Crested Gecko morphs and genetics
Overwhelmingly line-bred traits, one famous lethal dominant, and a small handful of genes that behave predictably.
Working with crested gecko genetics
Crested geckos are the mirror image of ball pythons. Most of what a crested is sold as — Harlequin, Flame, Pinstripe, Dalmatian, Tiger — is a structural or pattern trait produced by many genes and fixed by selective breeding, not a single inherited mutation.
A small number of genes do behave in a predictable Mendelian way, and knowing which is which is most of the value in this species.
What makes this species different
Lilly White is the one every crested keeper needs to know: it is dominant, and two copies are not viable. Lilly White bred to Lilly White loses roughly a quarter of the clutch before hatching, and the surviving animals come out two-thirds Lilly White rather than the three-quarters a naive calculation gives. HerpSync models the lethal class and renormalises the survivors, so the odds it shows are the odds you will actually see in the incubator.
Lethal in the super form
Lilly White is not viable with two copies. Breeding two of the same together loses roughly a quarter of the clutch before hatching, and the odds among the animals that do hatch are renormalised — about two-thirds visual rather than three-quarters.
Every curated crested gecko gene
Grouped by mode of inheritance. This is the dataset the HerpSync calculator runs on, published in full — the flags in the last column are what a standard Punnett square gets wrong.
Recessive (1)
Two copies to showNeeds a copy from each parent to be visible. One copy makes a het — an animal that looks normal and carries the gene.
- Axanthic
Reduced yellow — black & white (line-dependent).
Co-dominant (2)
One copy shows, two make a superOne copy changes the animal's appearance; two copies produce a distinct, usually more extreme super form with its own name.
- Cappuccino
Super form: Super Cappuccino
Reduced pattern; super is the 'Frappuccino'.
- Sable
Super form: Super Sable
Dark/melanistic co-dom line.
Dominant (1)
One copy shows, two look the sameOne copy is enough to see the trait, and two copies look no different from one — so there is no super form to breed for.
- Lilly WhiteLethal super
High white; homozygous super is lethal/non-viable.
Polygenic / line-bred (13)
Selected, not switched onThe result of many genes plus selective breeding. It intensifies over generations and cannot be predicted by a Punnett square.
- Brindle
Broken/marbled banding.
- Dalmatian
Black/red spotting; line-bred.
- Empty Back
Harlequin with little dorsal pattern.
- Flame
Dorsal/lateral coloration pattern.
- Harlequin
High lateral patterning; line-bred.
- Patternless
Solid, near-patternless coloration.
- Phantom
Reduced/absent cream coloration.
- Pinstripe
Raised dorsal scale rows; structural trait.
- Portholes
Lateral pale spots.
- Red
Red base coloration; selective.
- Soft Scale
Reduced/soft scalation trait.
- Tiger
Vertical banding; line-bred.
- White Wall
Solid white lateral coverage.
Breeding and incubation
Cresteds incubate cool — around 22–26°C for roughly 65 days — which is a common first mistake for keepers coming from pythons. Females lay pairs of eggs repeatedly through a season rather than one clutch, so tracking the season as a series of small clutches matters more here than in most species.
- Scientific name
- Correlophus ciliatus
- Group
- Geckos
- Reproduction
- Egg-laying
- Incubation
- ~65 days
- Maturity
- ~15 months
- Young are called
- Hatchlings in a clutch
Timings are husbandry-typical approximations used for projections and reminders, not veterinary scheduling. Every figure can be adjusted per workspace.
Try a pairing
Pick genes for two crested gecko parents and see the full odds — per gene and per combination — with no account and nothing to install.
Common questions
What happens if I breed two Lilly White crested geckos?
Lilly White is homozygous-lethal. Around a quarter of the embryos inherit two copies and do not survive, so among the hatchlings you see roughly two-thirds are Lilly White and one-third are not. Many breeders avoid the pairing entirely for that reason.
Why can't the calculator predict a Harlequin?
Harlequin is polygenic — a pattern trait produced by many genes together and strengthened by selective breeding. There is no single gene to pass on, so no honest percentage can be given. HerpSync records it against the animal and tracks it down the line instead of inventing odds.
Track your crested geckos properly
Record genotypes per animal, predict clutches before you pair, and keep husbandry, pedigrees and sales in one place. Free for up to 10 animals.
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