Category: Old Shop

Striped Champagne 013013s

 

 
DAY013013

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
#013013
Striped Champagne
Male
d.o.h. 2010
30″ long on Jan. 26, 2013
 
 

Striped Champagne Snow (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Champagne Snow
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive & Dominant
Morph Type: Mutation Compound ( Anery & Amel) + Dominant Coral Mutation (?Strawberry?)

Before describing Champagne Corns, first, a brief history on the Coral Snow.
Back in the 1980s when corn snake herpetoculture was in its infancy, Snow corns that had a pink or coral cast were called Coral Snows. Early in Corn Snake Herpetoculture, Snow corns were not as variable in color as they are toDAY.  At the time when pink/coral ones were dubbed Coral Snows, it was only common to see snows in two tones of white; crisp white (aka: bone white Snows), or Coral.  Back then, prediction of the coral coloration was hit-and-miss (some would start out with a blush of pink, but turn white on white) so in the absence of genetic data to explain the origin of the pink and/or coral colors, the name Coral became somewhat obscure from the hobby for many years.  After that era, Jim Stelpflug at Southwest Wisconsin Reptiles was one of the first to predictably reproduce coral colored snows, and even though pinkish snows were still seen in the hobby, Jim was reliably reproducing them – and was even able to intensify the coral coloration in most. At that time, we mistakenly believed the genemutation responsible for pink or coral colored snows was the result of Snow corns that also possessed the Hypo A mutation.  While some pink or coral colored Snows that were also Hypo mutants DID show a blush of pink, their pink cast rarely intensified to be remarkable in appearance, as is the case with Coral Snow Mutants of toDAY.  Pink and Green Snows were not rare back then, and some of those demonstrated deeply saturated pink coloration.  Again, the origin of that phenotype was (and to an extent, still is) poorly understood.  In so much as most of the early Coral Snows originated from Jim Stelpflug at SWR (Southwest Wisconsin Reptiles), it appeared obvious that some mutation he had in his genetic inventory was causing his to be more colorful than others.  The exaggerated pink/coral coloration is now believed by some to be the demonstration of the dominant-type mutation (Strawberry) that was also discovered/developed by Jim Stelpflug.  This is believed to be THE color mutation responsible for the rich colors, if not ONE OF such mutations.  I have not personally had reproductive results to validate this theory, and in a hobby that has so very many hidden mutations, perhaps Strawberry is just one of such mutations to cause such colors? Breeding trials are still ongoing in discovering more about this interesting (if not mysterious) mutation.  It is not mysterious in terms of inheritance, but in that some non-Strawberry corns can exhibit similar colors – without being Coral/Strawberry mutants.  It is not a given that every corn snake displaying inordinate amounts of pink or coral is a Strawberry mutant, but so far, breeding trials between the three most notable Coral Snow types (Salmon, Champagne, and Neon) have demonstrated that they are all at least elementally allelic (breeding any combintion of the three morphs renders Snow corns that have extreme saturation of pink, coral, or both).  Hence, there may be other gene mutations or gene modifiers involved in one or all of those morphs, but they at least share the same mutational foundation that causes them to look remarkably pink/coral – unlike classic white-on-white Snows.
 

The general conclusion in the corn snake industry at this time is that any Snow corn that is also a Strawberry Mutant (thereby exhibiting a color predominance of pink and/or coral) is a Coral Snow.  Any additional refrence to familial origins (i.e. Salmon, Champagne, or Neon) is merely a lineage descriptor that may prove valuable if and when it is determined that one or more of those bloodlines actually possesses additional mutations, or strongly influencing polygenic traits.

 

What to expect:
Champagne snows are thought to owe their general pink/coral coloration to a form of dominant mutation we categorically call CORAL, but breeding trials are ongoing to explain other mutations and/or polygenic traits render the finished product.  The actual gene thought to influence the pink/coral coloration is the Strawberry Mutation, explained in the paragraph above.  I use the name CHAMPAGNE SNOW and STRIPED CHAMPAGNE SNOW interchangeably because the original Champagne Snows were also Striped-type mutants.  Since what causes them to have the color they do is actually the same gene as what causes other Coral-type Snows (Neons, Salmons, etc.) I only use the name Champagne when referring to the Striped-type pattern snow mutants.  I say “striped-type” because a characteristic of MOST Champagne Snow mutants at this time is the somewhat unrecognizable Striped/Motley type pattern.  It is often difficult to tell if the pattern is Stripe or Striped Motley.  Usually, they display a bit of both.  Hence, Striped Champagne Snows may sometimes actually be Striped Motley Champagne Snows.  I have had limited success in cleaning up the pattern in this morph – to render classic stripes – but they’re virtually always broken up by “tweener” markings (markings that are neither wild-type, Striped, or Motley).  Often the “tweener” markings take the form of ovals, rectangles, bowties, and so on.  Like virtually all Snow corns, expect carotenoid yellow to manifest throughout maturity.

