Reptile & Amphibian Forums

Albino is a word meant to charecterize complete lack of pigment in the skin and in the eyes of a reptile. If this is so, then why do "Albino" leopard geckos have yellow stripes and grey eyes? The tokays seem to be the same way. Ball pythons and such also keep that yellow stripe and so do many albino turtles. Am I missing something here? Can anyone clear this whole thing up for me?
Real Albino

Hi, from what I understand being albino means lacking black pigment. Humans only have this kind of pigment while lizards have a total of 3 kinds of pigment. Im not sure what the other 2 are although i think they are green and red. Hope that helps a little untill someone more experienced answers

In the herp trade, the two terms are used interchangeably - basically an "albino" gecko, corn snake, whatever, is really an amelanistic animal, that is, a reptile without the ability to produce melanin. They do, however, produce all the other pigments (other then black) a normal phase lizard would - that's why a leo has yellow stripes. Hope this explanation helps!
Virtual Homestead

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The Classroom Zoo is...
1:2 leopard geckos, R.I.P. Rosie
1:0 Jackson's Chameleon
1:0 Veiled Chameleon
1:1 Bearded Dragons
0:1 Florida Kingsnake
0:1 White's Tree Frog
Hairless Mice, Roaches, Mealies, and Supers...

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A note: a pure white reptile (with blue eyes) is called leucisitic. The other two pigments are yellow and red, and the lack of them is called axanthism and anerthyrism, respecitvely. This gets very complicated, but strangely it's still not as complicated as gerbil coat colors.