Old Shop – Page 174 – SMR Archive

Ghost

Ghost (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Ghost
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Anery + Hypo A)

Eye Color: Black pupil & body ground colored iris (usually silver or pale blue)

This compound recessive morph results from combining the two recessive color mutations, Anery and Hypo A. The finished genetic product reminds one of a pale or “ghostly” version of the Anery mutation (which of course, is precisely what it is).

What to expect:

Hatchlings are essentially miniatures of their adult form, unlike most corn snake mutations that dramatically morph from hatchling to adult. Like many Anery types, the carotenoid yellow retained from their diet – manifests with maturity, therefore, will not be seen in the neonates. Some will acquire more yellow than others. Like their Anery counterparts, adult males have an overall coloration of earth tones, but females very rarely exhibit such coloration. Most adult females are varying shades of gray and black, while males are usually anything between tan and brown in color overtones. Of course, there are exceptions where some males will not have earth tones and some females will. Such exceptions are very rare in the base mutation, Anery.

Important Note:
The advertising images on our web site are representations of the average adult example of each morph. 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.

Coral Ghost

First, a brief history of the Coral-type Corns:

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 gene mutation 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.

Granite – aka: Diffused Anery

Granite (aka: Anery Bloodred, Anery Blood, Diffused Anery)
Most Commonly Used Name: Granite
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation Compound ( Anery + Diffused)

Eye Color: Black pupil & body ground colored iris (usually silver)

Go to History for more details about the DIFFUSED / BLOODRED base mutation of this compound morph.

This compound morph results from combining the color mutation, Anery with the pattern mutation Diffused. As with most morph compounds that include Diffused, the Granite mutations color effect is greatly diffused (markings often barely visible). Except for some of the color and pattern variants of this mutation compound. Male Granite Corns are usually more colorful than females, demonstrating a wash of many different soft colors (e.g. coral, pink, yellow, tan).

What to expect:
Many Granite hatchlings look like little more than regular Anery Corns, but the head should have some form of Bloodred/Diffused head pattern, and the belly will be devoid of classic Anery Corn snake black & white checkering. The belly pattern can have colors – and even pattern – but not organized checkering. Carotenoid yellow – retained from diet – is common in this mutation compound and often contributes to interesting color combinations.

High White Reverse Okeetee-12

High White Reverse Okeetee (aka: High White Corn)
Most Commonly Used Name: High White Reverse Okeetee
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive + Selective Variation

Morph Type: Selective variant of single recessive mutation

Eye Color: Red pupil

High White Reverse Okeetees are variants of the basic Reverse Okeetee mutants (Amel is the only mutation known to exist in this morph). Genetically speaking, Reverse Okeetees are Amel corns that have been selectively bred to promote their target look (Highly saturated blotch colors, separated from clean and unstippled ground coloration by prominent white blotch margins). High Whites are selectively bred variants of Reverse Okeetees – toward the target phenotype of having the cleanest white ground coloration. Since the only mutation they possess is Amel, the obvious distinction between any Reverse Okeetee and the average Amel corn is the distinctive color scheme. Red or orange markings are not difficult to reproduce through generational line breeding, but the white background color is very difficult to achieve, and sometimes difficult to maintain through subsequent generations. The white background and red (or orange) markings have been enhanced via polygenetic traits, modified through selective promotion of only the best target phenotypes. While we have greatly reduced the orange coloration in the ground color zones, even our best High Whites show a blush of orange between markings, especially on the first 1/3 of the body. High White refers to the predominantly white ground color zones, but some also have atypically broad white blotch margins.

When breeding two Hifh White Reverse Okeetees together, because they are Amel mutants, you are assured of getting 100% amels, but factoring in the variability of the interactions between genes (polygenetics) means that not necessarily all the offspring will be marketable High Whites. We cull out the ones that do not satisfy our quality standards for High White Reverse Okeetee color and pattern, and those are sold as Reverse Okeetee corns.

What to expect:

As neonates, all High Whites are shockingly red or orange on white, but expect neonates and adults to exhibit slight amounts of pale orange ground color between markings, relegated mostly to the front part of the body. I don’t recall ever seeing one that was completely devoid of color litter over the entire ground zones, but we’re getting closer to that with each generation. If our High White Reverse Okeetee corns did not have such thick white borders, they would be perfect candy canes. Some of the hatchlings displaying orange markings mature to have redder markings, and some of those starting with red markings change to orange. About 75% of all our red ones stay red, and about the same percentage of the orange marked ones stay orange.

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.

Hybino – aka: Hypo Amel

Hybino (aka: Hypo Amel)
Most Commonly Used Name: Hypo Amel
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: recessive
Morph Type: Double Mutation compound (Amel + Hypo A)

Eye Color: Red pupil

This compound recessive morph results from combining the two recessive color mutations, Amel and Hypo A. Many snake morphs are called Hybinos, but this term for snakes that are both Hypo and Amel is seldom used in the corn snake hobby. The main reason is that the homozygous version of this double gene mutation is sometimes virtually impossible to discern from typical Amels. Most of ours have more deeply saturated colors in both markings and ground color zones. Therefore, we feel that the morph name Hybino is appropriate.

