When you hear the term morphs when looking at your African fat-tailed gecko, it’s not uncommon to feel a little apprehensive. The majority of reptiles will mutate and there will be a variety of morphs.
What Are African Fat-Tailed Gecko Morphs?
African fat-tailed gecko morphs differ in appearance when compared to their parents. This is a result of altered DNA and genes.
The majority of morphs are captive bred, though this can occur naturally in the wild.
When enthusiasts breed their African fat-tailed geckos, they experiment to create unique versions from the original parent.
You may hear various terms used when describing morphs, which include morph, mutation, genetically modified, selective breed, or transformation.
African fat-tailed gecko morphs are bred to create unique variants to the original species.
Are you worried whether a morph will be a great reptilian pet?
You will find that while these geckos have been bred for their interesting patterns and unique coloration, they keep the original personality characteristics.
A morph is very likely to have the same or a similar temperament to their parents.
Morph Terminology
- Dominant – Dominant is a gene causing the animal to bear the wild type of appearance.
- Het (Heterozygous) – A Het is a reptile carrying two different genes, displaying the dominant trait, while carrying the recessive gene.
- Mutation – Mutations are random genes that cause the reptile to bear a different appearance to the wild type African fat-tailed gecko.
- Pattern – the pattern is the tripes. A common African fat-tailed gecko pattern is brown tan stripes or white stripes with a pale or pink belly.
- Recessive – a gene that produces the appearance of the gene it is paired with.
- Super – A co-dominant mutation.
- Trait – the trait is adding color. The most common trait in African fat-tailed geckos is adding orange as a base color.
Further reading
Quick Guide
Common African fat-tailed gecko morphs. Other morphs are a combination of them!
Common African Fat-Tailed Gecko Morphs
1. Banded
A normal African fat-tailed gecko with brown bands on the back and tail
The banded African fat-tailed gecko is the normal or wild type gecko. This is the typical form you will find these geckos in the wild. These have brown bands across their back and tails with some white markings or dots. The underbelly is pale or pink.
2. Stripe
Striped banded African fat-tailed gecko
The stripe African fat-tailed gecko has similar markings to the wild type but has a white band that runs down the length of the back to the tail. The white stripe stands out on the brown-banded body.
3. Oreo
Oreo African fat-tailed gecko with only black and white colors
Oreo African fat-tailed geckos are born black and white. They have black bands across their back. As they age, they take on a similar color to an Oreo cookie.
4. White Out
White out African fat-tailed gecko
The White Out African fat-tailed gecko is one of the most striking morphs available on the market today. These have a pattern and color mutation that provides a host of appearances.
These morphs evolve from how they look as hatchings to how they look when adults. The adults will have patterns and background colors that include white, orange, and cream.
These are co-dominant traits. White Outs comprise of fifty percent white out and fifty percent normal.
5. Zero
Striped zero African fat-tailed gecko
The Zero is a gecko that doesn’t have any distinct bands or has zero bands. These geckos can still have a white stripe down it’s back with a brown body. The bands will barely be visible.
6. Zulu
A Zulu African fat-tailed gecko has a pattern of a Zulu spearhead on its back
The Zulu African fat-tailed gecko has the same coloration as a wild type, but they have the markings of Zulu warriors. This makes this a unique and beautiful gecko to introduce to your collection.
Transparent scales in the belly
Zulu morph does not always have a Zulu spearhead marking in the back but it always has unique scale patterns in the belly. These belly scales look transparent.
7. Starburst
Starburst African fat-tailed gecko
The Starburst has a blushed head with tints of orange and blushed bands. Orange can be found at the base of the tail with a light background coloration. This is another of the striking African fat-tailed gecko morphs.
8. Stinger
A juvenile Stinger African fat-tailed gecko
Stingers are very distinctive and carry the colors of the wild type gecko, but the back bands connect above the hind legs. The bottom band comes to a point, which looks like a stinger found on a bee. This is a relatively new morph.
