Possibly one of the most common and popular morphs in the Leopard Gecko community is the Eclipse Leopard Gecko. However, what is this morph and why is it so popular?
What is an Eclipse Leopard Gecko?
There is very little that defines an Eclipse Leopard Gecko from a normal however the largest difference is the jet black eyes they have upon hatching which if paired with the right genes can create stunning leopard geckos.
However, it is, unfortunately, more complicated than that, for instance, some Eclipse babies can start with their eyes jet black however as they get older they either become partially covered (this is what is called snake-eyed) or completely normal!
Many eclipse geckos will have white highlights such as on the nose and the front legs.
The Eclipse Leopard Gecko in Breeding
The Eclipse gene was first discovered in 2004 by Ron Tremper when he was producing APTOR Leopard Gecko however it now has become a staple in most breeding projects.
It has been known to randomly appear in Blizzard groups creating a Blizzard Eclipse and when breeding a Blizzard Eclipse to another Blizzard Eclipse non Eclipse Blizzards can be produced as well as snake eyes.
Another famous combination of morphs with the Eclipse leopard gecko is an APTOR which is a Tremper albino, patternless bright orange with the Eclipse trait which is a stunning top-end morph however these often have line bred colours and patterns which often are hard for new lines of APTORs to be breed as the line breeding takes generations of geckos a large time commitment.
However, unlike the Blizzard Eclipse the APTOR does not produce jet black eyes it produces pure pinkish red tones in the eyes giving Tremper Albinos the classic albino look.
The last (but certainly not least) line of Eclipse leopard geckos is the Super Snows now these are unique in the fact that animals bred from this line may have the Jet black eyes but without the Eclipse making this line slightly harder to tell the difference between an Eclipse and non-Eclipse even harder to make out
However, if you do get an Eclipse and you bred an Albino version of the Super Snow you can get beautiful red eyes to a deep ruby red similar to the APTOR line.
The Eclipse Leopard Gecko is a recessive trait (meaning both parents have to be at least het Eclipse for an Eclipse to be produced) this makes it slightly harder to breed a line of Eclipse geckos than other geckos however it is more than rewarding when you do so.
Conclusion
In conclusion, the Eclipse Leopard Gecko is one of the most common but beautiful morphs one can add to their collection if for a family pet or to spice up one of your pre-existing breeding projects or for a new one, this is one of the best morphs to get.