Striped Ghost Bloodred 01-31-13s

DAY013113
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
#013113
Striped Ghost Bloodred
Male
d.o.h. 2011
33″ long on Jan. 26, 2013
 

Comments:  Superior color and size maturity.  He should breed in 2013.

 
 
Striped Ghost Bloodred (no aka other than exchange of word order)
Note:  Expect DIFFUSED and BLOODRED to be incorrectly but synonymously used
Most Commonly used Name: Bloodred
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Selective Variation + Recessive
Morph Type: Selective variantion of four recessive mutations
Eye Color:  Black pupil & body ground colored iris

 

FIRST, about Bloodred vs. Diffused:
A few years ago, due to confusion regarding the heritability of the Bloodred’s base mutation (specifically that the namesake snakes were not red and/or diffused), the base mutation name was changed away from Bloodred – toDiffused.  The mechanics of this gene mutation barely diffuse the F1 homozygotes through maturity (if at all), so do not expect Diffused corns to look like Bloodreds.  It is currently believed that Bloodred corns are the product of enhancing the base mutation, Diffused via polygenetic trait modification (selective breeding) to render a red and almost pattern-less (highly diffused) corn snake.  That is not the opinion of this author, but in the absence of empirical evidence to the contrary, the best hobby and market interests are not served by published opposition to popular opinion.  In other words, I’m not in favor of changing the morph name away from the original Bloodred since the new name Diffused is equally inaccurate.  Without polygenetic modification, Diffused corns do not have a diffused appearance.

 

A brief history on Diffused mutants VS Bloodred mutants:

Initially, the corn snake gene mutation, Diffusion (formerly called Bloodred) was described as being recessively inherited, but many of the F1 generational heterozygotes exhibited some of the obvious features of the gene mutationhomozygotes.  It is extremely rare for simple recessive F1 heterozygotes to exhibit ANY features of their recessively inherited genetic mutation.  For example, F1 heterozygous Amel corn snakes have no markers that demonstrate a hint of their simple recessive mutation, Amel.  The paradoxical partial-exhibition of the Diffusion mutation in the heterozygotes resulted in the Diffused mutation being re-described as having codominant inheritance (codom for short), but was tagged with the descriptor, variable.  At that time, variable codom seemed an accurate and satisfactory genetic description for the radical color and pattern diversity among members of this mutation, but far too many geneticanomalies persisted. Identification of the inheritance of this mutation is once again considered simple recessive, but the Bloodred corn that most of us identify with toDAY is virtually always the aggregate of traits resulting from theDiffused (new mutation name) gene mutation PLUS polygenetic traits promoted by selectively breeding toward the highest expressions of melanin reduction, diffusion, and red color saturation.
.
 
Striped Ghost Bloodred:
Combining the four recessively-inherited gene mutations (Stripe, Anery, Hypo, and Bloodred/Diffused) results in this beautiful morph compound.  Many begin with striped pattern showing and slowly lose some or all of that pattern through maturity.  Others, retain their neonatal pattern, but regardless, the finished genetic product is beautiful AND worthy of breeding into other gene mutations.
 
 

 

What to expect:
As neonates, Striped Ghost Bloodred corns are often heavily patterned. Most of them demonstrate head patterns that are notably unlike those of typical corns. Most SMR Bloodreds diffuse dramatically through maturity, thereby rendering adults that are nearly devoid of head markings, side markings, (any visible dorsal markings will be very faint).  There will be NO belly checkering, but ventral coloration can be all red, all white, or red and white (no black).  Many of the early Bloodred corns in the early 1990s were overly inbred and therefore suffered poor fertility (not to mention – the progeny of many of the first generations were stubbornly lizard lovers, refusing to eat pinky mice).  Thankfully, through out-crossing in our projects to improve or change colors and patterns, Bloodreds no longer rank high in the realms of sterility or reluctance to eat rodents.   In fact, there are some seasons in which Bloodred typesare among the best feeders of our corn snake neonates.
 