What to expect:

Hatchlings often look like Sunglow corns (selectively bred Amel corns that have more highly concentrated orange/red coloration). Adults should be more color saturated than most Amel corns.

Diffused Caramel-13

Diffused Caramel (aka: Caramel Bloodred, Diffuse Caramel)
Most Commonly Used Name: Caramel Bloodred
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Caramel + Diffused)

Eye Color: Black pupil & body ground colored iris

Go to History for more details about the DIFFUSED / BLOODRED base mutation of this compound morph.

This compound morph results from combining the color mutation, Caramel with the pattern mutation Diffused. As with most morph compounds that include Diffuse, the Caramel mutation’s color effect is greatly diffused. Another mechanism of the Diffused mutation is to reduce black, but since there is little to no black in most Caramel mutants, the lateral markings of this compound mutation are not diffused – as one would expect to see. With concentrated efforts to correct this perceived anomaly, in a couple of generations, this morph should improve in appearance.

What to expect:
Expect the hatchlings to look virtually identical in general appearance to typical Caramel hatchlings, except for the head and belly markings. The head should have some form of Diffuse head pattern, and the belly should be completely devoid of classic corn snake checkering. The belly pattern can have colors – and even pattern – but black should be absent.

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.

Lavender

Lavender (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Lavender
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Single Recessive Mutation

Eye Color: Red pupil & body ground colored iris (see details below about some having black pupils)

There are several distinct features among Lavender mutants of any variety. One baffling characteristic common in the Lavender mutation is that most of them have eye pupils that are some shade of pink – virtually identical to most albino (Amel) corn snakes. Nobody yet knows why but some have black pupils. Another feature in most Lavender corns is that virtually all of them hatch smaller in size than any other corn snake mutation. What they lack in hatchling size they make up for in appetite. Not so much that they are ravenous feeders (they actually ARE), but collectively relative to all other corn snake mutations, Lavenders statistically favor pinky mice more than any other corns we produce. Our adult Lavender types are essentially the same size as other corn snake morphs, even though they start out so tiny. Many lavenders resemble Ghost corn snakes, as babies and adults.

What to expect:

Most hatchlings are some shade of pale lavender or gray, and as detailed above, they are the tiniest hatchlings in the corn snake hobby. Some have peach tones between markings, while some have pale and are lacking in contrast between markings and ground color zones. Through maturity, most will keep their basic neonate coloration, but unlike most corns whose colors become more saturated with age, Lavender types almost always lost color saturation through maturity. It is difficult to discern between basic lavenders and Hypo Lavenders, since there is a distinct lack of melanin in both. Most have red pupils, but for genetic reasons we don’t yet understand, some have black pupils. I’ve seen other morphs that were virtually identical to most adult lavenders, so distinguishing between them is not easy without a genetic family history. Unless Lavenders are bi-colored (having a peach or coral ground color between dorsal markings), they are highly variable in color. Expect everything from pale gray to lavender.

Hypo Bloodred

Hypo Bloodred (aka: Hypo Blood, Diffused Hypo)
Most Commonly Used Name: Hypo Bloodred
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Hypo + Bloodred)

Eye Color: Black pupil & body ground colored iris (some can be so hypomelanistic, their pupils can be gray to dark red).

Go to History for more details about the DIFFUSED / BLOODRED base mutation of this compound morph.

This compound morph results from combining the color mutation, Hypo with the pattern mutation, Bloodred. As with most morph compounds that include Bloodred, the Hypo bloodred mutation‘s color effect is greatly diffused (markings often barely visible), but unlike the red eyes on the Fire Corn, the pupils of most Hypo Bloods are black. Occasionally, one will have reddish-black pupils, but unless red in the pupil is being seen under strong light, pupils are almost always black. Except for some of the color and pattern variants of this mutation compound, some Hypo Bloods have such diminished melanin that they are indistinguishable from Fire Corns (except for eye color).

What to expect:

Many Hypo Bloodred hatchlings look like little more than regular Bloodred Corns, but their overall coloration is more pale – in the dramatic reduction of melanin. Compared to the red of the Fire Corn, most Hypo Bloodreds are more orange. In time, we should be able to infuse more red via polygenetics and/or the red mask mutation. Adults should have a softer look than their classic Bloodred counterparts – due in part to the overall reduction of melanin.

Rosy Bloodred

Diffuse Rosy (aka: Rosy Bloodred, Rosy Blood, Diffused Kastanie)
Most Commonly Used Name: Rosy Bloodred (pending genetic verification)
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Mutation Compound (?Kastanie?) + Diffuse)

Eye Color: Black pupil & body ground colored iris

Since I began breeding this morph in 1999 when I received a group of them from Adam Sweetman in Kansas, they have been a genetic mystery to me. Upon seeing the first one, I recall the inescapable reality that it was a color variant of the mutation, Diffused. Learning that the first ones were produced from pairing two wild-caught Key Corns (aka: Rosy Rat Snakes), I reasoned that they were Diffuse Pattern Mutants that owed their atypical coloration to the Diffused corn’s classic alteration of overall tan coloration. But what are the odds that Diffuse mutants were slithering around on a Southern Florida Key? I began breeding trials to discern if they were actually Diffuse mutants, and in two separate breedings of these snakes to novel Diffuses, the progeny proportions demonstrated that indeed Diffuse was responsible for the pattern portion of this Morph. Inexplicable was the odd – but beautiful – orange and orange/red overtones. And many of the first ones I bred had solid red bellies with little or no white pattern zones (highly atypical in Diffused corns). Were these really Diffuses or mimic non-mutants? BTW, it is probably obvious why I called them Rosy Bloodreds. They appeared to be Bloodreds (new name: Diffused) and were the progeny of two wild-caught Rosy Rats.

