Hypo

What it looks like

Hypo reduces melanin, so the base colour comes out lighter. On Black Base it makes Lavender; on Red Base it makes Pink.

This page shows Hypo drawn from its genes. For the written reference, inheritance tables and breeder notes, see the crested gecko morph guide on ReptiDex.

Side by side

• 

  Without Hypo

  Open in the builder
• 

  With Hypo (Lavender)

  Open in the builder

In depth

Reduces melanin and dark pigmentation, producing lighter base coloration. Dominant over melanin. Multiple forms exist, all dominant. Hypo acts as an epistatic modifier over Black Base, Red Base, and Yellow Base. Creates Lavender (H+B), Pink (H+r), and Cream/C2 (H+y) combo morphs.

How to spot it

Hypo animals are noticeably lighter in base coloration. Multiple Hypo forms range from subtle to extreme lightening.

Where it came from

Hypo was one of the earliest recognized morphs in the crested gecko hobby.

How it is inherited

Incomplete dominant: one copy shows, and two copies show more strongly.

Written as H+ and h

Hypo is dominant over melanin-producing traits. Multiple Hypo forms exist (line-dependent). Acts epistatically with base colors to produce recognized combo morphs. Source: Foundation Genetics Part 1.

Beside other genes

• Hypo and Black Base strengthen each other

  Hypo + Black Base creates Lavender combo morph through epistatic color change (black becomes lavender/purple/blue).

• Hypo and Yellow Base strengthen each other

  Hypo + Yellow Base creates C2/Cream Squared (fading to unicolor white cream). Enhancement of hypo effect.

• Hypo and Red Base strengthen each other

  Hypo + Red Base creates Pink combo morph through epistatic color change (red becomes neon red to cotton candy pink).

• Hypo and White Pattern strengthen each other

  Hypo + White Pattern creates paper white pattern effect. Extreme pattern whitening.

Morphs it takes part in

• Blondeeasy to breed

  Light yellow coloration with yellow dorsal pattern. Clean appearance without dark melanin blending.

  Needs Yellow Base, Hypo.

• Bubblegum Pinktakes some work

  Bubblegum pink pattern color. Tangerine shifts White Pattern from white to pink, enhanced by Hypo lightening.

  Needs Hypo, Tangerine, White Pattern.

• C2difficult

  Unicolor white cream color. Paper white expression possible with proper hypo stacking. Clean appearance with minimal to no dark pigmentation. Reduced pigment visible under tail base and around kneecaps.

  Needs Yellow Base, Hypo.

• Creamsicletakes some work

  Cream to orange coloration. Warm tones from Yellow Base lightened by Hypo. Optional Tangerine shifts toward peach.

  Needs Yellow Base, Hypo.

• Lavendertakes some work

  Striking lavender, purple, or blue-shifted coloration replacing standard dark base. Pastel tones intensify with age.

  Needs Black Base, Hypo.

• Pinktakes some work

  Neon red to cotton candy pink coloration. Intensity varies with Red Base expression level.

  Needs Red Base, Hypo.

• Silver / Grey Phantomdifficult

  Silver to grey coloration. Hypo lightens the Phantom dark blending to create metallic-looking tones.

  Needs Phantom, Hypo.