Category: SOTD

Snake of the Day 10-05-13

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Two 2013 examples of High-white Reverse Okeetee Corns.  Impossible not to note how they look like Candy Cane morphs, but there are subtle distinctions that make them worthy of unique morph status.  Good examples of both morphs (Candy Cane and High-whites) are predominantly red and white, but you can see that there is a visible off-white margin around the blotches of these two High-whites.  This isn’t enough to make them visually distinct from some Candy Canes, but having origins from Reverse Okeetee morphs, you save perhaps four to six generations of enlarging the blotch margins by not starting with Candy Canes.  At the end of the DAY, visually, we’re talking semantics.  If you find corns listed as Candy Canes that look like these, grab ’em.  They have the potential for reproducing the same reds and whites, but when you see a High-white with super-broad blotch margins (not these two), you’ll understand why it’s better to start with High-whites over most Candy Canes.  It’s all in the genes. 

Snake of the Day 10-07-13

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DO NOT ask me to shoot this gang again. This is the first shot, and two heads were missing from the second shot. That was just seconds before I nearly dropped the camera to scramble for snakes going in four different directions.  The High-white Orange Reverse Okeetee is still M.I.A. Tape traps will hopefully entangle that bugger before morning.  Uhhhggghh. Counting heads from the uppermost one in the pic to the lowest, they are: 1)  The now MIA Orange High-white Reverse Okeetee, 2) A classic Reverse Okeetee, 3) An Extreme Reverse Okeetee, 4) A High-white Reverse Okeetee.  BTW, number 3 is the same general age (within perhaps 15 DAYs) of all the others, but has been on a twice-weekly feeding regimen–compared to once a week for the others.  Note how relatively larger he is compared to the others?   At this rate, he should be mature enough to breed in 2014.  
UPDATE:  Found her under a piece of cardboard near the corner of the shop where we toss recycle stuff.  I COULD have recycled a perfectly good snake, had she decided to move into one of the boxes in that corner.  Note to self – – – don’t send out recycle containers without searching them for snakes.  

Snake of the Day 10-09-13

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People keep telling me I’m crazy when I say that our Red Mask mutants are not recessive to wild type, but here again is an F1 out-cross of a Sunglow Motley to a single mutant Anery.  The anery parent is not het for any other mutations, and yet, it’s plain to see that this Anery demonstrates the Red Mask mutation.  Approximately 1/2 of the progeny from this pairing were Aneries with silver ground-color zones and the other half with pink ground-color zones.  This makes six different female Aneries that gave me the same results from being paired with Salmon Snows or Sunglow Motleys.  

Snake of the Day 10-10-13

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Thank you, Martin Baker of Multicorn.info in the UK for such beautiful Mandarin Rat Snakes.  Members of this species are Natural masters of disguising their eyes (a crucial feature in evading detection by their prey and predators).  In Nature, many animals blend into their surroundings, but prey and predator alike are quickly alerted once they detect the eyes of other animals.  Note how the eye of this one is virtually invisible against the black face-mask marking, but observe also how the facial bands lined up with two of its body markings in this photograph, rendering the partial illusion of not having a head.  This likely results is the perception of not being a predatory threat (or potential meal for predators). Crypsis is essential for the survival of many species, but in the wild, animals focus their attention on the eyes of other animals to positively identify them as potential food, friend, or foe.  And btw, crypsis involves more than just appearance.  It’s entirely possible that this snake struck an instinctive pose that facilitated enhanced execution of ocular camoflage, in the way black bands lined up.  Perhaps it feels most comfortable in repose when the eye is next to a black band of its body?  Maybe they stop “winding” when light stops reflecting into their eye off their body?  If they stop “winding” when their eye is next to a black band, they have maximim visual acuity–in the absence of light reflection–so that may make them stop coiling?  I’ve had great success in photographing wildlife by approaching the animals with my eyes covered by the camera.  They’re curious, nervous, and suspicious, but until I lower the camera from my face, many of them will pose for photographs.  Moreso than if I approached them with my eyes uncovered. 

Snake of the Day 10-11-13

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MOTLEY 101
Only the two Snow Motleys in this collage are considered Hurricane Pattern Motleys. While most of these Motleys have superior circular markings running down their backs, only the two Snow Motleys demonstrate the thick and concentric rings around the circular ground color spots on their dorsal ridge. Motleys like these Snows are called Hurricane Motleys because the thick, concentric borders around the circles on their backs resemble the shape of the symbol used on meteorological weather maps to denote hurricane wind swirl. The classic lighter-colored circles down the backs of Motleys can be of similar size and shape to each other–or poorly symmetric–but without the concentric margins they are ordinary Motleys.  Special thanks to Victor Martino & James Severts for producing the exquisite Sunglow Motley seen above.  In addition to having the rich red/orange colors common to Red Mask mutants, Sunglow Motleys commonly exhibit orderly, continuous, and equidistant markings that extend almost to the tail.  Few Motley morphs enjoy such a pattern and color distinction.  PS, I realize the markings on the Caramel Motley show slight concentricity, but not obvious enough to decently satisfy the Hurricane standard.