He proposed a trade for the tangerine ph tremper, eclipse for a black night x lemon frost hatchling (the egg is still incubating), and yes I know the issues about lemon frost in regards to cancerous tumors and how it is almost impossible to be bred out, but according to him the lemon frost (male), has no tumor growths, so he kept him
It’s not worth the risk right? even though the lemon frost parent didn’t exhibit “yet” any symptoms of tumors. I appreciate any opinions or more education in regards to leopard geckos as a whole. Thank you.
It’s not almost impossible to breed out, it is impossible, and the morph itself is so problematic it’s against MorphMarket rules to sell them on the platform. Over 80% of lemon frost geckos studied developed tumors by age 5. Under no circumstances should you accept the trade, imo.
The tumor effect in lemon frost cannot be removed. Sure, there may be some that fair better than others. But the mutation that causes the cancer IS the reason the geckos look that way. Also, just because you don’t see tumors on the skin does not mean they don’t have any. It also doesn’t guarantee that any offspring will be tumor free. And if you end up with Super Lemon Frost that’s basically a cancer factory.
I would be very suspicious of any breeder saying that LF tumors can be bred out. The only way to breed it out is by keeping the offspring that are not carrying lemon frost.
Here’s an article from Reptiles Magazine. You can see how some of the tumors look like fat or calcium deposits under the chin. There are tumors in the mouth and in the organs.
It is worth pointing out that ‘only keeping the non-LF offspring’ is equivalent to ‘knowingly producing animals, half of which will have either to be culled at hatch or allowed to develop a fatal condition early in their life.’ So the issue here is not only about a breeder’s demonstrably false factual claims, but also about their ethics as pertains to the care of animals. Supporting such breeders entails supporting that behavior.
Agreed, agreed, agreed! Producing lemon frost is simply unethical. There are so many adorable morphs which are healthy. Worth restating,
Which means that not all tumors are visible.
Congrats on your new animals, @jujumaster.
Kudos to you for being willing to learn about your chosen creatures. That’s beneficial for you, for them, for the hobby as a whole.
