Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hello, All-

I'm new here, but not that new to herps. I have a 5 year old beardie, an amenalistic (sp) corn snake (11 years), and a large tokay who I just inherited from a friend.

I used to own hi yellow Leopards, but I had to part with them 6 years ago after a crisis. My life has stabilized now so I decided it'd be a good time to have another pair or trio.

Several weeks ago, I saw a beautiful albino in Petco for $25, and just had to get him (or more likely--HER). It blows my mind as less than ten years ago folks were selling them for thousands of dollars!

Today I went back to get her a buddy. There was the weirdest looking leopard I've ever seen. He's an older hatchling (probably about 2-3 months) with very strange chocoalate brown spots upon a greyish-yellow background.

At first I thought maybe he was an African Fat-Tailed that had been mistakenly dropped in the Leopard tank. However, he was thriving with the other geckos (you'd think the dry environment would have been tough on a Fat-Tail) and he looked exactly like them in build so I wasn't sure. I ended up taking him home.

Now that I've looked at a few pictures on the internet, I can tell he's definitely NOT a Fat-tail. His tail is too long and slender, and his markings look nothing like a Fat-tail hatchling either.

He has the exact physique of a leopard, the coloration of a fat-tail, and very unusual patterns (resembles the markings you may seen on a young black rat or a corn snake). No purple, no little spots or signs of banding you see in most hatchlings.

I'm 99% sure he IS a leopard gecko, but I have no idea what variation he is...

I've visited a few breeders' sites, and have yet to see any pictures or descriptions that match him yet.

Does anyone have any idea what he is?

I'm temporarily calling him ChocoaBan (Chocoate Bananna) right now. I will get his picture up this week.

Thanks!

Sounds like a baby patternless. They're also sold as leucistic but that's a misnomer.
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chickabowwow

I agree.. It sounds like it might be a patternless. Does it look at all like this one?

www.mothergecko.com/gallery/display/79.jpg

That's what a patternless juvenile/hatchling looks like.

Can't wait to see the pic to find out for sure!

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Here's another patternless hatchling:

www.sundialreptile.com/patternlesshatchpic.jpg

If it IS a patternless, it'll grow up to look like this:

www.groundgeckofreak.com/Photos/leuctop.jpg

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~

Wow! That's my little dude. He's a patternless. What a find!

hey spookie girl what state are you in? im in washington state. the petco near me had a patternless 4 days ago that i was going to get. i hope its notbthe one i was after,if it is nice find.

I'm in Maryland so I don't think you have anything to worry about from me.

I'm really impressed with how our Petco has changed over the past five years. The new management there has done a great job caring for all the little fuzzies, birds and herps. You know a store is decent when their herps and birds are healthy.

They also sponsor a wonderful local cat rescue who we adopted one of our kitties from.

I normally do not care to buy animals pet stores. I don't like to support the commercial live animal trade, and you can usually find healthier herps from a good breeder at lower prices..but I confess this was a bit of an impulse buy.

I just couldn't help myself as I have missed having leopards and was blown away by the great health and prices of the hatchlings.

I'm thinking of getting a third leopard (probably a jungle or a regular), but I'm going to the Mid-Atlantic Reptile show which will hit in about a month. Of course, knowing me I'll end up with something else--(been wanting a waxy monkey treefrog--LOL).

I gotta ask.. How much did you pay for the patternless?

~~Dusty Windom
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So Many Alleles, So Little Time...!
@
~~The Gecko Barn~~