So I just bought a Leopard Gecko from Petco and it is an odd one. He’s orange and has normal patterning on his sides like a leopard gecko but has a white stripe down his back like an African Fat-Tail. Is he a hybrid? I’ve been breeding leopard geckos for over five years and never seen anything like him.
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Interesting!
I can’t comment on the hybrid theory, but seeing as he has previously dropped his tail, does it look/feel like scar tissue?
My other immediate thought is that some reptiles have paradoxing where genetic combos result in random spots, white patches, chimerism, etc. Maybe its that rather than a hybrid?
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No, it feels just like regular skin. I just took pictures of the sides of his face as well and put it on the original post. The top part is brown more similar to an African fat tail while the bottom looks more like a tangerine leopard gecko
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So zooming in looks like scales missing?
Wouldn’t recommend breeding either, since you won’t know exactly what he is or any hets etc. and his poor lil feet 
Doesn’t look like a hybrid to me.
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I just took some better macro pictures and no, it looks like that is just as natural patterning because there are scales in the white areas that match up with a normal leopard gecko or fat tail gecko. So the white patterning seems to be natural coloration for him. I am probably not going to breed him as you guys are suggesting but it is definitely a head scratcher as to what could have made him this coloration.
Also yes, his poor feet and tail… Looks like he had a rough time before I picked him up today. :<
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Did some quick looking online, and it looks like there was a lot of talk about people trying to produce hybrid aft/Leo’s back in early 2000’s and 2010, but no pictures I could find or reports of any viable offspring. I doubt he’s a hybrid.
Odds are he’s just got some weird uniqueness going on with him.
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My rescue leo also has tiny little toes from bad sheds in the past, and he always needs help removing his ‘gloves’ when he sheds. He has been thriving for a long time, and I hope yours does too, whatever his situation!
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That is very interesting. It’s not possible to produce leopard gecko/fat-tailed gecko hybrids, since they really aren’t that closely related. It could be possible to produce hybrids with different species of leopard geckos, but I don’t think that’s likely. I was also thinking it could be an injury, but those new pictures don’t look like it. He’s an awesome looking gecko no matter what he is.
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I’m glad you have him now and not Petco because he looks like he could use a little TLC…… 
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First of all, welcome to the community! we would love to see some of your other geckos if you would like to share!
It looks almost like a paradox to me but I haven’t ever seen one even look close to that. Definitely a very cool dude
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After some more thinking and looking randomly at leos on morphmarket, I’m wondering if it’s possible it’s some kind of pied effect? Not the usual that you see, as most times it’s the head/legs affected, not the body, and usually it’s associated with the eclipse gene. Seems to be the only thing I can find similar to this.
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And that’s what’s still throwing me off to this day. Pied seems more… Random. This is a perfect stripe down the back with an end at the back of the head.
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Wouldn’t hurt to try to get in touch with some of the bigger breeders if leopard geckos (JMG is who I’m specifically thinking) to see if they have any thoughts or have seen anything like it. Worth a shot anyhow I’d imagine
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