 

 

Important Note:
  These images are not renderings of the actual animals being offered, (except for uniquely offered snakes found in the SURPLUSsection 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 yourSMR snake if it does not mature to be like our advertised examples.

 

Extreme Okeetee 03-09-13s

 DAY030913 
#030913
Extreme Okeetee
Female
d.o.h. 2011
35″ long on Mar. 09, 2013
 

Comments:  Superior color and size maturity.

 
Details of this morph:
 
EXTREME OKEETEE (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Extreme Okeetee
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Dominant (wild-type) + Selective Variation
Morph Type: Selective Variation of wild-type
Eye Color:  Black pupil & body ground colored iris

 

Arguably the most famous example of a corn snake morph named for its geographic origins, the Okeetee is also considered to be the most beautiful non-mutant corn snake in the species.  First popularized by Carl Kauffeld in at least two books describing his field discoveries of this beautiful and robust race of corn snake on or near the Okeetee Hunt Club in South Carolina, Okeetees have since been selectively bred for extremely bright and saturated colors.  When we say locality Okeetee, we are referring to animals whose genetic origins can be traced to the Jasper County, South Carolina region.  There is nothing magic about the Hunt Club that makes only animals in that area outstanding looking.  Corns in other states of the Corn Snake’s range can be just as beautiful, but proportionally speaking, the corns from this region are arguably more beautiful than corns found in most other regions.  Okeetees that have been selectively bred for appearance and consequently satisfy a visual hobby standard are sometimes called Okeetee morphs, but more often are called simply Okeetee corns.

Okeetees (in the hobby) are a premier example of the promotion of polygenic traits through selective breeding.  By breeding together specimens with desired characteristics, through generational selection of pairing only the ones with superior target features, it doesn’t take long to render stunning examples of the morph – without the aid of gene mutations.  Please, do not attempt to hunt for Okeetee corns on private property.  The Okeetee Hunt Club in South Carolina expressly forbids trespassing, and it is possible to be legally prosecuted, if caught on their land without express written permission.

 

What to expect:
Oddly, most of the best Okeetees we produce are the least beautiful – as hatchlings.  If you tossed a good Okeetee in a bucket of hatchling common corns, you’d likely not identify it until after several months of maturity.  Neonates should show bold black blotch margins, but until one or two sheds, the bright ground colors are not obvious.  By that time, blotch colors are beginning to show, and adult Okeetees should have clean (low color freckling) ground and blotch color zones, separated by noticeably broad, black borders.  Most of the spectacular examples of this morph are so good, they are sold by other names in the hobby – and are consequently more expensive (i.e. Extreme Okeetees, Buckskin Okeetees, Banded Okeetees).  Another notable feature of this morph is its robust size and feeding vigor.  Okeetees (which CAN have orange on their bellies – but is relatively rare at this time) have the most spectacular black and white checkered bellies, compared to other wild-type corns.
 
 
okex007
Do not expect any hatchling/neonate Okeetee to look anything like the adults.  This picture shows an adult female Extreme Okeetee with several of her newly hatched babies (no, she was not present when they hatched in the incubator).  This adult looked exactly like the babies shown in this image when she was their size.

 

 

Ultramel-HET-caramel020213s

DAY020213

 
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
#020213
43” long on Feb. 1, 2013
Ultramel Het Caramel and Charcoal
Female
d.o.h. 2010
 

Comments:  Feeding on frozen/thawed adult mice. This 2010 female Ultramel Het for Caramel is now 43″ long. She brumated (hibernated) from October 10, 2012 to January 31, 2013 so after some fattening, she should be ready to breed in a matter of weeks.

INTERSPECIES  HYBRID Details

Ultramel (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Ultramel
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Codominant with Amel, but recessive to Wild-type
Morph Type: Hybrid Codominant
Eye Color:  Dark Red pupil & body ground colored iris


Note:  Ultramel is the visual heterozygote of the the mutation, Ultra.

INTERSPECIES  HYBRID
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.

