I did a bit of digging, trying to find what kind of conditions this might be related to.
If this is similar to piebald mutations as found in other animals, it's a simple recessive trait and pairing father to daughter should result in 50% showing the same mutation.
However, if this is something else, akin to what are called "paradox" animals, this appearance may not be reproducible. However, this is strongly linked to albinism. I'm really not very knowledgeable about snake genetics so I may have this totally wrong. I couldn't find a ready definition of paradox snakes...
Here's what I've seen on the Facebook group "
Animal Oddities":
"Snakes with unexplained, irreproducible markings are commonly termed "paradox" snakes. Though most paradox snakes appear to be mosaics, this snake's pattern suggests a failure of pigment to migrate across its entire body during early development. Notice the snake has black eyes even in areas that skin is pigmentless. The melanoblasts that produce pigment for the brain and eyes separates early on from cutaneous melanoblasts. (Leucistic animals also demonstrate this separation.)"
Pic:
Photos from Animal Oddities | Facebook
What I am seeing in this animal does not look (to me) the same as piebald, because...it's not white. All the piebald snakes I see are marshmallowy white in patches. This gecko seems that it's just lacking pigment, translucent like in some house geckos. Maybe it's just the lighting in the pictures and video. Or maybe there is an accepted variation in "white" in other pied animals?
There is a condition called Vitiligo - which is what Michael Jackson said he had, where his pigment disappeared. Vitiligo (in mammals) is an auto-immune disorder in which a localized loss of melanocytes.
Piebaldism is apparent at birth but vitiligo forms over a period of time (ontogenetic), and usually starts later in life. Non-human animals generally display it in old age. If we knew if these were developing over time, that would be cool.... love to know what's going on.
