Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Hi, I work at a PetsMart partime (I'm 17) and we have two hatchling leos that are leucistic. I recently noticed that they look very different from one another. One looks like a blizzard, and the other, is weird. He looks the same, except instaed of white, he is a dark grayish blue.

Can someone please explain why they look different? Would $70 for eaither one be worth the investment? They are really cool, and I feed each gecko about 5 pinheads a day, and they are on repticarpet, with a heat gradient and humid hide and everything.
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

If the other one is white then they are both blizzards. The only thing different from the darker one is that it is stressed out. This can be caused by a lot of things: like temps, not having enough free space, being bothered by something or the other leo. It all depends on how healthy they are if they are a good investment. If you know how big a normal hatchlings tail is compared to theirs, thats one sign of a healthy leo if the tail is average or bigger.

By leucistic, you mean patternless not blizzard, right? If yes then I can explain. Patternless do change color a lot more than other leos. So the one could be dark due to stress, cold, etc. But, patternless also naturally come in differing amounts of melanine in the underlying body color, which shows up in the head and tail from almost white to dark purplish. If you want to see an example of this, here are two clutchmates (patternless) at age about 3 months. Weird, eh?

About prices, $70 sounds a bit high to me for a generic patternless, and the darker ones are even less valued (colorwise, not petwise. Patternless tend to be very tame and make great pets!

Heres a pic of one of mine.

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1.0.0 Chris Allen red x Red flame Beardie (Phil)
0.1.0 Redflame x Orange Beardie (Lilian)
0.1.0 Flaming Tiger x Orange Beardie (Stevie)
0.1.0 Adopted Beardie (Sissy)
0.1.0 Rescue Yellow/German Giant Beardie (Helga) R.I.P
1.0.0 15 year old Eastern Box Turtles (Radar)
0.1.0 Brown Basilisk (Leroy, I know shes a girl!)

Too many leos to count.....

yeah, blizzard is very different from patternless, keep that in mind. Personally i wouldn't pay $70 for a regular patternless leo, i paid $20 for each of mine, and $30 for the two i had before that.

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1.0 green iguana-Deitrich
1.1 Common Boa-Un-Named, Ursula
1.0 Ball Python-Anabell (go figure!)
1.0 Red Tegu-Uteg
1.0 Albino Cal King-Pig
0.1 Mexican Black King-Morticia
1.1 Bearded Dragons-Unnamed, Hanabil
1.0 Albino San Diego Gopher-Unnamed
0.1 Hermans tort-Esio
1.1 JCP-Milton, Medusa
1.1 Reverse Okeetee Corn-Unnamed
0.1 Snow Corn-Unnamed
1.0 Hypo Okeetee Corn-Unnamed
0.1 Motley Okeetee-Unnamed
1.0 Western Hoggie-Wyrm
0.0.1 Rose Hair Taruntla-Unnamed
2.0 Leopard Geckos-Reptar, Pogo
4.1 cats-Tucker,Poe,Abhib,Emerald, Felicity
0.1 Bullmastiff-Asha

They look like this:

Execpt one is darker.
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

That is actually a blizzard. I would not trust the one is a truly darker coloring if it is a baby and in a petstore. Stress and sickness can bring on darker colors for sure. I do raise and breed midnight blizzards. But I know for sure mine are black because they are adults, never change to lighter, and are eating, pooping, and active. And I know their parentage which is very important. Picture is of one of my adult males.

I don't know how he could be stressed and the other one not, expecially since both are eating...
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

I'm just saying that I wouldn't trust it as much in babies, there are so many factors in the little ones that can make them change their color. How long have they been there? If they have been there a week or less I would say don't chance it as I am almost positive it will turn white later. If he has been there a while and his color NEVER lightens then give it a try and see what happens.

Well, I go into work tommorow, hopefully he still won't be dark

Thansk!
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

Yeah thats a blizzard not a patternless. $70 is good price, buy them both and I'll buy them from you

Well every leo is different and needs different things. So if you don't change anything in the tank he will still be dark unless you do something to relieve his stress or whatever else is causing him to get darker.

>>"$70 is good price, buy them both and I'll buy them from you"

I got my adult blizzard for $35 and it was from Ben Siegal. $70 for a baby that might be sick seems like talking a risk.
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Katie F.
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

The dark one I would bet is just dark colored and that is its normal coloring and it's not sick or stressed. Besides, I have learned from someone who keeps blizzards that they actually get lighter under stress instead of darker. If they look healthy in all the other ways then they're fine! buy them.

I highly doubt a pet store got a midnight blizzard for 35 dollars... The only reason it is boosted up to 70 is because A) they arent going to sell it for what they bought it for and B) they make more money this way so that the people that don't risk their reptiles dieing through shipping or don't trust the people on the internet. Also when you bought your bliz for 35 you paid shipping correct? Yup thats either 70 or 75 dollars depending what company shipped it to you. That whole blizzards get lighter thing is definently wrong, what your telling me is that every leo fanatic that has blizzards and knows how to keep them are raising them wrong because they are white? please explain. Also they wouldnt call it a "blizzard" if it was dark now would they? could you be kind enough to explain that too.

Thanks.

Nope, I got her at a show so I paid no shipping but still I wouldn't get one for 2 times more from a petshop than what I got mine for from a well known breeder. Sometimes pet store leos are healthy but most of the time they aren't which is why I'm saying if you get them for $70 and hten they turn out to be sick it's not much of a good deal anymore.
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Katie F.
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

When I mean darker, I don't mean anything close to a midnight blizzard! I mean a kinda slighly grayish/purplish color.
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0.0.1 Chrysemys picta picta (Eastern Painted Turtle)
0.0.1 Teliqua gigas (Indonesian Blue Tongue Skink)
0.2.0 Eublepharis macularius (Leopard Geckos)
0.0.1 Nerodia sipedon (Northern Water Snake)
0.0.2 Rhacodactylus ciliatus (Crested Geckos)
0.0.1 Python regius (Ball Python)
?.?.? Assorted goldfish, minnows and guppies
1.0.0 Ferret
1.1.0 Cats
1.0.0 Aussie Cattle Dog/ Border Collie Mix

Nomad: yes thats the color they get when they are stressed out.

Peach: Well it all depends on which pet store you get it from. Most likly the chain pet stores usually have a high chance of their animals being sick. But if you can get to a show (which some can't) you got a good deal. But you didnt answer my second question. Please do.

>>Nomad: yes thats the color they get when they are stressed out.
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>>Peach: Well it all depends on which pet store you get it from. Most likly the chain pet stores usually have a high chance of their animals being sick. But if you can get to a show (which some can't) you got a good deal. But you didnt answer my second question. Please do.
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Katie F.
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

"That whole blizzards get lighter thing is definently wrong, what your telling me is that every leo fanatic that has blizzards and knows how to keep them are raising them wrong because they are white? please explain"

Basically explain to me why a stressed out bliz would be white, and it's original color is a dark color. It definently wouldnt be called "blizzard" if it was that dark color.

I didn't say that, look back and you'll see. I disagree with that also. I know my blizzard gets darker when she's gets stressed.
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Katie F.
Peach State Geckos
Breeding Mealworms
My Email

np

I don't know this of my own experience as I don't have any blizzards, but someone who does have blizzards posted on another forum that her blizzard(s) actually get lighter when stressed.