FRINGEMORPHS TRUEPINK
THE EARLY YEARS (2011-2014)
We are often asked, “What's the secret recipe to create a TruePink crested geckos?” It's a question we wondered as well when we began our pink project over 10 years ago. Clean and vibrant reds were all the rage, and anything less than was often overlooked. That slightly lighter shade of red? No, thank you!
Just imagine the sheer number of geckos hatched in the quest for vibrant reds. What happened to all those geckos whose color was lighter and, therefore, not as desirable? Well, some of them ended up in the hands of a few select breeders who took a special interest in them in order to create the first pink crested geckos!
Wait a minute! Wasn’t Fringemorphs the first breeder to create pink crested geckos? Definitely! We also invented the color pink itself. We even created the original crested geckos in a lab using sugar gliders and crocodiles. No doubt about it!
Okay, so we weren't the first breeder to work with pinks. We were fairly new to the scene and had just started breeding. We did, however, manage to acquire one of the best pink females at that time. She was VERY pink when fired down. When fired up, her coloration left something to be desired, but that was true for all pink geckos at the time. There were no TruePink geckos.
We gave her the cheesy name of Peaches because that's what you do when you're a new breeder. We paired her with what we had at the time: a dark harlequin male with dalmatian spots. His name was Alpha, and the pairing was far from ideal, but everyone has to start somewhere, right? As luck would have it, this pairing would produce some of the nicest pinks in the world, even to this day.
Peaches, our first pink and Alpha.
Looking at Alpha and Peaches, it seems unlikely that they could produce a TruePink.
HATCHING SOME EGGS
While we weren't the first breeder to work with pinks, for some reason or another, we seemed to be the only breeder who continued working with them. Many of the breeders who were working with pinks stopped breeding entirely. Who knows where pink crested geckos would be without Peaches. So many of the pink geckos today can trace their lineage directly back to her.
Anyways back to our story! Our gecko collection was still small, so we were quick to pair Alpha and Peaches. Before long, we had eggs incubating and were eagerly waiting for them to hatch. A few months later, we had a handful of tan and brown hatchlings. One of them stood out from the rest, however. It was lighter and had red blushing on its neck, and it was female. We decided she would become our holdback and fittingly named her Blush. Little did we know at the time what Blush had in store for us.
Baby Blush next to one of her typically darker siblings.
Blush being silly.
Blush continued to grow, becoming lighter and lighter. Her creamy pattern turned to white, and her tan color turned pink. It's hard to notice day to day changes but as she approached her adult weight, it became clear how unique she was. This gecko fired PINK! I was so excited to show her off!
It was Saturday, December 13th, 2014. I was living in my sister's basement (thanks Heidi!) while waiting for my home to be built. I took Blush upstairs and put her on a table next to a big window to snap some photos.
Blush on December 13th, 2014. Our first TruePink.
Blush became an instant gecko superstar! To this day, we still meet people who attribute Blush to them getting into the hobby so many years ago. Pink coloration like this is still very hard to achieve.
I have to admit, we didn't expect Alpha and Peaches to single-handedly revive interest in pink crested geckos. But that's exactly what happened when they produced Blush. We had hit the genetic lottery!
THE LAST ALPHA
Alpha and Peaches would give us another couple of years' worth of clutches, but the results turned out to be inconsistent. We decided to replace Alpha with a more suitable male. Before ending the pairing, however, we did manage to get one more hatchling that seemed promising.
It was plain and had some small white spots along its side. Its coloration was the lightest we'd seen yet! Our light-colored hatchling turned out to be female, and as she grew, so did the white spots along her sides. When she reached breeding weight, she started laying eggs. Not only did she lay eggs, but they had embryos! She had never been paired, so we oh so cleverly named her Mary. Our naming process for geckos back then was admittedly basic. Still is.
Mary was our last holdback out of Alpha x Peaches and our second TruePink.
Looking back, I find it absolutely mind-boggling that we got Blush and Mary from Alpha and Peaches. While there were many standout offspring, these two were unmatched. It just goes to show that it isn't always obvious what you can get from a pairing. Sadly, Mary's virgin eggs didn't make it.
Other Alpha x Peaches offspring from left to right: Badass, Fenrir, Hercules.
A NEW DIRECTION (2015-2019)
Several years passed, and the variety and quality of geckos had improved significantly. With Alpha on the chopping block, we began searching for a new male to pair with our pink line. Finding a high-quality pink male nowadays is challenging, but at that time, it was impossible. We had to get creative. Our goal was to find a harlequin gecko with white or light cream pattern. Additionally, wanted a lighter base as not to overpower the delicate pink color.
Enter Valerian. He had several advantages over Alpha. He had better structure. He didn't have spots. He was much lighter in color and he fired lavender!
Valerian unfried vs fired. An excellent match for a pink!
I had long suspected that, aside from finding a pink male, a light lavender was the next best option. I can't say for certain if that's true or not, but the offspring that Valerian produced with our pinks did not disappoint!
We paired both Peaches and Blush with Valerian, and the hatchlings were much more consistent in color and pattern. We knew we were on the right track when we got Penelope, Fave, Butters, and Eden all in short succession.
Also, we finally started getting some decent pink males. For whatever reason, males tended to be darker in coloration compared to their female siblings. Nevertheless, it didn't take too long until we had our first TruePink male, Ultra!