Both Ultras and Ultramels render some of the most extreme examples of hypomelanism in corns, but a hypo-type phenotype is the genetic and visual function we recognize.  Some people call them Ultra or Ultramel Hypos, but I prefer to leave off the “hypo” since the chromosomal location of this mutation is the same as Amel (Ultra and Amel reside on the same locus of the chromosome) and therefore has nothing genetically to do with the Hypo gene locus.  Also, the hobby vernacular for the double mutant that is homozygous for both Hypo A and Ultramel would be Ultramel Hypo.  Upon hearing/reading these two words together, you would surely presume that the snake Ultramel Hypo is a double mutant.  Hence, those two words together are incorrect and confusing — when describing the single mutant genotypes, Ultramel or Ultra.  When you breed an Ultra type to any corn that is not Amel (or Het Amel), this mutation genetically behaves like a recessive.  Example:  Pairing an Ultra with an Amel results in 100% Ultramel progeny.  Pairing an Ultramel with an Amel results in progeny consisting of approximately 50% Amels and approximately 50% Ultramels.  Pairing an Ultra with a wild-type (non-Amel) corn results in 100% normals (wild type) that are all het for Ultra.

What to expect:
Hatchlings often look like extreme Hypo mutants, but some are nearly as brightly colored as Amel corns (lacking so much overall black). Of course, the main distinction between the two is the pink/red eye pupil in Amels and the wine-colored pupil in Ultramels.  There is great variation in the degree of red in both eye pupil and pattern coloration.
 

Important Note:
  These images are not renderings of the actual animals being offered, (except for uniquely offered snakes found in the SURPLUS section of th

Buckskin Okeetee10-26s

 
DAY102612
 
 

#102512
Buckskin Okeetee
Female
d.o.h. 2010
38″ long on October 21, 2012
 

Comments: Superior color and size maturity.

The Buckskin Okeetees are the result of selective breeding toward the obvious tan ground colors that accentuate the red markings.

Butter Motley-13

NOW READY FOR SHIPPING
Butter Motley (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Butter Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Butter + Motley)
Eye Color:  Red pupil

 

This compound morph results from combining the color mutations Amel + Caramel = Butter and the pattern mutation, Motley. Color and pattern are variable, but it is apparent that the Motley mutation has a beneficial color impact upon the Butter corn’s coloration, and that impact is one of enhancement.  I don’t recall ever seeing Striped or Motley Butter corns that was not more deeply yellow than Butter corns without a pattern mutation.

 

What to expect:
Expect  most neonates to have surprisingly low-quality yellow (compared to adults), and pattern on some may actually be brown for up to a year or longer.  I have personally never seen one retain non yellow colors, so be patient.  In six to 18 months, all other colors should transform to yellow.  The pattern mutation, Motley demonstrates its power when combined with butter by heavily saturating and otherwise improving the yellow – compared to non-Motley Butters.

 

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.

 

 

Caramel 020313s

 
 
DAY020313
 
 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
#020313
Caramel Het Amel (Butter)
Female
d.o.h. 2010
48″ long on Jan. 31, 2013
 
This 2010 female Caramel Het for Amel (butter) is now 48″ long, feeding on frozen/thawed adult mice. She brumated (hibernated) from October 10, 2012 to January 31, 2013.
 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Caramel (no aka)

Most Commonly Used Name: Caramel
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Single Recessive Mutation
Eye Color: Black pupil & body ground colored iris

 

At first glance, Caramel mutants are not usually attractive – since gold or brown color actions of this gene mutation essentially replace the rich red tones predominant in most corn snakes. Aside from their general appearance, the Caramel mutation has some unusual genetic properties (compared to most recessively inherited corn snake gene mutants), but this mutation is essential if you wish to eventually create yellow corns. The most notably atypical characteristic of this mutation is that of heterozygous (Het for short) Caramels often displaying mutation markers (exhibiting traits of the homozygous phenotypes). It is not typical for out-crossed F1 corns to show markers of their gene mutation, but from pairing a Caramel corn to a non-mutant corn of any other color and/or pattern, most of the out-crossed F1 progeny will exhibit a blush of gold or yellow as neonates. In other words, most of the first generation babies will not look like typical wild-type corns. As adults, most corns that are Het for caramel are easily distinguishable from Hets of virtually all other F1 recessive out-crosses, but since this is not always the case, the co-incidental caramel coloration is thought to be the result of polygenic traits derived from the first non-mutant corns that were paired with Caramel types. If this is the case, it demonstrates the power of polygenetic forces by the persistence to show these colors after hundreds of out-crossings – since the late 1980s when this mutation was first discovered.

