CRESTED GECKO MORPHS
Click on the images to learn more about each respective morph
The Crested Gecko has become increasingly popular among reptile enthusiasts since its introduction into the herpetoculture industry. It is one of the few geckos that exhibits great variations in its colors, patterns and structure. Over the years, experienced breeders have been able to refine traits that are present in wild Crested Gecko populations and take them to a whole new level. Many new colors, morphs and structure traits have been developed through several generations of selective breeding. In this Crested Gecko Morph Guide we will be taking a look at the wide variety of colors and patterns that they come in.
PATTERNLESS CRESTED GECKO
As you can tell by the photos, a patternless Crested Gecko is just that. They come in several color variations such as cream, yellow, orange, pink, red, brown, dark brown, tan and olive. This is one morph where you want the least amount of spots and markings, the less that it has, the better quality the morph is. If you are looking to create different colored Harlequins, Pinstripes or Flame Crested Geckos these are the ones to do it with. This is how we produced Blush (Alpha X Peaches), one of our Pink Extreme Harlequins.
BICOLOR CRESTED GECKO
This is a patternless Crested Gecko with two distinct colors that are in the same color family, one lighter and one darker. Most of the time, it will be a lighter color that runs down the dorsal/back of the gecko.
TIGER CRESTED GECKO
Tiger Crested Geckos are exactly what they sound like. They have darker bands that run vertically from their backs down the sides of their body and can come in different colors. Super Tiger Crested Geckos will have exaggerated striping compared to a regular tiger. The first gecko in the gallery is Cringer, one of our Super Tiger breeders.
BRINDLE CRESTED GECKOS
A Brindle Crested Gecko looks very similar to a Tiger with one minor difference, the bands of pattern don't run up and down. Instead, the pattern is more broken up and tends to look more like marble.
DALMATIAN CRESTED GECKO
Dalmatian Crested Geckos have black, green or red spots of varying size and density. The spots can sometimes be so large and clustered that they are referred to as Inkblots or ink spots. Dalmatian spots can be found in pretty much all the morphs regardless of their visible traits. However, for a Crested Gecko to truly be called a Dalmatian, the spots should be accompanied with little to no pattern on the body and limbs.
SUPER DALMATIAN CRESTED GECKOS
Super Dalmatians have a significant more number of spots compared to a regular Dalmatian. A good rule to follow when determining if a gecko is a Super Dalmatian or not is to see if it has more than 100 spots. If it does, it's pretty safe to call it a Super Dalmatian.
FLAME CRESTED GECKO
A Flame Crested Gecko is very similar to a Bi-Color, the key difference being contrast and color. A Flame’s contrasting color will usually be quite different than the base color and can come in white, cream, yellow or orange. The contrasting color will run along the head and dorsum of the gecko. Flames typically show little to no pattern at all on the sides or limbs of their bodies.
CREAMSICLE CRESTED GECKO
Creamsicle Crested Geckos are orange and white/cream but have also been known to come in yellow and cream. They come as Pinstripes, Harlequins and Flames. The one shown in the photo is a Lilly White Creamsicle.
HARLEQUIN CRESTED GECKO
Harlequin Crested Geckos are a lot like Flame Crested Geckos with one key difference, Harlequins have a lot more pattern on their sides and limbs. In general, the more pattern the nicer the harlequin.
Extreme Harlequin Crested Gecko
This is a gecko with even more pattern than your regular harlequin. The pattern from both the dorsum and laterals of the gecko will start migrating into each other. Sometimes a gecko can have soo much pattern that it starts looking like a patternless Crested Gecko.
PINSTRIPE CRESTED GECKO
Pinstripes are generally thought of as a structural trait and consists of raised, cream or other colored scales. These scales run along the outside of the dorsal and can span from the head all the way to the base of the tail of a Crested Gecko. These raised scales can either match the color of the rest of the dorsal or contrast against it. A full Pinstripe is generally considered more desirable depending on the other traits of the gecko.
Partial Pinstripe
If the pinstripes are broken up and do not connect the head to the tail it is defined as a partial pinstripe.
Reverse Pinstripe
This is a non-structural trait. Reverse pinning will give the appearance of a shadow effect underneath the outside of the actual pinstripes. This darker color will run along the top of the lateral area and just beneath the dorsum/pinstripe scales.
HALLOWEEN CRESTED GECKO
Just like it sounds, Halloween Crested Geckos come in the color combo black and orange. Subtle variations in the darkness of the base color and the color orange is fine. A gecko is not considered a Halloween if the contrasting pattern is clearly yellow or cream.
QUAD-STRIPE CRESTED GECKO
Quad-stripe Crested Geckos are similar to regular pinstripes with the addition of two well defined lateral stripes on the gecko's body. The lateral lines should span the majority of the area between the front and back legs of the gecko. Quad-Stripe Crested Geckos can also have some of the same traits that regular pinstripes do.
LILLY WHITE CRESTED GECKO
Lilly White Crested Geckos are one of the very few genuine genetic morphs cultured in captivity and are characterized as having a lot of white/cream marking on their bodies. Over the last few years, they have created a lot of hype in the Crested Gecko market. These are truly magnificent looking geckos which come in a variety of secondary morphs such as Pinstripes and Harlequins.
High Expression Lilly White Crested Gecko
These have even more white markings than your usual looking Lilly white.