9. Jungle
Jungle fat-tailed gecko with black / white dots
The Jungle African fat-tailed gecko is a strikingly beautiful gecko that offers the wild type bands and patterns complete with white or black dots and spots that makes this gecko so appealing to so many gecko enthusiasts around the world.
10. Granite
Granite African fat-tailed gecko
The Granite looks very similar to the wild type but the light brown bands are speckled, making it look similar to granite.
11. Ghost
A ghost morph with transparent colors
The ghost morph of the African fat-tailed gecko is a striped or wild type gecko that is almost transparent when looking at their coloration.
You will still get some brown and orange bands, you may even have a white stripe, but they will have the transparent gene which makes these geckos look ghost-like.
12. Albino / Amel
Albino fat-tailed gecko
The Albino / Amel African fat-tailed gecko has the same bands as the wild type, except they are pale pink or white bands with orange bands. These are one of the sought-after geckos, due to their eye-catching colors.
13. Caramel Albino
Caramel Albino morph
The Caramel Albino gecko has the same markings as the albino, showcasing that beautiful orange coloration with a caramel band. This is a unique African fat-tailed gecko morph which has grown in popularity with gecko enthusiasts.
14. Caramel Oreo
Caramel oreo African fat-tailed gecko
The Caramel Oreo offers the pattern of the wild type combined with the coloration of caramel and Oreo. These geckos have clear bands with no dark outlines. Each band can be distinguished between the oreo and caramel.
15. Caramel Zulu
Caramel zulu African fat-tailed gecko morph
This is a beautiful African fat-tailed gecko with the design of the Zulu with the coloration of warm caramel and browns. There are no harsh black outlines around the colors with no white spots, just a simple and beautiful mix of caramel and brown.
16. Ghost Patternless
Striped ghost patternless African fat-tailed gecko
When you are looking for something really unique then the Ghost Patternless African fat-tailed gecko is the right choice for you. Take the white stripe of the striped gecko and combine it with the beautiful pale orange or caramel with no patterns or bands.
17 .Super White Out
Super white outs are not readily available for sale yet. Breeders have found this to be an exceptionally difficult morph to master with babies dying within hours of being hatched.
18. White Out Caramel
Striped white out caramel African fat-tailed gecko
The White Out Caramel is another of the most beautiful geckos available. Take the striking white and mix it with the warmth of caramel and orange.
19. White Out Ghost
White out ghost morph
This is a lightly colored morph that has bands of grays, incorporating light and dark grays. This is a very unique African fat-tailed gecko.
20. White Out Oreo
White out oreo African fat-tailed gecko morph
The White Out Oreo African fat-tailed gecko is the most beautiful morph available. It is a striking gecko where the white stands out against the brilliant black.
21. White Out Patternless
White out patternless fat-tailed gecko
The White Out Patternless African fat-tailed gecko was one of the first morphs which result from recessive patternless mutation and the striking co dominance of White Out. These two morphs merged into one of the most beautiful African fat-tailed gecko morphs.
22. White Out Patternless Oreo
A beautiful African fat-tailed gecko with striped white out oreo patternless morph
The Oreo African fat-tailed gecko has been a top choice with enthusiasts for some time, incorporating the Oreo cookie colors.
Now mix White Outs with Oreo morphs and you get a beautiful Oreo cookie design without any banding. Add some specs and spots for the character.
23. White Out Super Stinger
White out super stinger morph
This African fat-tailed gecko brings a unique design into the mix. Dark bands on a very light body, the bands come to a point just above the hind legs, which looks like a wasp stinger.
24. White Out Super Zero
Striped white out super zero African fat-tailed gecko morph
The White Out Super Zero looks similar to the super stinger with its dark stripes on a light body. This gecko often has two black stripes down its back with white in the center of the two stripes.
25. White Out Zulu
White out Zulu
Bring oranges, browns, and whites into one pattern combined with the tip of the tail being white and you have the White Out Zulu African fat-tailed gecko.
26. Oreo Zulu
Oreo Zulu morph
The Oreo Zulu morph is similar to Zulu, but only contains black and white color instead of orange and brown.