Category: Old Shop

Until the past few years, since the discovery of the three recessively inherited mutations, Anery + Hypo = Ghost, and Motley, Ghost Motleys were called Pastel Motleys.  The reason is that back in the 1980s when the first one was seen, the males exhibited what they still do toDAY; a pastel wash of earth tones.  The females never had that over-wash of pastel coloration, but we can’t have two names for the same morph, so they were happily known as Pastel Motleys.  Some of the new corn snake breeders were unaware of the propensity for male ghost types to have such color tones, and for awhile, people were saying that any ghost with the pinkish color was a “pastel” and those without it were just ghosts.  Well, since the females are rarely any colors other than gray, black and/or silver, it’s nonsense to call the males Pastel Motleys and the females Ghost Motleys.  Since the flesh-colored overtones in the males don’t appear to be derived from a separate mutation that only affects males (gender linkage), it was decided to call both genders Ghost Motleys.  That is wise, because now that some of the coral mutations are making their way into many of our compound mutations, and because the anery types display it more prominently, we must leave references of the coral/pastel/peach/pink tones to compound mutants that owe that appearance to a separate mutation.

This triple recessive mutation is the product of the color gene mutation, Lavender, the Hypo A mutation (sometimes considered a color mutation for its impact on black and some ground color zones, and the pattern mutation, Motley. As with many Lavender morphs, eye pupils can be red/pink or black. 

This double recessive mutation is the product of the color gene mutation, Lavender, and the pattern mutation, Motley. As with many Lavender morphs, eye pupils can be red/pink or black. 

Motley (no aka)

The first description of this corn snake pattern mutation was published by the late Dr. H. Bernard Bechtel in the 1980s.  His breeding trials demonstrated the heritability of this mutation to be simple recessive.  The distinguishing feature of those is belly checkering.  Good Motleys have an orderly and contiguous pattern of spots down the dorsum that represent spaces in what appears to be a continuous, wide stripe of color running from the neck tail-ward.  The size, shape, location, organization, and number of circular pattern interruptions on the back define the grade of individuals, but until recently, the one pattern distinction we could rely upon was that of having no checkers on their belly.  Lately, we’re seeing Motleys with some black checkering, but it’s random and sparse.  I suspect that one DAY we’ll see Motleys with quite a bit of belly checkering.  In fact, certain genetic compounds of Motley have somewhat reliable belly markings (i.e. Sunglow Motley and Lavender Motley).

Opal corns are the triple recessive compound of the three color mutations, Lavender + Amel = Opal & Motley.  Many Opal Motley corns look like ordinary Snow Motley corns, but some are what we call bi-colors, showing an orange or coral or pink ground color between dorsal pattern blotches.  There is usually no way to determine which neonates will mature to be bi-colors, but most of ours mature to have such colors.  Motley usually has a multiplier impact on the appearance of compound mutants, but in the case of light colored mutants like Opals, Motley’s impact is slight in some individuals and strong in others.

Hypo corns have a potentially confusing name.   I refer to the reality that they were named for the Latin/Greek derived term that best describes the genetic mechanics of this mutation — Hypo (greatly reduced) and melanism (black pigment).  Hence, we use the capitalized name Hypo to apply to this particular morph and lower case hypo referencing reduction of any color or pattern in other mutations (i.e. hypoerythrism). At this time, there are at least three other hypo-type mutations in corns (i.e. Lava, Sunkissed, Ultra).

General Note:
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 identical to each other, the nature of polygenic variation results in no two specimens being exactly the same.  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 replace your SMR snake if it does not mature to be like our advertised examples.

Miami Phase (not to be confused with Locality Miami corns) being a non-mutant morph, it is not inherited recessively, and the polygenetic nature of trait modification normally results in a higher variety of coloration among morph members. While there is some variety among our Miami corns, the color alteration of gray and orange or brick red (from neonate to adult) demonstrated in this genetic line is remarkable.

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.  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 the desired 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 arrested, if caught on their land without express written permission.

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 out-number those that have inferior color and pattern.  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.

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.

 

 

 

Locality Miami corns rarely have predictable appearance in the corn snake hobby.  Many of the snake catchers in South Florida will tell you that pockets of these locality snakes are remarkably similar to each other, but in so much as Locality Miami corns often fetch higher prices, unscrupulous sellers are sometimes tempted to sell corns found in other parts of Florida as Locality Miami Corns. Since there is no DNA test that will authenticate the geographic origins of any corn snake, Benjamin Franklin’s warning, “buyer beware” here applies.  That said, here at SMR we have gone to a bit of hard work and research to verify that the ancestors of our Miami stock were indeed collected in South Dade County.  In addition to that, we have been strict about selectively breeding the ones we think most visually typify Locality Miamis, in favor of their less obvious siblings.  Hence, our Locality Miamis have the bonus of also being beautifully colored and patterned and readily eat unaltered, frozen/thawed pinky mice.  Some of our Miami Phase corns (not necessarily Locality Specific) bear a resemblance to our Locality pure stock, in that we have selected toward the Locality look in reproducing our Miami Phase corns.