Not sure if I have a leopard gecko or African fat tail!

[ZNature]

Hi, I’m new here. Back in September I got some geckos off of craigslist. There were supposed to be three leopard geckos and one African fat tail. They were neglected and I wanted to make sure they are healthy and go to good homes. I had a leopard gecko at this time so I new how to care for them and I did my research on African fat tail geckos as well. When I got the geckos the African fat tail was spotted and I’ve looked up African fat tail morphs and the only spotted ones I found don’t look anything like him. He is male. I didn’t know how much I could really believe the person that I got him from anyways because if he really is a African fat tail than this guy kept him in a tub with a floor space less than a ten gallon with a heat rock, a bowl and one hide and no humidity whatsoever. I convinced myself he was a leopard gecko and I really fell in love with him and kept him. All the others I kept for months until I found them perfect homes. His nails are gone. He has only one small nail on his back foot that I can feel. I noticed this the first day I got him. Most likely due to stuck shed. He does have terrible sheds. I have a moist hide with sphagnum moss in it and that has helped him quite a bit because before the moist hide with paper towel just didn’t cut it. Now all of a sudden im terrified if he might be an African fat tail and I’m not giving him proper humidity. If he is an African fat tail than I can give him proper care but I just want to be sure of what kind of gecko he is. You can’t tell what he is by his pattern and when I look up the difference between them all I find is “the leopard gecko is spotted and African fat tail is not”. So I have to describe by his physical characteristics. His tail is round at the end. His toes are round at the end as well. His eyes sort of look large for his head and his head is bulky too. He is 70 grams and 8 inches long. He is very calm. Anyone think you know what he is? I described him so if any leopard and African fat tail owners notice theses characteristics in their geckos you can let me know? I’ve heard the fat tails have solid eyes but he doesn’t. Also the guy I got him from told me he got the geckos from a online breeder but he didn’t say which one.

 

[acpart]

He is a leopard gecko, not a fat tail. Although fat tails now come in morphs where they have blotches instead of bands, they are almost always a brown or copper color. Their noses are shorter, their toes are shorter and they never have white tails with black spots. He has a regenerated tail.

Aliza

 

[ZNature]

Thank you. I was under the impression that regenerated tails usually looked very different than the original, this is from his previous home. I was worried because he has very bad sheds and I thought it was a humidity problem if he was a fat tail. I have to soak him in warm water before he sheds so it doesn’t get stuck on him, I do provide a humid hide. Any thoughts on what I can do to help him?

 

[acpart]

Some regenerated tails look pretty ridiculous, like a turnip but some, especially if it wasn't the whole tail and if it happened when they were young, look OK. Some leopard geckos just don't shed well. When I see one of mine in shed, and it's still working on it the next day, I peel them myself. That's probably the best solution.

Aliza

 

[TheGeckoDekko]

Hi, I’m new here. Back in September I got some geckos off of craigslist. There were supposed to be three leopard geckos and one African fat tail. They were neglected and I wanted to make sure they are healthy and go to good homes. I had a leopard gecko at this time so I new how to care for them and I did my research on African fat tail geckos as well. When I got the geckos the African fat tail was spotted and I’ve looked up African fat tail morphs and the only spotted ones I found don’t look anything like him. He is male. I didn’t know how much I could really believe the person that I got him from anyways because if he really is a African fat tail than this guy kept him in a tub with a floor space less than a ten gallon with a heat rock, a bowl and one hide and no humidity whatsoever. I convinced myself he was a leopard gecko and I really fell in love with him and kept him. All the others I kept for months until I found them perfect homes. His nails are gone. He has only one small nail on his back foot that I can feel. I noticed this the first day I got him. Most likely due to stuck shed. He does have terrible sheds. I have a moist hide with sphagnum moss in it and that has helped him quite a bit because before the moist hide with paper towel just didn’t cut it. Now all of a sudden im terrified if he might be an African fat tail and I’m not giving him proper humidity. If he is an African fat tail than I can give him proper care but I just want to be sure of what kind of gecko he is. You can’t tell what he is by his pattern and when I look up the difference between them all I find is “the leopard gecko is spotted and African fat tail is not”. So I have to describe by his physical characteristics. His tail is round at the end. His toes are round at the end as well. His eyes sort of look large for his head and his head is bulky too. He is 70 grams and 8 inches long. He is very calm. Anyone think you know what he is? I described him so if any leopard and African fat tail owners notice theses characteristics in their geckos you can let me know? I’ve heard the fat tails have solid eyes but he doesn’t. Also the guy I got him from told me he got the geckos from a online breeder but he didn’t say which one. View attachment 78498 View attachment 78499 View attachment 78500

 

[TheGeckoDekko]

Some differences between African fat tails and leopard geckos are that the temperament of African fat tails are more mellow and easy to handle, why leopard geckos are active and squirmy. Although, note that both are nocturnal so it may be difficult to tell during the day. Another core difference is their size. African fat tails are stockier with big eyes and small feet while leopard geckos are a bit longer. Leopard gecko females get from 7 to 8 inches long in males get from 8 to 10 inches. Most African fat tails get from 7 to 8 inches long. This means if you have a gecko that is 8 to 10 inches long this is a leopard gecko male. If you have one from 7 to 8 in long it could be either a leopard gecko female or an African fat tail. Last, African fat tails have more orangish color while leopard geckos have a more whitish color.

The one in your picture is definitely a leopard gecko based on the facts I have just written, and because I have two leopard geckos myself and they look just alike. By the way yours is very cute!

 

[ZNature]

Hi! Sorry I’m so late to respond. In the headshot pic you can kinda see the lack of nails on his toes. Poor guy. Thanks for all the advice guys! Now we know he’s a Leo do you have any morph ideas? I think wild type but he’s got lavender spots on his back and the whitish part on his tail is actually lavender in person.

 

[acpart]

From the patterning I can see on his back, he may be a stripe leo. That means that when he hatched, the black bands that usually run from side to side were broken in the middle and there was also some banding that went in the head to tail direction, so instead of horizontal bands, the gecko may have hatched with head to tail black "stripes" on either side of the back. As the gecko matures, the black bands break up into spots.

Aliza