Blizzards

I only own one blizzard, so my perception of blizzard behavior is rather limited. Their feisty temperaments are often referred to as a negative consequence of inbreeding, but why so? Wouldn't it actually be considered an advantage evolutionarily speaking if a leo is tough to tame, puts up a fight when handled, is fast at catching prey and quick at evading potential predators (i.e., your hand)?

Yeah, but when you're breeding these guys in captivity to be the "perfect pets", aggressive traits just don't do them any justice. I personally think there is an agressive gene linked to the blizzard gene, although I do own ONE nice blizzard, and I do have a nice double het (blizzard x albino).

Olivia,
i never really thought of it that way, but it could very well be. in captivity we want a "pet" and an agressive animals does not make a great "pet" ... thus breed it out
i personally like blizzard attitudes feisty little boogers, they make things very interesting sometimes... when you work with alot of geckos a squak or charge or something like that makes me smile.





a side note: i do not think of any reptiles are a pet as they are not domesticated like a cat or dog now that doesnt mean i dont take any less care of them i take just as good if not better care of them than my domesticated animals. basically i see them as wild animals regardless of being cbb ch or wc.

Justyn, I think my blizzard is on his way to being a nice one too. Either way, he's one of my favorites.

Robin, I completely agree. IMO, that's what makes reptiles so charming.

An aggressive gene seems like a pretty good natural response to inbreeding. In the wild, a smaller gene pool could be the result of heavy predation on the species. Hence, survival of the species would depend on the more aggressive offspring. Heh, I've been thinking about this too much.

i have 5 blizzards(2 adult)they soon tame down i have only been biten once thats then i first got them.
all my babys are tame!!!!!!!!!!!! i think the reason blizzards are aggressive is because breeders on a big scale just dont handle them enough when they are young(an other morph would be the same just my own finging.)
hope this helps.
simmo.

Just wait, within time they will turn evil! It's not because they don't handle them enough, it's the genes. I've hatched out hundreds of hets and quite a few blizzards over the years and the results are the same. All my other babies are fine, and they recieve the same amount of attention as any others.

Originally posted by simomthegeckoma
i have 5 blizzards(2 adult)they soon tame down i have only been biten once thats then i first got them.
all my babys are tame!!!!!!!!!!!! i think the reason blizzards are aggressive is because breeders on a big scale just dont handle them enough when they are young(an other morph would be the same just my own finging.)
hope this helps.
simmo.

I believe as a general rule that blizzards are more aggressive, 'feisty,' and skittish than other Leopard Geckos, but with regular handling many of them can become docile. I have a 1.2 group of Blizzard breeders, only one of the females is 'nervous.' Louie and Lucille are very tame and gentle, but my newest addition, Leona, is skittish but not aggressive. Perhaps it is because I had the original pair from babies, and handled them daily...?

I do know that they are much more aggressive eaters than any of my other geckos, and seem to squabble amongst themselves much more frequently than my other groups. Even the blizzard hatchlings are screaming, hissing, and biting right out of the egg!!! I handle all offspring daily, and they usually will calm down once they are picked up.

Olivia, I think your theory and rationale is very interesting and thought provoking. I do believe the Blizzards are genetically prone to aggressiveness, just like I believe that Patternless are genetically prone to gentleness. An example would be with Doberman Pinschers... at one point there was so much line breeding with that breed of dog that they actually became "psycho." Fortunately, breeders began to be less concerned with the dog's confirmation and started responsible breeding and outcrossing, and now Dobies have much better dispositions. Perhaps the same would hold true for leos.

simmo,
maybe its something over there in the UK's water? LOL

It does not matter how munch you handle the blizzards or hets... I tired handle offen and it does not work well as you would expect and you got let it get older... I has few Blizzard Het female or males that are tame without any handling since she/he hatches... Seems my Pastel line their docile are domiant over Blizzard but I still am working on it... I would fully know it by next year... I cannot wait for next year.