Except for the brief breeding trials to only two novel Bloodreds, I saw no reason to alter the appearance of Diffused Rosies, so I didn’t out-cross to mutants or non-mutants of any kind until 2005. In 2005, I bred a Snow Corn to one and got the typically atypical F¹ progeny we see with out-crossed Bloodreds. Many of the F1 babies exhibited partial Diffused markings, and most also had the orange or orange/red overtones. When I finally paired two of the F¹ out-crosses, I received non-color mutants in addition to the mutations; Snow, Anery, Amel, and among those, some were Diffuse pattern mutants (as expected). Upon showing those F²s to several Corn Snake breeders in Germany (one of whom was Frank Schuab – the discoverer of the recessively-inherited Kastanie Mutation), they commented that the non pattern mutant F² neonates were respectively identical to neonatal Kastanies and their color compounds, Mandarin (Amel Kastanie). In 2010, I paired one of the SMR non-pattern mutants to a German Kastanie and there were only two progeny phenotypes, Kastanie-like and Mandarin-like. Upon reviewing pictures of these F² neonates, the same three Germany Corn Snake breeders collectively agree that with some expected color exceptions, they APPEARED to be Kastanie Mutants. In 2010, I sent a few of those to Germany for independent breeding trials with known German Kastanies. I will not officially declare that the SMR Diffused Rosies (aka: Rosy Bloodreds) are actually Kastanie Diffused Corns until subsequent breeding trial results are reviewed in 2012 or 2013.

I digress . . .

I have been breeding Bloodred corns to Rosy Rats (aka: Key Corns) for many years. In virtually every such breeding project, almost all out-crossed F¹ progeny were identical to the results you’d get from pairing two Bloodreds. In other words, the diffusion seen in good Bloodreds through maturity, the atypically corn snake head patterns, the greatly reduced black everywhere on the snake throughout maturity, and the un-checkered belly were demonstrated in virtually all those F¹s. One can’t help but wonder if there is a relationship between the Diffused mutation and most Rosy Rats (Key Corns). I say ‘most’ Rosy Rats because, just like Diffused corns, not all will have the same degree of mutant traits (atypical corn snake head markings, reduced black, un-checkered bellies, and diffusion throughout maturity). This is precisely what is seen in Diffused corns. Some can pass for Bloodreds, some have various degrees of one/some of the other visual features of Diffused corns, and some will have virtually none of the Diffused mutant traits. I am proposing that it is possible that some races of Rosy Rats (Key Corns) are actually Diffused mutants, or vice-versa. The old saying, “If it walks, quacks, and looks like a duck, it is probably a duck” may well apply here. If pairing two Diffused corns yields the exact same results as pairing two good Rosy Rats (Key Corns), OR pairing a Rosy Rat with a Diffused corn, does it not follow that whatever causes this means they are the same genotype?

Logical reflections: I am not implying that there is a genetic relationship between Kastanie mutants and Rosy Rats (Key Corns). I imply that the testimony of several German corn snake breeders that are experienced in reproducing Kastanies – saying the pictures of my non-Bloodred Rosy bloodreds APPEAR to portray Kastanie mutants – begs the possibility that Rosy Bloodreds owe their color to the Kastanie mutation, but the other traits may not be what we recognize as Diffused mutant traits. If this turns out to be a reality (that Kastanies and Rosy Bloodreds are the same color mutation), it begs the rationale that if finding a new mutation in the wild is statistically in the realm of one in many hundreds of thousands, finding a novel double mutant in the wild is surely statistically closer to one in a billion (a virtual impossibility). It seems to make more sense that the mutants we thought were both Kastanie and Diffused (two distinct and unrelated mutations) were more likely single recessive Kastanie mutants with the “polygenic” traits of Rosy Rats (Key Corns) and all associative Bloodred-like refinements.

I submit that Rosy Rats (Key Corns) have the same trait standard as Diffused Corns.

What to expect:

Hatchling Rosy Bloodreds (?Kastanie Bloodreds?) have overall gold and/or mahogany coloration. Through maturity, colors intensify and patterns diffuses. Otherwise, the pictures posted here accurately represent the appearance of our typical adults.

2009 blood OS

This 2009 female Old School Bloodred is also possibly het Amel. Currently 42″ long, she should be ready for Spring, 2013 breeding. She is eating frozen/thawed, medium to large adult mice. Dollar Bill in photo for color comparison.