Best in Show

[ILoveGeckos14]

SO I was wondering, is there a such thing as a best in show? As in something to set a pedigree in leopard geckos like other pets? I remember a few years back someone had one of their award winning sunglows on display, but all the shows ive been to don't seem to be giving awards like they do at a 4H fair with ribbons and whatnot. Am I just missing the awards or are they non-existant?
ALSO do you think that there should be a standard set for leopard geckos? I think there should be, it would make things more fun, and set a breed standard(it would be nice to say your gecko has champion bloodlines lol!). When I told my friends about this they teased me like "oh you're going to lead the gecko through all the obstacles huh? (like dogs)" and I pictured :thinking2:training geckos with waxworms to go through all the obstacles lol!!

Let me know what you think! :main_thumbsup:

 

[Xylophagous]

I have no idea as I'm new to all this but I think it'd be a nice little event to run, sort of like the calendar project. You could make up ribbon images haha it'd be a bit silly, but fun!

 

[Friedbread]

Personally I see this ending up like how the betta breeding culture is. No one will take any fish seriously unless it is flawless and from a top breeder. I like how in the leopard gecko community we love all geckos, including the plain old normals which in the betta community would be the equivalent of veil tails from the petstore. Aka... worthless.

 

[lady.gekko]

I think that having something like that would be cool in ways, but like Friedbread said, it may also put a "dislike" or "grudge" against "not so perfect" geckos, you know? The majority of my geckos are rescues, or I got from the store I work at. 2 of them are from actual "breeders". I love them all equal and wouldn't be able to say, one is better than the other.

But on a different side, I think it'd be cool to have "certified" breeders like the kennel clubs for example, because it gives you a sense (i find) of well-being that your gecko did come from outstanding conditions. But, then it's like walking your "mutt" dog, and bumping into someone who has a registered AKC/CKC champion dog, who was best in show, that would snub you because of your pet. I find a lot of "dog" people to be very rude, especially when they are all up in the "show" stuff. Whereas the Leo community, we all just love geckos in general. Which is pretty cool and a nice feeling. I find reptile people don't knit-pick on "lower grade" geckos but find beauty in all grades. I've had Chihuahua registered breeders look at my dog and rather then enjoy the breed, they pointed out everything that was wrong with him. He still deserves love too!

Haha...I'll stop, but ya. There's pros and cons. I think either way it'd still be a nice thing to have I guess. I think about this topic a lot! Great post!:main_thumbsup:

 

[Tony C]

I think that reptile breeders in general, and especially leopard gecko breeders, are too creative and independent to submit to the authority of an AKC style organization. What is there to gain from a group that would set rigid morph standards and discourage crossing morphs to create new things?

 

[Allee Toler]

There are some "standards" and "champion" bloodlines.

They're simply normal gecko standards, for morph categorizing, and the bloodlines from individual breeders. If I bred SHTCTB's, and had a TUG CT's line, which one would be worth more and more prized?

 

[ILoveGeckos14]

Hmmm I like the points that everyone has made! Most of these things I didn't consider before asking the question.
I suppose I was more thinking along the lines of awards given at shows like "viewers favorite" or "best newcomer" Things that would be fun vs. trying to say someone's gecko is better than someone else. I guess that's essentially what a standard is but I was more thinking along the lines that we can all agree that a Sunglow with 100% CT is a nice example of the morph and it would be fun at shows to award such a thing. I guess I wanted it more for the show factor and so it would create more of a "show" atmosphere where people can be rewarded for all the time and effort they put into their collection of geckos. I also think it would be more fun for the people attending to walk through and have ribbons on displays.

I was also thinking back to a post someone had made about people selling wholesale geckos and being overshadowed by wholesalers and it seemed everyone was frustrated that people couldn't tell the difference between quality/taken care of geckos and someone who just spits em out. So I was thinking, it's not the general public's fault for not being cognizant of what a quality gecko is, it is the gecko community's responsibility for making it known. And I was thinking this would be a way to make it known, in a positive manner, what exactly the gecko community considers a quality animal for the sake of protecting the consumer and in a round about way the gecko community as a whole.

@ Tony C - It doesn't sound as fun to have it as strict as some of the dog standards but I think gecko standards could work without discouraging crossing. You could have a "best in Sub-species crosses" or "best emerine cross".

@ Lady gekko- I didn't even consider how something like that could turn into a snoody situation. I loved how you made this point-"But, then it's like walking your "mutt" dog, and bumping into someone who has a registered AKC/CKC champion dog, who was best in show, that would snub you because of your pet." I was hoping that a situation could stay more lighthearted than that but you are right it would probably just turn into people turning up their noses at you. BUT I still feel like there could be categories for even the "mutts". Like "Best regen-tail" "Best normal" LOL I dunno I just try to look at the bright side of things can you tell?

This whole train of thought was brought on yesterday when I was sitting there wondering if there were any other hobbies where people would spend thousands of dollars on animals without pedigree or breed standards set. So I figured I'd throw the idea out there to see what people thought, thank you for those that have responded! (I had no idea Betta fish were such a big deal!)