Striped Tessera (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Tessera
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Dominant to wild-type
Morph Type: Either a Striped Tessera Heterozygote or Striped Tessera Homozygote (aka: Super-form).
Eye Color: Black pupil with ground zone-colored iris
FIRST, what makes Tesseras so expensive? Other than appearance, the primary (and inherent) value of Tessera-type Corns is their mode of inheritance. Since they are dominant to wild type, pairing any Ultra Type that is a Visual Het to ANY corn snake (other than a Tessera-type) will render 50% Tessera mutants in the F1 (first) out-crossedgeneration. The results of pairing an Tessera homozygote with ANY corn snake (other than a Tessera-type) will render 100% Tessera mutants.
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Contiguity of pattern. Striped Tesseras have remarkably continuous striping and if it does break – unlike simple mutant Striped corns – it resumes in the same form – without fading to broken striping and eventually no striped pattern at all, as we see in ALL simple mutant Striped corns.
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Stripe that extends to the tail and beyond. I have never seen a simple mutant Striped corn that had a stripe that continued to the tail tip. I’ve seen nearly full striping in some lines of Striped Motleys, but never in Striped mutants. When one corn possesses both the STRIPE and the TESSERA mutations, most of these corns have striping that continues to the tip of the tail, regardless of how many stripe breaks there are between the neck and tail tip. When the striped pattern of Striped corn mutants begins to break up and/or fade, it does not resume in recognizable form. My reference to “tail pattern” is the dorsal location that is the polar opposite of the cloaca (polar as opposing points on the same vertical plane).
- Variable stripe width. It is not common, but some of the Striped Tesseras we’ve produced have varying stripe width, which is something seldom observed on simple Striped mutants. Generally speaking, the striping of Striped Tesseras widens as it extends tail-ward. Some have intermittent and abrupt changes of width from the neck to the tail, but except for gradual widening of stripe, some have remarkably clean stripes. The question that can’t help but be asked is, “In STRIPED TESSERAS, is the striped pattern the result of the Striped mutation, the striped version of the Motley mutation; Striped Motley. OR the striped version of the Tessera mutation?” I don’t know the answer at this time.
What to expect:
Upon receiving the reverse trio from the seller, we all commented on the mutual peculiarity of the phenotypes. Most appeared to be the most perfectly Striped Motleys ever seen – in so much as their dorsal stripes were nearly contiguous from neck to tail tip (something never before seen in any corn snake pattern mutant) – but that was hardly possible if the admission of the breeder were true – that they were products of pairing a Striped corn with an Okeetee corn. How could these descendants of a Striped corn bred to an Okeetee be Motley types, instead of Striped? It is still unclear if those 2.1 Tesseras were F1s (first familial generation) or F2s (the originator of this line is now out of the hobby and difficult to reach – for clarification). If these three Tesseras are F1s, my deduction is that the striped corn he used in the original pairing was actually Striped AND Tessera. Even if those three were F2s, the likelihood of the mutant patriarch being a Striped Tessera is strong.
Ultramel Motley 02-22-13
Each DAY at 11:00 am. ct (GMT – 5) we will post a different SMR snake being offered at a special price.
All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.
Comments: Feeding on frozen/thawed adult mice, this 2009 female Ultramel Motley was brumated (hibernated) from October 10, 2012 to January 31, 2013 so she should be ready to breed in just a few short weeks. I love her yellow-ish head.
Interspecies Hybrid Details
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Codominant with Amel, but recessive to Wild-type
Note: Ultramel is the visual heterozygote of the the mutation, Ultra.
The founder (discoverer) of the Ultra mutation states that he originally paired a gray rat snake with a corn snake, in the discovery of this mutation. By the time most of us were made aware of the HYBRID origins of Ultra types (originally named Ultra Hypos), we had already bred it into many other corn snake mutations. It was therefore collectively decided that in so much as it would be virtually impossible to track down (and eliminate) each and every snake possessing a form of the Ultra gene (surely thousands of individuals in the collections of hundreds of breeders and keepers), the mutation would be treated like other pure corns. In so much as it generally did not alter the corn snake pattern, some breeders could be unaware they had it, while some could avoid mentioning it, if they did know. Those of you out there who are boycotting HYBRID corns are advised to avoid acquisition of suspicious-looking corns with the word ULTRA in the morph description. Likewise, purists who admirably endeavor to promote only the genetically purest of corns are urged to question corns that have suspiciously abnormal features that are historically regarded as hybrid markers. Not that all such markers are proof of alien origins. Especially because of the difficulty and expense of formulating a DNA base line for all North American colubrid snake species, and in the absence of expensive DNA testing to identify the authenticity of pure corns, without obvious visual and/or genetic distinctions, identification of legitimately pure (orimpure) corns is difficult at this time, if not completely impossible.