Penelope (Valerian x Peaches)
*TruePink
Fave (Valerian x Blush)
*TruePink
Butters (Valerian x Blush)
Eden (Valerian x Blush)
Ultra. Our first TruePink male!
50 SHADES OF PINK
Our main objective for the pink line has always been to achieve better and more consistent color. Color inconsistency was an issue with Alpha and Peaches. While Valerian improved color consistency, there was still some variation. Despite this, some of our most beloved pink line geckos exhibit lavender, orange, or red hues. Although we would prefer more TruePink geckos, their rarity makes them even more special.
With Ultra, we have achieved even more consistent results, but there will always be some variation in the color of pink line geckos. It's important to remember that geckos whose color isn't perfect can still produce a true pink with a bit of luck. In that way, breeding pinks is accessible to all. If you have the means, however, I would invest in the best examples for more consistent results.
Mont Blanc. Although not pink, this lavender male from Valerian x Blush is one of my favorites!
PINK ENVY
Every now and then we come across posts or comments doubting the existence of pink geckos. I understand the skepticism. Pictures can be misleading, or the gecko may just be unfired. Geckos are often called pink or even "true pink" when they are anything but. This causes a lot of confusion about what exactly constitutes a pink gecko.
In my opinion, a pink gecko should appear visibly pink when unfired. When fired, its color may take on a slight orange or red tint. This has generally been the accepted standard for identifying a pink gecko over the years.
With the emergence of true pinks, things changed. These geckos are unique because they actually fire pink. This is why we started using the term TruePink in the first place. However, the real ones are so rare that it's unlikely you'll ever come across one for sale, and even if you do, the price is sure to be astronomical.
That is why my recommendation for people who want a true pink is to hatch one yourself. Purchase a pink breeding pair from lines proven to produce true pinks. If you hatch out a couple years worth of clutches you could get one or two true pinks if you're lucky. Then you'll have a priceless gecko that you played a part in creating.
SOME PINK BABIES
Seeing what I've seen I never underestimate a pink line geckos potential to go TruePink... unless it's brown.
Penelope fired at 35g vs 45g. One of my favorite transformations.
Magdalene. Our first Ultra x Mary holdback!
Another Ultra x Mary hatchling.
50 SHADES OF PINK
Complicating things is that all pink line geckos hatch out tan or brown. It's a long road from tan to pink and you won't know if you have a TruePink or not until your gecko is basically an adult. I've seen some incredible transformations and we're not completely blind along the way. By 5 grams we can typically tell which geckos are going to be the lightest. We can also tell which ones are likely to be lavenders because they'll lack any red coloration.
Deciphering which ones will become pink versus red is a bit trickier. As a general rule, if you want pinks, the lighter the better! There's been exceptions to this rule which does blur things a little but it's still the best indicator overall. The transition from brown to pink is not always pretty, either. Coloration can get a bit muddy in their juvie through sub-adult phase. It's when they reach 35 grams and up that the goods ones truly start to shine! Penelope was orange at 35g and TruePink at 45g!
The pink line lavenders are exceptional as well!
WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS
Perhaps what I love most about this project is its long-term potential. Here we are a decade in and I feel like we've barely scratched the surface of what's possible. Who knows how long until we hatch our first TruePink Lilly. And what other future morphs will come out that will play well with our pink line? Only time will tell.
I might try pairing a pink to a frapp but you can be sure the color in the offspring will be very inconsistent. I will have to hit the genetic lottery again to see a TruePink capp or frapp. Still, it's a better option than pink x axanthic. Right?
Fable, our male Lilly White.
Our first pink line Lilly White eggs!
SO YOU WANT TO BREED PINKS
Breeding pinks over the years has been both extremely rewarding and difficult. I wouldn't recommend it for most. I've seen insane transformations, and not always for the better.
If you are trying to breed pinks today and asked me for advice I'd say:
-
Find a pink gecko from pink lines known to produce true pinks.
-
Put it with a similar pink gecko or find a light colored lavender. If the lavender is too dark it will overpower the delicate pink color more often than not. Pairing it with a lavender will yield some lavenders, but they can be amazing so don't let that deter you!
-
When your eggs start hatching hold onto everything until at least 5g in size.
-
Look for the geckos with the lightest coloration. Those are your keepers! Your little gold nuggets! If they are dark at this size they'll most likely go red or brown.
-
As they grow they'll lighten even more and become less tan/brown and more pink/orange/red.
-
By 30g they should fire down a light or medium pink. Fired up they can be medium pink, orange or red. Be patient. Developing color takes time!
-
By 45g they should ideally fire down light pink and fire up medium pink. If they are firing red at this size then you'll probably end up with a red gecko that fires down pink. If they fire orange just wait and give them some more time. Their color can continue to develop until they reach their final adult weight. My pinks typically reach 50-65g and color will continue to develop until they reach their final adult weight.
Eden's progression.
Fires red but amazing nonetheless!
SPECIAL THANKS
I want to give a special thanks to Erica at Crown Jewel Reptiles. While she is no longer breeding, the work she put into pinks over decade ago is the reason we are working with them today.
Also a big thank you to all our customers who have supported this project over the years! Thank you, thank you, thank you! <3
Peaches. Photographed by Erica in 2011.
Photo credit: Used with permission by Erica - Crown Jewel Reptiles
Our first TruePink, Blush.