# Empty Back

_Permalink: https://geckinspect.com/MorphGuide/empty-back_

**Rarity:** Rare  
**Inheritance:** Incomplete dominant  
**Category:** Pattern

**Definition.** An Empty Back crested gecko has a clean, unpatterned back with its pattern on the sides; Foundation Genetics models Empty Back as an incomplete-dominant gene.

Clean back, pattern kept on the sides. Reported as incomplete dominant by Foundation Genetics; not yet independently proven.

Empty Back describes a gecko whose back is clear of pattern while the sides keep theirs, often with stronger contrast on the flanks. Foundation Genetics models it as an incomplete-dominant gene: one copy clears the back and two copies (Super Empty Back) clear it further, and the super form is described as healthy. That model is the main published source, and few breeders publish their own Empty Back breeding results, so Geck Inspect badges it Emerging: reported, not yet independently proven. A clean back also comes from Highway, Phantom and line-bred patternless animals, so a photo alone does not prove Empty Back.

**Key features:**
- Clean, unpatterned back
- Pattern concentrated on the sides
- One copy is visible in the Foundation Genetics model, so there is no hidden het

**How to identify it:**
- Compare the back with the sides: Empty Back clears the back, not the whole animal
- Confirm with lineage, since Highway, Phantom and line-bred animals can look the same

**Lookalikes and how to tell them apart:**
- Highway (https://geckinspect.com/MorphGuide/highway): Highway gives a continuous clean stripe and is provisionally a version of the Cappuccino gene; lineage separates the two.
- Phantom (https://geckinspect.com/MorphGuide/phantom): Phantom is recessive and mutes pattern color all over; Empty Back clears the back and leaves the sides patterned.
- Patternless (https://geckinspect.com/MorphGuide/patternless): Line-bred patternless animals can have a clean back with no Empty Back gene.

**Often combined with:** Lilly White, Dalmatian, Axanthic

**Asking prices.** Not part of this morph catalog. The Geck Inspect Price Index lists current asking prices for this morph under the trait label "Empty Back": https://geckinspect.com/data/price-index.json (CSV: https://geckinspect.com/data/price-index.csv). Free to cite with a link: you may quote and cite these numbers, with a link to the page they came from.

**Notes.** Foundation Genetics lists Harlequin as working against the clear back. In that model Empty Back x Empty Back gives about 25% Super Empty Back, 50% Empty Back and 25% normal.

**Sources:**
- https://lmreptiles.com/fg-pt2-1/

_Source: Geck Inspect Morph Guide. Updated 2026-10-17. Cite https://geckinspect.com/MorphGuide/empty-back_