12/18/2025
Throughout my tenure as a Crested Gecko enthusiast, the drosal has always been a key variable of interest amongst breeders for as long as I’ve been a part of the hobby. At first just getting to unbroken dorsal was the goal, with 99% completed dorsal being all the rage around 2010. Fast forward to today’s landscape, complete dorsals, or pinstripes, now account for a large portion of the market place. But this was all accomplished with basic selective breeding methods, generation after generation.
2025 presents a whole different way of thinking when it comes to keep and breeding crested geckos in large part thanks to the Lilly white and axanthic projects. These legacy morphs reshaped the way breeders now looked at projects and some began to re-explore forgotten morphs to see if there were anything’s overlooked. This revisionist history lead to the our now better understanding of the phantom and empty back gene.
With these significant strides covered in terms of understanding the underlying inheritance patterns that drive pattern expression, we can once again return to the ways of old and refine our projects that look to incorporate these genes to produce animals that best fit individual goals for selective breeding projects. Which leads me to my question;
Now that preference is possible, what do you prefer?
No pattern, Het EB or EB.
Comment below or check out our story to take part in the Poll.
