Hello!
This is my big boy Gak! He was a rescue 8 years ago, so there is no knowledge of his parents/genetic line (this is also why he is missing toe knuckles, no worries, he sheds with me just fine).
I realize its probably 100% impossible to ID his morph without any other info, and he is probably just a wild type anyway, but maybe it would be a fun puzzle for some of you to test your leo morph skills!
Most of the pics I have of him are under his red heat lamp, so these are the few I have of him in more natural light.
He has a very cream belly, toasted marshmellow to sunflower yellows, and soft purple bands on his tail.
Again, no special morph probably (and he is pet only, so he will never be bred), but maybe just for fun!
I’ll try to find more natural light photos if they would help. Again, this isn’t high pressure like I need to know his genetics for breeding, just some Guess the Boy fun.
HERE’s a guide I wrote up on ID stuff for leos, check it out for tips on taking good ID pics. And, to be honest, most of my 15+ year old leos (including ones I raised from small juvies) have several missing toes. I think it’s very difficult to completely avoid over such a significant period of time, especially as leos are often first/earlier reptile pets and everyone makes mistakes as they learn.
I think Gak’s pattern is really cool- he has spots on his body, but not the underlying patches of color that are usually there. While this isn’t a ‘morph’ per se, it is a very cool appearance. If you’re not sure what I mean, compare to my gecko Mina (pictured at the link above), you can see the Banded pattern underlying her spots. Gak’s body is striped, but only by spots and not an underlying patched pattern- very cool!
I have one gecko almost like that, my boy Ochocinco. You can see that, on his body, he does have one clear patch of color underlying his spots over his lumbar spine. Ochocinco originally had no spots as a juvie, it was a cool surprise when they eventually developed from the faint underlying pattern.
I also love how Gak has kept his super crisp head spots! While you could call him Wildtype and not be wrong, I’d call him Aberrant (Banded Tail, Jungle body) with a pinch of Carrot Tail. Colors usually lose intensity with age; a Carrot Tail does not have to be explosively neon orange to qualify, just have 15+% orange, which it looks to me like he has. So I’d go with Aberrant Carrot Tail.
Thank you EVER so much for all the wonderful information!
Also, I had NO idea that leos can be born with few to no spots and develop them over time like dalmations! Makes me wonder what Gak may have looked like as a little hatchling, hmmmm.
I’ll be sure to tell him his fancy new title, Mr. Aberrant Carrot Tail, he will be quite pleased!
I’ll also be sure to read your morph ID info, it’ll be something amazing for me to look at and research while I avoid school, work, HA!
Here’s another semi-natural light pic I found to show off his creamy belly and purple tail stripe (don’t worry, he’s not obese he just smashes flat so his belly mooshes out the side).
Much appreciated! I went home for the weekend (I’m at uni for 15 weeks rn) to help my family move, and I made sure to tell him that people online think he is a beautiful little creature. He approves of the attention
And, to be honest, most of my 15+ year old leos (including ones I raised from small juvies) have several missing toes. I think it’s very difficult to completely avoid over such a significant period of time, especially as leos are often first/earlier reptile pets and everyone makes mistakes as they learn.
