Cipher Leopard Geckos
A Cipher leopard gecko is born with a broken reverse stripe across its tail and body that becomes less bold as it grows. These geckos keep solid black eyes for life. The gene is young. Most Ciphers on offer still sit on near wild-type background genetics.
About the Cipher gene
The Cipher is a leopard gecko gene. It turns the whole eye black and changes the pattern into a reverse stripe that runs from the body down the full tail. This gene is one of the newer ones in the hobby. While Tangerine Ciphers are already on sale, most Ciphers still sit on near wild-type background genetics.
Appearance
Because they stay solid black into adulthood, these eyes are the most reliable cue as there are no partial eyes. For an Eclipse, eyes can be split or anything from clear to fully black. The only other leopard gecko gene that gives solid black eyes every time is the Super Snow. A reduced pattern, enhanced colour, and no bands are seen in hatchlings, who show a broken reverse stripe through the whole tail and along the body. The belly is unaffected and the head looks normal. Adults tend to colour up better than their het siblings, but the stripe loses much of its boldness in adults. It is still being worked out how the look holds up once other lines are bred in.
Genetics
A het Cipher looks like a normal leopard gecko because Cipher is recessive. There is no super form. Listings use terms like 66% Het Cipher, 50% Het Cipher, Het Cipher, and Pos Het Cipher. No interaction from Cipher hets was found during test breeding against Mack Snow and Eclipse. Because the gene appeared in pure Marble Eye groups, early stock is at least possible het Marble Eye. The first visual Ciphers were hatched in 2015 by Geckoboa (John Scarbrough).