Baldy Leopard Geckos
A Baldy is a leopard gecko with no dark spots on its head, nearly always a Super Hypo already clear down its back. Hatchlings break into spots as they grow, so judge the head on a grown animal rather than a baby.
About the Baldy gene
A leopard gecko with no dark spotting on its head is called a Baldy. Because the hobby uses this name for Super Hypos, which are animals already clear of spots along the back, a Baldy is clean from snout to the base of the tail. It is the B at the end of SHTCTB and the finishing grade on selected orange stock.
Appearance
A Baldy must have a clear head with no black spotting on it at all. Since the name only applies to Super Hypos, the back must also be clear. A tail may still have spots because a Super Hypo's tail is allowed to, meaning a spotted tail does not count against a Baldy. This look is best known in tangerine animals where it completes the Super Hypo Tangerine Carrot Tail.
Leopard geckos hatch banded and only break into spots as they grow. Spotting is among the last parts of the pattern to settle. Because a hatchling with a clean head has not yet shown what that head will carry, you should judge a Baldy on a grown animal or on recent photographs of one.
Genetics
Because Baldy is polygenic, no single gene is behind this selected look, meaning there is no super form and no het. Breeders create Baldies by pairing geckos with the least head spotting in the same way Carrot Tail and Super Hypo were built. Rather than a two-copy form of a gene, the super in Super Hypo is a line-bred grade of how clean the body is. Listings show it as Baldy and Pos Baldy. The best-known combination is SHTCTB, Super Hypo Tangerine Carrot Tail Baldy. The trait was developed out of Super Hypo stock by Gourmet Rodent.