# hypo leopard gecko?



## lil_jo84

Ok this one baffles me a tad. I know that a hypo is a leo with very little black in it but how can you tell from baby age if it's hypo or not. I'm sorry if this seems like a stupid question to any experts out there but I only got into geckos over the last year. I'm still getting used to genetics of them and being able to identify what is what is still proving to be a bit difficult for me.

The reason I ask is that I recently hatched out my first baby and she turned out to be a mack snow, very much to my surprise as i was sure mum and dad were just normals. The thing is her black bands are very pale and i'm wandering if this could be hypo too

thanks
Jo


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## funky1

A Hypo (Hypomelanistic) is a leo with reduced spotting (usually though not always) that is restricted to the area where banding is or was (and the banding doesn`t have to be in straight lines across the body - it can be funky banding, patterned banding etc). A super hypo, is a complete lack of spotting on the torso.

As hatchlings it can be very tricky to say 100% whether a baby will end up being Hypo, Super hypo, Normal or none! Obv though, the parents are an excellent starting point. Hypos do however often (as hatchlings) have a lighter overall tone to their banding - which comes across as a brown colour - as opposed to the usual deeper toned banding of a normal. Also, another little clue, is that hypos often don`t have any colour on their back legs, whereas most/many normals or high yellows (same thing essentially) have a little streak of dark colour along the top of their thigh, like a thumb stroke of black, like a smudge.

The best thing to do, is wait until they`re around 6 - 8 weeks old really, and from there it should begin to be pretty evident if they`re hypo or otherwise


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## lil_jo84

Thanks, i think that will mean she is a normal mack snow cos she does have lil smudges on her legs.

Here is the lil girl in question









Jo


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## gazz

lil_jo84 said:


> Thanks, i think that will mean she is a normal mack snow cos she does have lil smudges on her legs.
> 
> Here is the lil girl in question
> image
> 
> Jo


I'd say it's a Snow not Hypo snow.


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## gazz

funky1 said:


> Hypos do however often (as hatchlings) have a lighter overall tone to their banding - which comes across as a brown colour - as opposed to the usual deeper toned banding of a normal. Also, another little clue, is that hypos often don`t have any colour on their back legs.


Don't you just hate genetics.It's usually fairly easy to tell a hypo's in that if it has tanned banding and no smudge back legs.
But often leo that look like they maybe normal can also grow into hypo's.

Hatchling.Dark banding & smudge on the back legs:lol2:.









Older.And grows onto a Hypo:lol2:.


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## funky1

Haha, yeah - typical! I`m tryna post as generally as possible these days though by putting `often`, `in a lot of cases` or `the usual trend is.....` to cover all the bases!

That little hatchling is a real mish mash - dark banding, leg smudges and a baldy head!


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