 

What to expect:
Caramel mutants are relatively lackluster, when compared to some of their compound products (i.e. Butters and Ambers ). There are still other corn snake mutations (both color and pattern) whose out-crossed progeny will have modified appearance when paired with Caramel mutants, so do not be afraid to mix this seemingly “lazy” genetic color mutation with other corn snake mutations. Like most corn snake mutants, both adult and neonate Caramels are highly variable, spanning the color spectrum from brown to gold, and some even exhibit green tones. As neonates, many Caramels are similar to hatchling Anery corns, but as they mature, the typical caramel coloration slowly manifests. Some of our lines have obvious blotch borders, but most have borders that are barely discernible and some have no blotch borders.

Important Note:
These images are not renderings of the actual animals being offered, (except for uniquely offered snakes found in the SURPLUSsection 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 yourSMR snake if it does not mature to be like our advertised examples.

 

 

 

 

 

Caramel Motley-13

ONLY FEMALES ARE IN STOCK NOW (04-21-14). 
 
Caramel Motley (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Caramel Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance:Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Caramel & Motley)
Eye Color:  Black pupil & body ground colored iris

 

This compound morph results from combining the color mutation, Caramel with the pattern mutation Motley.  As Motley does in genetic union with most other color mutations of corns, the aggregate appearance of this compound morph is certainly improved.  The mechanics of both base mutations are explained on the hyperlinked pages for Caramel and Motley.

 

What to expect:
Motley pattern is typically variable and color is also variable.  Colors of hatchling can vary from gold to brown to a greenish hue and all shades of those colors.  Some even resemble pale versions of anery mutants, but as adults all of ours mature to be shades of gold or brown.

 

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.

 

Honey Motley-13

NOW READY FOR SHIPPING
 
Honey Motley (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Honey Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Single Recessive Mutations of Sunkissed and Caramel
Eye Color:  Black pupil & body ground colored iris

 

Most Honey corns are aptly named for their namesake with overal coloration resembling bee honey. Combining Sunkissed (the second hypomelanistic mutation to be discovered) with Caramel, Honey corns have soft and beautiful colors. Review  SUNKISSED corns for more information about the distinguishing mutation that makes Honey Corns so appealing.  Some features the Honey inherits from the Sunkissed mutant side of its family tree include:

  1. Generally grouchy demeanor toward humans.
  2. Head pattern that is odd and atypical for being a corn snake.
  3. Often elongated markings that are sometimes spaced farther apart than most corns.
  4. Atypical belly pattern; usually less than most corns and spaced sometimes oddly and not in the classic checkerboard pattern of most corns.  Breeding Sunkissed (and therefore Honey) mutants to other corn snake mutations and morphs often promotes aberrant pattern from the SK or HO mutants of such pairings.  Many SK and HO Motleys have considerably more belly markings, which is atypical since classic Motley mutants seldom have a single belly marking.   

