos namely Bell, Rainwater (Las Vegas), and Tremper. These three strains are recessive so if one were to breed a Tremper albino with a Bell or Rainwater albino, the baby geckos will not be albino but will look normal.

Recessive traits are a consequence of mutations of particular genes that influence a specific part of an animal's development. Nothing can be done to enhance the possibility of discovering a new recessive trait because these are generally discovered randomly. Luck has a lot a lot to do in this kind of specific breeding. Unless you are really an expert, it is usually very tough to differentiate the difference between these three strains of albino leopard geckos so many just settle for an educated guess.

The Tremper strain is the most common and the first to be seen among the albino strains in leopard geckos. There are times when the brown Tremper strain leopard geckos are marketed as the "Mocha strain". There are also leopard geckos of this strain in pink and bright white colors. The color of their eyes can range from normal non-albino that is slightly lighter to bright red. The temperature in which these leopard geckos are incubated can affect their eye color as well as their body color. Darker colors usually result from higher incubation temperature.

The next most common among the aforementioned leopard gecko albino strains are the Rainwater albinos. It has been said that this strain is pinker than other albino strains but this is not quite true. The strain that is relatively rare is the Bell strain. Leopard geckos of this strain often have high contrast, with its pinkness being much darker than that of other leopard gecko strains.

You can tell a Bell albino with its eyes because they are the reddest among the albino strains. Though the red eye color is common among young ones, the eye color of other albino strains change to the usual beige color in adulthood but the eye color of a Bell albino tend to stay pinkish or red.

All the three albino strains of leopard geckos are sensitive to bright lights. When exposed to such, they would shut their eyes tightly. This sensitivity to light is one reason why many albino leopard geckos do not feel like eating during daytime.

There is a big possibility for new strains to emerge through breeding as leopard geckos are becoming more popular than ever because of their appearance and the ease of caring for them. Leopard gecko breeding can bring about a lot of other unique colors, patterns and strains of these animals in a wide array of varieties.

Noel Patterson is a leopard gecko expert. For more great information on leopard gecko, visit http://theleopardgeckoguide.com.