Ultramel corns are what we call the Visual Het version of the Ultra Mutation. Virtually all heterozygotes of mutations that are recessive to Wild-type are indiscernable, when compared to their non-Het siblings. At SMR, we seldom offer the homozygous version of the Ultra mutation because there is a subtle and often indistinguishable difference between the Homo (Ultra) and Het (Ultramel) versions. Genetically speaking, Ultras are the powerhouse genetic version of this mutation in so much as when you breed one to any Amel corn snake, 100% of the progeny will be Ultramels. Breeding Ultramels to Amels results in approximately 50% Ultramels and approximately 50% Amels. Generally, Ultramels are more colorful than Ultras, but there are exceptions in both directions. Breeding an Ultra type to any non-Amel corn will result in NO Ultra types, since Ultra is recessive to Wild-type.
Other than appearance, the primary (and inherent) value of Ultra Type Corns (Ultras and Ultramels and their color and pattern compounds) is their mode of genetic inheritance. Since they are co-dominant to Amelanistics, pairing any Ultra type to ANY Amel corn (or Het thereof) will render some Ultra types in the F1 (first generation) of out-crossing to non-Ultra type corns. The results of pairing an Ultra-type with a non-Amel corn (or Het thereof) will render Mendelian results that parallel recessively-inherited mutations; no Ultra-types will result, and all progeny will be Het for Ultra when bred to non-Amels.
This is one of the few corn snake morphs that you should not purchase based on a pictorial example. This is because of the extreme diversity of appearance within the mutation/morph. I could easily make this statement about most corn snake mutants, but the reason I do so here is because the real value of this mutation is its’ mode of inheritance. Few corn snake mutations are inherited in dominant fashion, so the primary reason most snake lovers purchase Ultras or Ultramels is because when they breed one to any snake with a form of classic amelanism, approximately 50% of the F1 broods will be Ultra-type mutants (or approximately 25% – in the case of breeding the an Ultramel to a corn that is het for Amel and 100% if you breed an Ultra to an Amel type). I think you will be amply satisfied with any phenotype you receive from an Ultra type, but should you choose to buy one based on the sample picture on any web site, you may be disappointed if yours does not mature to be exactly like the one that inticed you to purchase.
Important Note:
These images are not renderings of the actual animals being offered, (except for uniquely offered snakes found in the SURPLUS section of this web site). We do not provide pictures of individual hatchling snakes for sale, nor do we recommend that you ever choose a new pet based on an image of its neonatal form. Corns change so dramatically from hatchling to adult, they will NEVER have the same colors or contrasts throughout maturity. While most of the snakes we produce will mature to resemble the featured adult image(s) on our web site, unlike manufactured products that are respectively clones of each other, the nature of polygenic variation results in each animal being similar but not identical to others of its morph. The snake we select for you may not mature to be identical to the pictured examples, but will be chosen based on our experience of observing which neonates will mature to properly represent their respective morph. We take this responsibility very seriously, and therefore publish the guarantee that we will exchange your SMR snake if it does not mature to be like our advertised examples.
Tessera 02-20-13
34″ long on Feb. 20, 2013
Upon receiving the reverse trio from the seller, we all commented on the mutual peculiarity of the phenotypes. Most appeared to be the most perfectly Striped Motleys ever seen – in so much as their dorsal stripes were nearly contiguous from neck to tail tip (something never before seen in any corn snake pattern mutant) – but that was hardly possible if the admission of the breeder were true – that they were products of pairing a Striped corn with an Okeetee corn. How could these descendants of a Striped corn bred to an Okeetee be Motley types, instead of Striped? It is still unclear if those 2.1 Tesseras were F1s (first familial generation) or F2s (the originator of this line is now out of the hobby and difficult to reach – for clarification). If these three Tesseras are F1s, my deduction is that the striped corn he used in the original pairing was actually Striped AND Tessera. Even if those three were F2s, the likelihood of the mutant patriarch being a Striped Tessera is strong.