Enough of the odd characteristics of these beautiful mutants. If there is one negative stigma attached to this mutation, it’s surely the potential that the one you get may have a genetic defect sometimes called “star-gazer’s disorder”.  The is called a lethal mutation since effects of the muation are not advantageous to the homozygote.  Star-gazer’s causes the snake to have limited or aberrant control over balance.  Similar neural disorders have been demonstrated in many animal species, and sometimes the cuase is viral.  Also, the neural symptoms of this mutation parallel that of animals with certain parasites that retard balance control. Star-gazer’s in corn snakes it not a contagious disease or pathogen, so the only way your snake’s will get it is through genetics.  It is inherited recessively, so some people that swear it is not lurking in the genes of their snakes, cannot really be certain of that – without controlled breeding trials.  Only by breeding a suspect corn to a star-gazer homozygote or heterozygote can one determine the presence of the gene.  Ideally, if you have any corns that MAY have this genetic mutation, you should breed it to a known homozygote.  Even that is not proof positive, given that you must have at least 20 progeny (of which 100% are not afflicted with the disorder) in order to be reasonably assured that it’s not in your snake’s genome.  This SG mutation was discovered in Sunkissed mutants, but it is not linked to the Sunkissed mutation.  It has been reported in several other non-Sunkissed corns (mutant or not).  Hence, if you discover you have a star-gazer mutant, it is recommended that you restrict it’s genes to creating “control” snakes that can be used by others to determine the presence or absence of the lethal gene in their snakes.  Even though it is not transmitted like a viral pathogen, the danger of the gene inflicting many other breeding lines of snakes is likely and potentially disastrous, in the absence of breeding trials.  Such trials are under way here at SMR (and with many breeders) and if/when we determine that any of our snakes are carriers of this lethal gene, they will be euthanized.  BTW, if you think you’re safe because you have been breeding sunkissed corns (or any other corn snake type) for over four generations without seeing any homozygotes of the disorder, think again.  If your first Sunkissed corn (or Okeetee or other type) was het for this mutation, it could take many generations for you to make the discovery.  Since each snake hands one copy of its’ genotype to each of its’ progeny, potentially half of each generation could be heterozygotes.  If you (or your customers) continually bred those heterozygotes to non genetic cariers of the mutation, only part of their progeny would inherit one copy of the mutation.  If you were lucky in not seeing any sign of the gene in over four generations (or potentially unlucky, in this case), it does not follow that none of your snakes are carrying a copy of the gene.  Until you pair two of them with a copy of the gene, it will continue to hide in the family tree.  Several years ago, I bought three female Okeetees from a breeder that is now out of the corn snake trade/hobby.  They were sold as being het for Sunkissed.  I bred one of the females to one of my best Extreme Okeetees and sold the babies as Okeetees.  Two years later, a customer called me to ask why some of the Okeetee babies she produced from the pair of Okeetees she got from me were doing the loopy, corkscrew locomotive thing.  Because I had never produced a star-gazer homozygote, I naively ruled that out, but upon reviewing acquisition records, I identified that the parents of her mutants were the Okeetees het for Sunkissed.  I immediately tracked down the other two customers who had purchased some of those, advising them that those snakes could be carriers of the lethal gene.  I then euthanized the three adult female Okeetees I purchased from the other breeder.  This lethal gene could be in hundreds or thousands of corns right now, and they don’t have to be Sunkissed corns.  Hence, if you ever discover that you have the gene, advise all customers that purchased its progeny, and if you’re not going to use the carriers for producing TEST snakes for others, I recommend that you humanely euthanize them.  By essentially eliminating them from the gene pool, you have take an important step toward eliminating this horrible gene.

Mixing the Sunkissed mutation with other color mutations and with pattern mutants is never disappointing.  Except for the grouchy demeanor, I don’t recall seeing a single Sunkissed or Honey mutation compound I didn’t like.  I know you’ll have fun mixing and matching them with other corn snake mutations and morphs.

 

What to expect:
As neonates, they are fairly colorful and most of them keep and intensify that honey coloration.  Some of mine actually appear to be greenish-gold in overall coloration.   Some of the blotch marginal pattern only covers half of one scale each, rendering the vision of faint or pixelated pattern outlines outlines.  The head pattern on most is difficult to explain, so we’ll just say it’s “un-cornly” – but tasteful.    Most breeders hesitate to mention the scratch on the side of the new car you’re buying, but the only thing most Sunkissed and Honey mutants have in common (other than their beauty and genetic potential when bred to other mutants) is their low regard for human beings.  We have a couple here that are predictable and “human friendly”, but fewer of the Honeys are that way – compared to their Sunkissed mutant counterparts.   I see that trait somewhat diluted when we outcross them to other mutants, but it would be wrong not to warn you that most Sunkissed-type corns are not the pets you’d freely hand to the children. 

 

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.

Salmon Snow-13

NOW READY FOR SHIPPING!

 

Salmon Snow (aka: Coral Snow)
Most Commonly Used Name: Salmon Snow
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive & Dominant
Morph Type: Mutation Compound ( Anery & Amel) + Dominant Coral Mutation (Strawberry?)

