# Line-Breeding Leopard Geckos



## SandiskReptiles (May 13, 2009)

I understand that line breeding means you breed related leopard geckos for example:

Father to Daughter
Son to Mother

And so on - why do people do that?

It just sounds so wrong!


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## SleepyD (Feb 13, 2008)

GlasgowGecko did a good post on inbreeding here -> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizards/174682-inbreeding-depression-facts.html


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## scalez (Apr 24, 2009)

it's done to breed(?) out a morph, say a hatching came out bright orange, this hatching would then be bred back to mother or father so the next generation of hatchings some of them would also have the orange colour etc.

i think, know next to nothing about morphs.


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## MrMike (Jun 28, 2008)

SleepyD said:


> GlasgowGecko did a good post on inbreeding here -> http://www.reptileforums.co.uk/lizards/174682-inbreeding-depression-facts.html


Was going to be my recommendation. Excellent read imo


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## SandiskReptiles (May 13, 2009)

I see, very interesting but still strange.

Once you have bred back to the parents can you then breed seperately and still get the specific morph you desire to have?

or would you always need to be line-breeding to keep up that specific morph?


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## MrMike (Jun 28, 2008)

SandiskReptiles said:


> I see, very interesting but still strange.
> 
> Once you have bred back to the parents can you then breed seperately and still get the specific morph you desire to have?
> 
> or would you always need to be line-breeding to keep up that specific morph?


You never HAVE to breed close relatives together. Sometimes however it is the fastest way to prove out a mutation.

For example, I produce a Leopard Gecko with 2 tails. I hold the Leo back until it is of breeding age and breed it with a normal 1 tailed Leo. This produces 100% 1 tailed offspring. The easiestway for me to know if the 2 tails are reporducable is by pairing the siblings together (or putting back to the 2 tailed parent).

If you are trying to intensify a polygenetic trait (for exmaple tangerine in Leopard Geckos), then pairing the brightest tangerine Leos you have is the way to go.


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## SandiskReptiles (May 13, 2009)

I see, thankyou  i dont plan on doing any breeding for a very long time! just gathering lots of information.


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## gazz (Dec 9, 2006)

SandiskReptiles said:


> I understand that line breeding means you breed related leopard geckos for example:
> 
> Father to Daughter
> Son to Mother
> ...


Inbreeding is morally wrong to humans but in nature it happens more than you think.

Example a male lion rules for around 3 year or so.In that time he will sire daughters then breed with his daughters.Before a new male lion comes to kick him out just to do the same.But with ever new male lion that come into the pride brings the needed new blood.


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## GlasgowGecko (Feb 23, 2008)

gazz said:


> Inbreeding is morally wrong to humans but in nature it happens more than you think.
> 
> Example a male lion rules for around 3 year or so.In that time he will sire daughters then breed with his daughters.Before a new male lion comes to kick him out just to do the same.But with ever new male lion that come into the pride brings the needed new blood.


Morals are quite interesting in these situations due to the fact they vary massively with culture, class and various other extended phenotypic characters.

Interestingly royalty and other "upper classes" throughout history have inbred to a large extent...

Perhaps not that relevant to this debate, but interesting never the less.

Andy


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## gazz (Dec 9, 2006)

GlasgowGecko said:


> Morals are quite interesting in these situations due to the fact they vary massively with culture, class and various other extended phenotypic characters.
> 
> Interestingly royalty and other "upper classes" throughout history have inbred to a large extent...
> 
> ...


I ment more with so called socal humans that inbreeding is morally wrong.Back in the day when relegion was the only living gide and inbreeding was stated as a sin.

I beleave royalty done it to keep there ancestral tree to god.As people was spun a line that that's where royal blood could be traced to. 

Trible people i'm sure likly varys tribe to tribe.But very often in human past when people made there way to a new life.Some on island for example where there's likly only like 20ish people that biuld a human race.After all it is said that Europians/Asians/Native Americans/Navtive Australians'etc'etc every race developed out side Africa are all made up of ONLY around 200 people that left Africa.


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