Show & Tell
Many of you would impulsively call this a Motley at first glance, but one look at the belly would change your minds (pic 2)? The phenotype (appearance) of this 2017 corn snake–just six hours old–is wild-type (not unlike one you could find in their wild natural habitat). The primary feature that distinguishes a Motley mutant from a non-Motley corn is not the “chain” of circles down the back–since even non-Motleys like this one can have many dorsal circles between markings–but the general lack of belly checkering. Lately, from breeding Motleys into other color and pattern mutations, we occasionally see SOME belly checkering on the likes of SOME Lavender and Caramel mutants, but virtually never more than a few isolated checkered belly pattern zones. I dare say that you would not see more than 5% of the belly demonstrating any checkering at all on those hobby-new exceptions VS. the tried and true visual standard for Motley pattern mutants of ZERO belly checkering? Bonus pic