Predominantly contiguous dorsal striping is the most unique feature of most Tesseras. Even when the stripe is broken, it resumes immediately thereafter (unlike Striped and Motley mutants whose dorsal striping never resumes with any degree of renewal). Roughly 1/3 of all that have been produced so far have no stripe breaks. Another 1/3 or so have two to four stripe breaks, and the other 1/3 can have five to 20+ stripe breaks, but those breaks are merely interruptions of the stripe. Not unlike very good Striped Motleys, many Tesseras have an interruption of stripe at the girdle (anatomical location – polar to the cloaca), but unlike Striped and Motley mutants, the dorsal stripe almost always continues to the tail tip. Thus far, fully striped Tesseras have been produced from parents with some-to-many dorsal stripe breaks. Hence, broken-striped Tesseras can produce fully striped striped Tesseras, even though their stripe is broken. Incidentally, none of the original 2.1 original Tesseras in this line have complete dorsal striping, but many of their progeny and grand progeny do.
More than 2/3 of the Tesseras produced by me so far have atypically large amounts of black pigment in their non-ventral pattern — a feature roughly 1% of all Striped and Motley mutants have demonstrated to date. Less than 1/4 of all Tesseras produced by me have little to no black in their markings, and these are mostly Striped Tesseras.
Reverse Okeetee 02-19-13
Each DAY at 11:00 am. ct (GMT – 5) we will post a different SMR snake being offered at a special price.
All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.
FREE U.S. SHIPPING for each Snake-of-the-Day.
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Details
toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Tue Feb. 19,2013)
#021913
Reverse Okeetee
Female
d.o.h. 2009
49″ long on Feb 19, 2013
$250.00 shipped
Comments: Superior color
This 49″ 2009 female Reverse Okeetee corn is a great breeder and produces very pure High White Reverse when bred to higher-white males. I love the green blotch margins and some of her progeny have demonstrated those features. Probably more than I think, but since the margins are white for up to a year after they hatch, I don’t keep enough of them to find out exactly how many of her progeny inherit that color.
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Most Commonly Used Name: Reverse Okeetee
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive + Selective Variation
Sunglow Motley 02-18-13
ToDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Mon. Feb. 18, 2013)
49″ long on Feb. 18, 2013
This 2009 Striped Sunglow Motley is 49″ long and eating frozen/thawed adult mice. She lays over 20 fertile eggs each season. She brumated from October 10th, 2012 to January 31st, 2013 so she will be in the mood in three to five weeks. The Striped mutation in this snake is barely visible in this specimen, but you should get some striped mutants when breeding this female to a Striped mutant.
Many generations were spent in refining the beauty of the Sunglow Motley. Their genetic mutation is officially Amel Motley, but they have been selectively bred toward the goal of deeply saturated red coloration and classically orderly Motley pattern. For years, we were helpless to explain why the colors in this line were so deeply saturated and why they were redder than other genetic lines. In 2009, one of our friends that wondered the same and conducted breeding trials to determine what caused the intense colors. She concludes that SMR Sunglow Motleys possess the added mutation of what is sometimes referred to as Red Mask or Red Factor. It is allegedly inherited in dominant fashion (it is a recently discovered mutation and is still poorly understood). Once I validate her genetic inheritance findings, the price of Sunglow Motleys will increase, since they will undoubtedly become powerful genetic tools in deepening and saturating reds in other corn snake morphs.
TE073013
{simpleproduct:id=662}
Details: httpss://www.corn snake.net/component/virtuemart/?page=shop.product_details&product_id=662&category_id=235
TE080913
{simpleproduct:id=665}
This female Amel Tessera hatched in November of 2012. She’s now 25″ long and eating frozen/thawed fuzzy mice.
She is selling for $300.00 – which includes domestic U.S. . We ship every Mon. and Wed. for respective next-DAY delivery
TE072913
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$62.50 BALES
Robert Bales
Payment of 25% for Female Avalanche corn
($250 / 4 = $62.50)
Caramel Motley 021413
52″ long on Feb. 13, 2013