Leopard gecko becomes a lovable pet because of their exotic look and the variation of their colors and patterns—or morphs. Perhaps, leopard gecko is the only pet with the richest selection of colors and patterns. Leopard gecko lovers will try to add new pets with new morphs to their collection whenever possible. One of the most coveted morphs is called blizzard. Although leopard gecko blizzard may look paler than other leopard gecko morphs, it is this pale look that actually makes the blizzard lizard look unique. Here we will discuss about what blizzard morph is and how to breed a leopard gecko blizzard and to add it to your collection.
What Is Leopard Gecko Blizzard?
Leopard gecko blizzard is simply a leopard gecko with white or yellow coloration and virtually no pattern. The morph gets its name because it has similar look to that of a winter blizzard. A purple variant is also present and it is called midnight blizzard due to its darker hue. Generally speaking, leopard gecko with blizzard morph looks paler than leopard geckos with other more vibrant morphs, but the rarity of this pale morph makes it a coveted morph for every leopard gecko lover. Like murphy patternless morph that shares almost similar look, blizzard morph is also categorized as a recessive morph.
When Does Leopard Gecko Blizzard First Appear?
Leopard gecko blizzard was discovered by Jay Villa of Prehistoric Pets in 1995. This morph is considered a result of a true leucistic mutation, so the pale look of a blizzard leopard gecko is due to the loss of multiple types of pigment, unlike albino leopard gecko who loses only one particular pigment.
Leopard Gecko Blizzard Variants
The original version of leopard gecko blizzard is the one with white or grey color. The following are two known variants of this morph.
1. Yellow Blizzard
Yellow blizzard is a variant of blizzard with yellow as the predominant color.
2. Banana Blizzard
Distinguishing banana blizzard from yellow blizzard is often difficult. This is why many breeders sell yellow blizzard as banana blizzard. The fact is that while yellow blizzard is a pure blizzard morph, banana blizzard is a result of a combination of blizzard and murphy patternless.
3. Midnight Blizzard
As mentioned above, one of the variants of blizzard morph has purple as the base color. The purplish color, as well as other darker colors, is due to the temperature degree exposed during the incubation process. The lower the temperature degree, the darker the resulted color. This variant gets its name due to the dark hue of its base color.
Leopard Gecko Blizzard versus Murphy Patternless
Leopard gecko blizzard is often mistaken for murphy patternless, another pale morph that was discovered by Pat Murphy in 1991. One variant of blizzard morph that is mentioned above, i.e. banana blizzard, is actually a murphy patternless morph and not a true blizzard. Due to their similarity in visual, distinguishing blizzard morph from murphy patternless morph is often doable only through test breeding.
Trick to Know the Gender of Your Leopard Gecko Blizzard
Knowing the sex of the leopard gecko blizzard is also an important thing to do. The problem is that it is difficult to do. There are several tricks to know the gender of your leopard gecko blizzard.
Check the Pre-anal Pores
The most common thing to do to check the gender of the leopard gecko blizzard is by checking the pre-anal pores. If you see the V-shaped row in front of their vent, it means you have a male leopard gecko blizzard. The hard part is because the female leopard gecko blizzard is also has a similar row just like a male leopard gecko blizzard has. The best way to differentiate it is by seeing the size. A female leopard gecko blizzard has a smaller V-shaped row in front of the vent than the male.
Check the Hemipenile Bulges
If it is too difficult to decide the gender through the pre-anal pores, you can also check it through the hemipenile bulges. The first thing to do is checking the part behind the vent. Here, you will see two different bulges. If it is so, it means your leopard gecko blizzard is a male. Sometimes, you need to push the part around the vent to see the hemipenes come out. Just do it carefully because pushing it too hard will make the gecko suffered from hemipene prolapse. The other side effect is that there is a possibility that they will drop the tail because they fell threatening.
Check the Femoral Pores
The last way to check the gender of your leopard gecko blizzard is by checking the femoral pores. To do this, you have to check the hind legs and the thighs. Just check the availability of the femoral pores. The femoral pores are in the form of a straight line. This sign appears naturally when the gecko is reaching their adult age. If you see the sign it means you have a male leopard gecko blizzard.
The Importance of Deciding the Gender
Finding out the right gender of the leopard gecko blizzard is a very important matter. By knowing it, you know the right treatment you should give to the gecko. For example, a female leopard gecko will have some eggs and it needs specific treatment. Interestingly, a female gecko has some eggs even if they are alone. At the same time, it is a bad decision to keep two or more male geckos in the same cage. Male gecko is like a competitor so they will fight each other if you take them in the same cage. This is also about the way to set the humidity around the cage. Male leopard gecko blizzard is more sensitive so you have to make sure that the cage has been set in the right humidity before placing them there. Although it seems unimportant, deciding the gender is used to give the right name. Definitely, a male name is different from a female name, right?
The safe trick to check the gender of your lovely leopard gecko blizzard is waiting until the gecko in their six months. Then, you can try to check it by choosing the safest way to prevent injuries.
