www.thegeckoshop.com - Fantastic Fatties!

Fantastic Fatties! - October 28th, 2009

A close cousin to the infamous leopard gecko, the African fat-tailed (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus) is another great eye-lid gecko to keep and breed in captivity. Famously known as “fatties”, the African fat-taileds are thick-bodied terrestrial geckos endemic to the African savannas and semi-arid regions in the African continent, consisting of Cameroon, Nigeria, Senegal, Togo, Mali and the Ivory Coast. Second to leopards, fatties are the most commonly kept gecko species. As a relatively docile and hardy species, a fatty makes an excellent captive. In fact, if all requirements are met, many would consider fatties’ husbandry to be easy. They are also relatively small geckos obtaining a length of just over 8", making them manageable to keep in one’s collection.

Today, fatties are captive bred in smaller numbers compared to leopards but they are a rising favorite among collectors, especially due to the myriads of color and pattern mutations they tend to exhibit over the years. In this article, the author will discuss on some of the most influential mutations fatties have to offer.

Banded

– The vast majority of hobbyists started collecting fatties from such particular mutation since many years ago. Typically, their overall appearances include stocky bodies with plump tails and exist in an alternative mixture of brown colored bands on each specimen’s body. Such pattern mutation has been proven to be a dominant trait, indicating that it is the most basic feature of how a fatty should look like. Captive breeding programs have created a more stunning and lighter version of the mutation that includes a touch of “tangerine” coloration, which further differentiate captive bred fatties from their wild counterparts.

Stripe

– Through selective breeding programs, hobbyists began to uncover another exciting yet poorly understood pattern mutation known as stripes. Possessing similar traits as banded, a stripe specimen will have an additional of a perfect symmetrical chalky white stripe on top of its body. Unlike leopards, the genetic of stripes on fatties is not clearly defined. Breeders have been reported to hatch stripe specimens from non-stripe parents that do not carry any stripe genetics, and vice versa. Whatever the genetics maybe, it is in the author’s personal opinion that the mutation is one of the most attractive to have in one’s collection as it is spiritually fascinating to look at.

Amelanistic/Albino

- It is a simple recessive color mutation that is highly coveted by hobbyists to date. A hobbyist would not consider his collection to be complete without amelanistic fatties. By definition, it is a stocky fat-tailed gecko that possesses alternating orange, pink or purple colored body bands. These specimens could also possess tangerine bands alternating with purple background. The most outstanding amelanistic specimen of this species would look like a mandarin orange with deep purple bands, whereby one might think that the colorations are artificial unless seen personally. The prices of such mutation variedly greatly, depending on the intensity of colors that each specimen exhibits.

Stripe Amelanistic/Albino

– A stripe amelanistic is an upgrade from the normal banded amelanistic specimen. Due to the ghostly stripe pattern, such specimen is simply breathtaking to look at up close and personal. It is described as an amelanistic gecko, complemented with a chalky white dorsal stripe on top of its body that adds interesting motion texture whenever it moves. Throw an intense tangerine coloration into the mix and you will feast your eyes on a screamer. Such combination is highly coveted by hobbyists. Due to this, a stripe tangerine amelanistic fatty (such as in the left image) have been produced continuously for many years to satisfy the thirst of hobbyists worldwide.

“Zero”

– This mutation got its namesake from the fact that a “zero” specimen would possess zero bands. It is considered to be a different line of a fatty’s aberrancy trait. Unlike regular aberrant striped fatties that possess one long connecting bands except for the bandings on the back, “zeros” on the other hand have unusual leg markings that are darker in colors and possess distinct head patterns, predominantly on older specimens. Being developed by JMG Reptile, it is one of the newest fatty’s mutation in the world today. The genetic of “zero” has been proven to be co-dominant, where a super form known as “super zero” exists today. It is however not to be confused with the look-alike patternless mutation.

“Whiteout”

- This new fatty’s color mutation will definitely make their popularity to go sky rocket. A whiteout is described as a whitish fatty with black and purple bands. It has been proven to be a co-dominant trait, whereby a superform known as the “super whiteout” exists. So far the effort to hatch the super form successfully is still on its way. This is because the super form has been known to be lethal and the mortality rate is 100%. With such morph, rest assured that many new color combinations will be made when it is crossed with other mutations. A whiteout has been crossed with other recessive genes such as the pattern-less mutation to produce a beautiful and unique blue-tailed gecko. The image on the left is courtesy of JMG Reptiles.

The mysterious African fat-tailed geckos (Hemitheconyx caudicinctus), have been available in the pet trade for many years. But they are currently undergoing a big surge in popularity. This is due in a large part to the recent availability of new mutations. They are interesting and beautiful geckos that certainly deserve worldwide attention.

It is in the author’s personal opinion, based from his own knowledge and experience, that fatties are the next big thing in the gecko world. It is equipped with calm disposition, exists in various colors and patterns and also simply cool to keep, care and breed. In simpler words, fatties are fantastic!