Do Red Leopard Geckos Exist

Are you in search of a red leopard gecko? Some enthusiasts are still on the hunt for a truly red lizard, but unfortunately, one has yet to hit the market. However, there are many morphs out there that have been associated with the color red, and if you plan on breeding the lizards to eventually produce a red one, it's best to know more about these morphs.

The Red Stripe

One of the first morphs you'll come across when searching for a red leopard gecko is the red stripe. This morph is named for the two red-orange stripes running down its back. Depending on the breeder's preference, you may find some with more orange than red, or vice versa. It's advisable to select ones with more red in them to eventually produce more red coloration in successive generations. You can purchase lizards like this for around $100 to $300.

The Orange-Red Lizards

While most will be tangerine or orange, some lizards display more orange-red. This is a darker orange than the more brilliant orange some lizards are known for. This orange-red color can be found in the tangerine and hypo tangerine lines. Hypo tangerines are a special breed of tangerine lizard that are hypo melanistic, meaning they carry a reduced amount of melanin responsible for the black spots and patterns on the lizard's skin. These hypo tangerines can have almost no black spots on their bodies, resulting in an almost solid orange-red body. Further selective breeding can produce even more pronounced redness.

Carrot Tails

Some lizards are known for their orange tails. Again, this orange can appear to be redder than others. These carrot tails can have as much as 90% of their tails in full orange-red coloration. The exciting thing about carrot tails is that they can be combined with most of the other known morphs and patterns without too much difficulty. This means you can get a solid orange-red body with an almost fully red tail as well.

Red Eyes

You can also breed lizards with red eyes, which is a popular trend among some enthusiasts. The Diablo Blanco and Albino lines are sometimes selectively bred to produce red or ruby-eyed variants. The RAPTOR line is, in fact, a ruby-eyed APTOR or Ruby Eyed Albino Patternless Tremper Orange (that's what RAPTOR means!).