Morph Guide -Photos and all

[Envied Reptiles]

Ive had this on my site for some time, but thought it might be usefull to share here as well. Hope it helps if your trying to figure out what morph your crested is.

Fire / Flame:
The flame or fire morph is characterized by a lighter color pattern appearing over a darker base color on the center of the gecko’s back. Examples of the fire/ flame morph come in many colors. A gecko does not have to be any two particular colors to qualify as a fire/ flame morph. Rather, it simply must have a lighter color pattern visible running down the center of the back over a darker base color that ideally encompasses the rest of the gecko. The lighter fire /flame color may also be visible to a small degree on the gecko’s sides and legs. When the lighter color appears in these secondary areas in a greater amount the gecko is referred to as a harlequin or harley for short.

In the displayed example, the blackened area shows the lighter colored area running down the back that qualifies this gecko as a fire or flame morph.




Harlequin, AKA Harley:
The harlequin morph, or harley for short is an exaggerated version of the fire or flame morph. For a gecko to qualify as a harlequin, it must have a lighter fire or flame pattern visible down the dorsum just as a fire/flame morph does. The distinguishing factor between a fire/flame and a harlequin is the amount this lighter color pattern appears on the gecko’s sides and limbs. A fire may have a little of this secondary color on the limbs, but when it shows up in greater amounts the gecko is referred to as a harlequin. As this is a desired trait breeders are constantly producing harlequins with exaggerated amounts of this lighter color. Some harlequin geckos now appear to have more of the lighter color on the legs and sides than the base color. Generally speaking the greater the amount of the secondary color the more desirable the gecko is.

In the displayed examples, the blackened area shows where the lighter color runs down the back qualifying the gecko as a fire morph. Additionally, the black and white striped area showcases where the pattern has extended to the sides and limbs, thus qualifying the gecko as a harlequin.

[Envied Reptiles]

Continued:

Dalmation:
The dalmation may be the easiest morph to describe and understand. Simply put the dalmation morph is a spotted gecko. In most instances the spots are black, but they can come in other colors such as grey and red. The dalmation trait can be seen on geckos of all colors and is independent of the other morphs.

In the example provided I simply removed the dalmation spotting.




Tiger:
The tiger morph is exemplified by banding or tiger stripes seen on a gecko’s side. Often these stripes will extend up the sides and onto the top of the back. The color difference between the stripes and base color will vary from specimen to specimen, but usually the banding or stripes will be a darker tint of the base color.

In the example I’ve colored over the tiger pattern with black.




Pinstripe:
The pinstripe morph is exemplified by two narrow rows of light colored striped scales running from the head to the base of tail. Full pinstriped geckos will have two complete rows of lighter colored scales running down the back without interruption, meeting at the base of the tail. Often there will be a visible break in the colored pinstripe scales or the pinstripe scales will only be visible in segments. These are referred to as partial pinstripes. Geckos showing the pinstripe morph can also be fires/flames, harlequins, and dalmations, or a combination of all.

In the displayed example I highlighted the pattern and scales in question that qualify this gecko as a partial pinstripe. Somehow the quality got lost and I didn’t have a nice what background, but this is about as pure of a pinstripe only crested as you will see anymore.

[Kesslers Kreatures]

Awesome thread dude, my gf's been wanting a crested so this will help when we decide to pick one

[Sasquatch Art]

Awesome Thread

[dr del]

Hi,

Is pinstripe harlequin possible? Cos that would be neat.


dr del

[mlededee]

Hi,

Is pinstripe harlequin possible? Cos that would be neat.


dr del

Absolutely. Here's what that looks like:

[chetman7]

wat would be considered the "normals" like the ones you would most likely get at a petshop

[dr del]

Absolutely. Here's what that looks like:

Me like.

I don't know why but they just draw me more than the dalmations - though red ones with the same pinstripe harly pattern would be da puppys.

How do you buy the colour morphs if they develop their colour later on and vary so much between fired up and not?

Is it all about a trustworthy breeder or are there signs to look for?


dr del

[tideguyinva]

those are some neat little critters and they are so cute.

[mlededee]

wat would be considered the "normals" like the ones you would most likely get at a petshop

A normal is a buckskin--a plain, patternless brown colored gecko.

I don't know why but they just draw me more than the dalmations - though red ones with the same pinstripe harly pattern would be da puppys.

Apparently you need to get into cresteds because you have most excellent taste. You might enjoy the photos here: http://www.acreptiles.com/geckos_cre...ion_redhar.htm.

How do you buy the colour morphs if they develop their colour later on and vary so much between fired up and not?

Is it all about a trustworthy breeder or are there signs to look for?

The best bet is to buy an animal that is at least 3-4 months old from a trustworthy breeder. Some geckos will start showing their adult coloration at that age, but some take 8-10 months to really start showing, it really just depending on the color and the morph (for instance creamsicles and red harlies tend to take longer to show their coloration).

You can also look at the parents of the gecko to get an idea of what it might look like, but this is not always a safe bet because the genetics can vary so much. Once you have been dealing with cresteds for a while you will start to get an idea of what a gecko will look like as an adult based on its juvie coloration but that takes a lot of time looking at and raising a lot of geckos in order to be somewhat accurate. Even then you won't guess them all correctly--I have a gecko that is almost a year old that I just KNOW is going to be a red harley but she still isn't really showing her coloration yet (although I know that this particular line of red harlies it does take longer). When she was just a few months old I totally did not see the red harley potential in her and I almost sold her--I'm more than a little glad now that I didn't. Every once in a while they do get one by on me!