Question about tail kink

Hey to all. I have a quick question. I was in the process of purchasing a patternless albino male leopard gecko from a breeder. However, I found out this particular leo has sired offspring with kinked tails. The leo does not have a kinked tail, but apparently carries the ability to pass it along (if it is indeed genetic). I have a couple of questions about it. First, does anyone know for sure if it's genetic. Second, if it is genetic, does anyone know how it is passed (recessive, codominant, etc...). Third, how does everyone feel about breeding leos that don't have kinked tails but apparently can throw offspring that do. My gut tells me it's not a good idea to breed animals that are like this and that they should be retired from breeding even if they themselves do not have kinked tails. However, the guy I am working with tells me it's pretty common in the patternelss albino lines and that it would make sense to go ahead and breed him with the intention of outbreeding the trait. I'm just really hesitant to risk introducing more of that kind of thing into the lines, but I thought I would see what everyone else thinks before I jump to a conclusion. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks to all!

PS
I will not reveal who the breeder with this animal is. Depending upon what I hear back from everyone, I will make a reccomendation to the guy regarding marketing the animal as a breeder or as a pet. I don't, however, feel comfortable saying who he is, so please do not ask. I don't want to blacklist someone when he has thus far been very professional and easy to work with. Like I said, I'll make a reccomendation to him for how he should market the animal after I hear back from some folks. Thanks again everyone for your insights...

I see no reason why not! Kink tail geckos may be the new RAGE!........NOT!

First, does anyone know for sure if it's genetic. Second, if it is genetic, does anyone know how it is passed (recessive, codominant, etc...).

It is definitely genetic. I am not exactly sure how the gene works but I do know the trait can be expressed by the babies when breeding a kinked tail animal to a non kinker.

Third, how does everyone feel about breeding leos that don't have kinked tails but apparently can throw offspring that do. My gut tells me it's not a good idea to breed animals that are like this and that they should be retired from breeding even if they themselves do not have kinked tails

Your gut feeling is correct.

However, the guy I am working with tells me it's pretty common in the patternelss albino lines and that it would make sense to go ahead and breed him with the intention of outbreeding the trait. I'm just really hesitant to risk introducing more of that kind of thing into the lines, but I thought I would see what everyone else thinks before I jump to a conclusion. Any help would be appreciated. Thanks to all!

The guy you are working with is not being honest with you. Not all PA lines have kinked tails. Actually only one line that I am aware of, does.

That sounds like what I was thinking. I will reccomend to the guy that he not market the leo as a breeder. I just figured I owed it to him to check with everyone and make sure I'm not the one who is off-base with this one. Thanks again!

David, I agree with what Kelli said, but I hope you keep looking for another PA because they're really nice to work with.

I definitely will. I already am working with a great group of Rainwater PA project geckos. I was looking to work with Trempers as well, but I'll just have to keep looking for the right starter stock.

many Rainwater Albinos , RW PA`s , and Tremper PA`s have kinked tails , and I would think many are also "carrying" this unwanted trait . am i correct ? i have not seem any bells yet w/ kinks . nor have i seen a bell PA yet . just my thinking on this, is that the "leucistic" line is where it comes from , since many of the Rainwater Albinos are het patternless . kelli i know you can vouch for the RW- line having patternless in it right from the source (as you have said before) . what about offspring of producers of kinked tails ?? my TPA`s threw one kinky-gecko . so both parents and the non-kinked baby shouldnt be allowed to breed ever ? just wonder what others think about that too .

Originally Posted by KelliH

It is definitely genetic. I am not exactly sure how the gene works but I do know the trait can be expressed by the babies when breeding a kinked tail animal to a non kinker.






.

so if you breed a kink tail to a kink tail would you get super kinks?

I think the defect is more in the patternless line than it is in any of the albino strains.....

Originally Posted by groovygeckos

just my thinking on this, is that the "leucistic" line is where it comes from , since many of the Rainwater Albinos are het patternless .

I've also heard that the patternless geckos might be to blame for the tail kink problem. I've heard that it was pretty hard to even find a patternless leo that didn't have a tail kink until a couple of years ago. Kelli, you've been in this longer than I have, so you could probably speak to that better than I can, but that's just what I've heard from others.

Originally Posted by groovygeckos

what about offspring of producers of kinked tails ?? my TPA`s threw one kinky-gecko . so both parents and the non-kinked baby shouldnt be allowed to breed ever ?

Just my opinion - I figure it would be best to do everything we can to eliminate genetic mutations. If an animal is known to throw kinked tails, I would not feel comfortable breeding it. If everyone takes this approach, we could probably drastically reduce the number of kinked tails being produced. I know it stinks to purchase leos only to find out they might not be suitable for reproduction, but continued breeding of these animals can only cause the problem to persist. Just my Opinion