 

Before describing Champagne Corns, first, a brief history on the Coral Snow.
Back in the 1980s when corn snake herpetoculture was in its infancy, Snow corns that had a pink or coral cast were called Coral Snows. Early in Corn Snake Herpetoculture, Snow corns were not as variable in color as they are toDAY.  At the time when pink/coral ones were dubbed Coral Snows, it was only common to see snows in two tones of white; crisp white (aka: bone white Snows), or Coral.  Back then, prediction of the coral coloration was hit-and-miss (some would start out with a blush of pink, but turn white on white) so in the absence of genetic data to explain the origin of the pink and/or coral colors, the name Coral became somewhat obscure from the hobby for many years.  After that era, Jim Stelpflug at Southwest Wisconsin Reptiles was one of the first to predictably reproduce coral colored snows, and even though pinkish snows were still seen in the hobby, Jim was reliably reproducing them – and was even able to intensify the coral coloration in most. At that time, we mistakenly believed the genemutation responsible for pink or coral colored snows was the result of Snow corns that also possessed the Hypo A mutation.  While some pink or coral colored Snows that were also Hypo mutants DID show a blush of pink, their pink cast rarely intensified to be remarkable in appearance, as is the case with Coral Snow Mutants of toDAY.  Pink and Green Snows were not rare back then, and some of those demonstrated deeply saturated pink coloration.  Again, the origin of that phenotype was (and to an extent, still is) poorly understood.  In so much as most of the early Coral Snows originated from Jim Stelpflug at SWR (Southwest Wisconsin Reptiles), it appeared obvious that some mutation he had in his genetic inventory was causing his to be more colorful than others.  The exaggerated pink/coral coloration is now believed by some to be the demonstration of the dominant-type mutation (Strawberry) that was also discovered/developed by Jim Stelpflug.  This is believed to be THE color mutation responsible for the rich colors, if not ONE OF such mutations.  I have not personally had reproductive results to validate this theory, and in a hobby that has so very many hidden mutations, perhaps Strawberry is just one of such mutations to cause such colors? Breeding trials are still ongoing in discovering more about this interesting (if not mysterious) mutation.  It is not mysterious in terms of inheritance, but in that some non-Strawberry corns can exhibit similar colors – without being Coral/Strawberry mutants.  It is not a given that every corn snake displaying inordinate amounts of pink or coral is a Strawberry mutant, but so far, breeding trials between the three most notable Coral Snow types (Salmon, Champagne, and Neon) have demonstrated that they are all at least elementally allelic (breeding any combintion of the three morphs renders Snow corns that have extreme saturation of pink, coral, or both).  Hence, there may be other gene mutations or gene modifiers involved in one or all of those morphs, but they at least share the same mutational foundation that causes them to look remarkably pink/coral – unlike classic white-on-white Snows.
 

The general conclusion in the corn snake industry at this time is that any Snow corn that is also a Strawberry Mutant (thereby exhibiting a color predominance of pink and/or coral) is a Coral Snow.  Any additional refrence to familial origins (i.e. Salmon, Champagne, or Neon) is merely a lineage descriptor that may prove valuable if and when it is determined that one or more of those bloodlines actually possesses additional mutations, or strongly influencing polygenic traits.

 

What to expect:
Champagne snows are thought to owe their general pink/coral coloration to a form of dominant mutation we categorically call CORAL, but breeding trials are ongoing to explain other mutations and/or polygenic traits render the finished product.  The actual gene thought to influence the pink/coral coloration is the Strawberry Mutation, explained in the paragraph above.  I use the name CHAMPAGNE SNOW and STRIPED CHAMPAGNE SNOW interchangeably because the original Champagne Snows were also Striped-type mutants.  Since what causes them to have the color they do is actually the same gene as what causes other Coral-type Snows (Neons, Salmons, etc.) I only use the name Champagne when referring to the Striped-type pattern snow mutants.  I say “striped-type” because a characteristic of MOST Champagne Snow mutants at this time is the somewhat unrecognizable Striped/Motley type pattern.  It is often difficult to tell if the pattern is Stripe or Striped Motley.  Usually, they display a bit of both.  Hence, Striped Champagne Snows may sometimes actually be Striped Motley Champagne Snows.  I have had limited success in cleaning up the pattern in this morph – to render classic stripes – but they’re virtually always broken up by “tweener” markings (markings that are neither wild-type, Striped, or Motley).  Often the “tweener” markings take the form of ovals, rectangles, bowties, and so on.  Like virtually all Snow corns, expect carotenoid yellow to manifest throughout maturity. 

 

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.