Request to add new gene - ChoCho Crested Gecko [DONE]

rubyreptiles · May 6, 2025, 2:14am

Gene Request Form

Species: Crested Gecko C. Ciliatus
Name of Gene: ChoCho
First produced by whom: Sunju
Year First Produced: 2021
Genetics Type (Incdom/Codom/Recessive/Polygenic/etc): Recessive
In complex with other genes?: No
Other names/aliases for it?:
Description: This genetic alters the way red/tangerine is displayed on the animal. They hatch in a variety of tangerine/pink coloration on the cream parts of the animal, and the main base color is always a maroon red. As they age, they transition through many shades of pink/grey and darken with age.

Appearance; What it does/looks like?

Head: Dark Red head stamp, the red color is typically darkest on the head/neck region. Eyes are usually a lighter grey/blue color.
Body: Coloration is typically maroon at hatch, but gradually darkens with time. The lighter portions of the body that are typically cream, are covered with a tangerine layer of pigment.
Belly: Consistent with body color, often being the maroon color with a tangerine striping.
Tail: Variations of Pink/tangerine coloration coating the white portion of the tail that lead to a grey/darker tip.

Proven Lines: Sunju’s Main Line
Related Genes:

Proven: I have personally proved out 50% poss. hets, and have produced nothing but “normal” offspring by pairing our visual animal to unrelated animals. We have also produced these using Visual x 100% Hets, which yield expected results as well.
Unique: Why do you believe this is a new morph and not an existing one? The color pallet unlocked with this genetic is not something you will observe in any WT gecko, or any other common morph. There are “red” crested geckos, and there are ChoCho’s. Chocho has such a distinct appearance change right out of the egg. Reds often times hatch a brownish color and gain color with age, these do nearly the opposite. They hatch looking radioactive and darken with age.

Problems: Any problems? None to date to my knowledge.
History: The gene was developed by Sunju in South Korea. It first popped up out of a pair of tricolors back in 2020. After years of work and outcrossing, he proved the genetic out to be simple recessive, and in 2023 Ruby Reptiles became the first breeder to begin working with the morph here in the states.
Disagreement or Controversy: None
References here on the community: (Instagram의 TikisGeckos님 : "ChoCho is a newer recessive mutation that @rubyreptiles is working with. He is the first person in the USA to produce them 🇺🇸 #crestedgeckos")

At least one link to community discussion (ie forums) to demonstrate community acceptance
Link to WOBP if one exists.
Links to the wider web. https://www.ibexotic.com/forum-1/general-reptile-discussion/new-crested-gecko-morph-chocho
Please attach at least 3 photos you have rights to which you are granting to be used on MorphMarket, Including 1 image next to a Normal/WT animal

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Add images here.

Attached are numerous hatch photos of Visual Chocho’s and Visual Lilly White Chocho’s side by side with their “normal” or Lilly White hatch mates. This shows clear evidence of this being a unique trait.

ccbongers · November 11, 2025, 5:47am

Did this get added or not?

noodlehaus · November 11, 2025, 6:03am

No, this gene has not yet been added.

ccbongers · November 12, 2025, 1:55am

It seems to me that Morphmarket is way behind when it comes to listing traits with crested geckos, why is that? AC Reptiles, C2 citrus line is not on here, Fringe is not listed, Highlighter, Kingstripe, and a lot more.

noodlehaus · November 12, 2025, 2:19am

Has anyone requested those traits be added yet, or no? That is the first step. Someone must request an addition. You may want to read How do you get a gene added to MorphMarket? to see the process involved.

ccbongers · December 17, 2025, 6:04pm

I am not sure but I am going to look into it. This stuff has been around for a while now, so not sure why it has not. You would think that MorphMarket would take some interest and do it itself.

armiyana · December 17, 2025, 6:28pm

There’s a lot of things that are more important than researching morphs that staff needs to do. The main staff member you see approving these posts is the Support manager on the market side. There’s not a dedicated team that does just morph info.

The hobby is huge and there’s always issues with the history that needs to be worked out. That is a lot of time needed.
Who originated it?
Is it actually just a different morph that already exists?
Have the breedings been done to test it for potential related genes?
Is it a polygenic gene that the breeder has been line breeding?
If someone wants to update the morphipedia, nothing is stopping the request process except for people who aren’t interested in promoting it here or people who just don’t know the option to make a listing exists.

If you want those genes represented here, why don’t you make a request?

noodlehaus · December 17, 2025, 7:30pm

As @armiyana said, there’s a lot that goes into running MM outside of morphs, and a lot that goes into adding new morphs to the site. They go by what there is demand for. In addition to all the previously listed things necessary for new additions, they have to code every morph in so that the search, tags, and calculations are accurate. This is why morph addition requests often take months to process. On top of all of that, MorphMarket is not some giant company with a ton of teams. They have a relatively small number of staff spread across the world that a do a lot of work to keep everything running smoothly while also adding new features. The manpower required to proactively add every morph would take away from other areas. This is why they rely on community input for so many things.