This is what an adult Black Pearl looks like

[OhioGecko]

Wow Kelli, that male is really dark! Good luck with the project, it will be interesting to see your results.

 

[ChaoticGecko]

nice geckos! even though i always imagined they'd be darker as adults, it still grew into an amazing animal!

 

[latshki]

sad to think that TUG gave up their aussie geckos for these
wish they ended up going somewhere
a friend of mine had a one but it died when egg bound, he has numerous normals that were as dark and one that was darker than her, she just seemed more of a higher quality and less "dirty"

 

[KelliH]

sad to think that TUG gave up their aussie geckos for these
wish they ended up going somewhere
a friend of mine had a one but it died when egg bound, he has numerous normals that were as dark and one that was darker than her, she just seemed more of a higher quality and less "dirty"

Could you ask your friend to contact me at [email protected]? I'd like to find out as much information as possible about the Black Pearls. I think it would be nice to know. Thank you.

 

[M_surinamensis]

Out of curiosity Kelli, what's your ultimate goal with the project? Obviously the usual variables all apply and there are some unknowns about what you'll get and what the process will be like, but what kind of traits are you going to be selecting for in your pairings? Are you looking to breed in clean contrast and remove the smudged look? Are you trying to increase the blurring and melanin overlap until you get a solid black animal?

I'm not really a morph kind of guy, but I do have to admit I find something appealing about a melanistic animal. The unbroken, clean glossy* black and the way it can emphasize some of the details of shape and texture that usually go unnoticed as we process color and pattern.

So I'm just curious about where you'd like to take the project, if it unfolds in the directions you'd consider ideal.

Also, you may want to toss a line to Garrick. Years ago (seven? ten?) I caught a conversation he was having in a chat room about a project he was toying with the idea of, combining the tyrosinase positive forms of albinism found in leos with hypermelanistic lines, the goal being the production of a black or very dark brown animal with a relatively solid pattern. I have no idea if he ever followed up on it or if it was just idle speculative conversation but he might have some insight. Maybe even a line of animals that have been selected for darker colors, if he followed through.

*I keep some melanistic garters, I imagine a leo would be a softer aesthetic, more velvety looking.

 

[Dragoon Gecko]

Thank you so much Kelly for posting and sharing with the whole gecko-community .

My fingers are crossed for you :main_thumbsup:.

/Rebecca

 

[latshki]

Could you ask your friend to contact me at [email protected]? I'd like to find out as much information as possible about the Black Pearls. I think it would be nice to know. Thank you.

sorry, I don;t have his contact info anymore, Ive tried to get a hold of him but can't seem to be able to
last time I heard about him it had to do to a possible addiction
not sure though
but what I do know is that he is not breeding anymore for sure and never got viable eggs out of her
and what animals he had were given away other than a few pets

I think he got bummed out when his 3k animal died

 

[KelliH]

Out of curiosity Kelli, what's your ultimate goal with the project? Obviously the usual variables all apply and there are some unknowns about what you'll get and what the process will be like, but what kind of traits are you going to be selecting for in your pairings? Are you looking to breed in clean contrast and remove the smudged look? Are you trying to increase the blurring and melanin overlap until you get a solid black animal?

I'm not really a morph kind of guy, but I do have to admit I find something appealing about a melanistic animal. The unbroken, clean glossy* black and the way it can emphasize some of the details of shape and texture that usually go unnoticed as we process color and pattern.

So I'm just curious about where you'd like to take the project, if it unfolds in the directions you'd consider ideal.

Also, you may want to toss a line to Garrick. Years ago (seven? ten?) I caught a conversation he was having in a chat room about a project he was toying with the idea of, combining the tyrosinase positive forms of albinism found in leos with hypermelanistic lines, the goal being the production of a black or very dark brown animal with a relatively solid pattern. I have no idea if he ever followed up on it or if it was just idle speculative conversation but he might have some insight. Maybe even a line of animals that have been selected for darker colors, if he followed through.

*I keep some melanistic garters, I imagine a leo would be a softer aesthetic, more velvety looking.

My short term goal is to find out what, if anything, is the Black Pearl morph. My long term goal is to line breed for a few years and then consistently begin producing very dark leopard geckos that stay dark into adulthood.

I'll shoot Garrick an email and see where he's at, or if he is still working on his hypermelanistic project. Just about every leopard gecko breeder that has been seriously breeding for more than 10 years has worked on a project like this, off and on at least.

 

[KelliH]

sorry, I don;t have his contact info anymore, Ive tried to get a hold of him but can't seem to be able to
last time I heard about him it had to do to a possible addiction
not sure though
but what I do know is that he is not breeding anymore for sure and never got viable eggs out of her
and what animals he had were given away other than a few pets

I think he got bummed out when his 3k animal died

Wow, that's too bad, hope your friend gets better. That's the risk we take with reptiles, whether we spend $30 or $3000, sometimes they die young for reasons known, or unknown, to us.

 

[Kristi23]

I love Merlin! I've been looking for a male like that for awhile now. Good luck with the project! I'm looking forward to seeing the results.

 

[Krow]

I cant wait to see the results you get outta this. Good luck Kelli!

 

[SFgeckos]

Good luck with the project! I'm glad someone is willing to take the time and effort to figure out the genetics! I applaud your efforts and appreciate your dedication to the community!

Jon

 

[KelliH]

Thanks. I was thinking about this earlier... Can you imagine how pissed you would be if you spent $3000 on a gecko that was supposed to be black as an adult but this is what it really looks like?

 

[SFgeckos]

I totally agree Kelli!

I'm thinking about the hundreds of normal leos I've given away over the years that look similar to that animal- some were even darker...

Jon

 

[giuppyguppy]

She is crazy... 3000 dollars for a black gecko that.....is not black!
I have a female dark hypo from Hungary...she is more darker like this!
So i hope you hatch some interestings and blackies geckos from this project!

 

[M_surinamensis]

Thanks. I was thinking about this earlier... Can you imagine how pissed you would be if you spent $3000 on a gecko that was supposed to be black as an adult but this is what it really looks like?

You know how ringed pythons never really caught on all that much? How people are so excited when they first see a photo of one, but lose that interest when they see the snakes in person more often than not?* They were generally under two hundred bucks and nobody ever claimed they'd always look the same. So it'd be R > 15i² where R = Rage over the pearl purchase and i = irritation at a brown ringed python.


*I still think they're cool, but I'm like that.

 

[robin]

. So it'd be R > 15i² where R = Rage over the pearl purchase and i = irritation at a brown ringed python.

nerd

 

[M_surinamensis]

nerd

You've got a parody of a secondary Star Wars character as an avatar. You are a hypocrite and a dork. A Hypodorkacrite. I'd strike you down but I'm worried that you'd become more powerful than I can possibly imagine.

 

[robin]

You've got a parody of a secondary Star Wars character as an avatar. You are a hypocrite and a dork. A Hypodorkacrite. I'd strike you down but I'm worried that you'd become more powerful than I can possibly imagine.

LOL gotta love paula deen!

 

[TokayKeeper]

Thanks. I was thinking about this earlier... Can you imagine how pissed you would be if you spent $3000 on a gecko that was supposed to be black as an adult but this is what it really looks like?

It was $1000 and, ahh, we regulars know the story. The horse, it twitched, I swear!