Entry 6Colour modifier
ChoCho
A maroon gecko with every cream part washed tangerine.
choWhat it looks like
A ChoCho hatches maroon red, and every part of it that would normally be cream is covered in a layer of tangerine pigment. Hatchlings are often described as looking radioactive.
The head and neck carry the deepest red, and the white of the tail is coated pink or tangerine running down to a darker tip.
It is recessive, so a gecko needs two copies and one copy is carried invisibly.
The colour drawn here is the one a ChoCho hatches with, shown on the adult body. A ChoCho darkens as it grows, which is the reverse of an ordinary red gecko, and the renderer does not yet darken it with age. The hatchling colour is also the only stage anyone agrees on: the breeders who work with it describe three different adult colours between them.
Two things are not drawn: the dark red stamp over the head and neck, and the ageing itself.
Before you pair this
The breeder who found the trait reports the original line was very vulnerable to inbreeding, losing most of a clutch in the egg and leaving infertile survivors when visual was paired to visual, with no such problem when paired out to unrelated animals. The first breeder to work with it in the US reports no problems. Pair out rather than in.
The series
Same animal, same seed. Only this gene changes. Open any one in the builder.
With another gene
The same gecko before and after.
One copy shows nothing
ChoCho is recessive. A gecko with one copy looks exactly like a gecko with none, and can still pass it on.
Notes
In the genetics dataSimple recessive trait affecting red/tangerine pigment display and age-dependent color change. Hatchlings emerge extremely vibrant/radioactive orange and darken dramatically with age. This is opposite of normal Red Base animals which hatch brown and gain color. Adults show maroon body coloration with distinctive dark red head stamp and pink/tangerine tail coating. The breeder who requested the gene records it as not in complex with other genes, and names no related genes.
Telling it apartChoCho hatchlings are extremely vibrant orange (radioactive appearance), darkening with age. Adults show maroon body, dark red head stamp, lighter grey/blue eyes, and pink/tangerine tail coating with grey/darker tip. Key distinction: opposite aging pattern from Red Base animals (ChoCho darkens, Red Base lightens).
On the evidenceSimple recessive confirmed: visual x visual = 100% visual; visual x het = 50% visual, 50% het; visual x unrelated = 100% het. Originated by Sunju in South Korea (2021). First US breeder: Ruby Reptiles (2023). MorphMarket gene request approved. Source: Ruby Reptiles (community.morphmarket.com/t/request-to-add-new-gene-chocho-crested-gecko-done/51978), TikisGeckos (youtube.com, comprehensive inheritance documentation). The originator reports the original line was very vulnerable to inbreeding, with heavy embryo loss and infertile survivors from visual to visual pairings, and no such problem when paired out. The first US breeder reports no problems to date.
HistoryOriginated in South Korea by Sunju (2021). Brought to US market by Ruby Reptiles (2023). Early viability/fertility issues in original line resolved through outcrossing. Name derives from Korean terminology.
Entry 6 of 32. Every gecko on this page was drawn from its own genes just now, by the renderer that draws them in the game. For the written reference and a pairing calculator, see the crested gecko morph guide on ReptiDex.