If you’ve ever taken Biology 101—or simply have an interest in the natural world—you’ve probably come across this classification system. Taxonomy is the method biologists use to categorize and organize living things in a structured way.
For reptile enthusiasts, these scientific names are probably very familiar. We use them constantly when talking about different species.
Q. Hello, Giselle! It was such a pleasure sharing the Tinley show with you. How was your experience at the U.S. reptile expo?
At first, it was honestly tough—I wanted to go home right away. The jet lag and the long, intense schedule really took a toll on me.
But on the first day of the show, so many people recognized me and the “Giselle Gargoyles,” and that gave me a huge boost of energy and excitement. After that, I completely forgot how tired I was and just had an amazing time.
Looking back now, it was truly one of the most rewarding and meaningful experiences for me.
Before anything else, I want to start by saying this is a sensitive topic, and what I’m about to share is simply my personal perspective.
This isn’t meant to criticize anyone or any breeding practice — just a chance to talk honestly about something that matters to many of us in the reptile and animal-breeding world.
If you’ve done any breeding — whether with geckos or any other animals — you’ve probably heard of inline breeding and outline breeding.
We often see animals sold under names like “pure line” or “original line.”There’s nothing wrong with that — in fact, I personally love pure lines too.
If you’ve been into crested geckos for a long time, you’re probably familiar with commonly used terms like “lateral,” “crown,” and “wall”. These expressions often come up when describing traits. For example, people might say, “This gecko has high white wall on the laterals,” or “This gecko has a full pinstripe that extends to the crown.”
As a Korean gecko enthusiast who has lived in the U.S. for many years, I’ve come to understand and use terminology from both cultures. Through this experience, I’ve noticed that while many of the concepts are similar, the way they’re described can differ depending on whether you’re in the East or the West. Of course, there are also terms that overlap perfectly.
Today, I’d like to break down and compare these terms to show how they’re used differently in each culture—especially between the U.S. and Korea.
Since most visitors to our site…
