Okeetee Extreme 2014

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.  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.

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

Blizzard 2014

Blizzard (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Blizzard
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Double Mutation Compound (Amel & Charcoal)
Eye Color: RED pupil

 

The Blizzard corn is the finished product of combining the two recessive color mutations, Amel and Charcoal.  If you pair a Blizzard with a non Blizzard, Amel, or Charcoal, in the absence of any other mutations in these snakes, 100% of the progeny will be common corns that are heterozygous for Amel and Charcoal.  By then breeding two of these F1 snakes together, you will get approximately one Blizzard for every 16 hatchlings — in addition to some wild-types, Amels , and Charcoals.

  

What to expect:
As hatchlings, Blizzards can be nearly patternless, mildly patterned (dirty white or cream on white or pink ground zones), or heavily patterned, but no yellow will be present.  As adults, some Blizzards mature to be completely white and virtually pattern-less (although pattern is usually obvious in strong light or flash photography).  Most adult Blizzards at this time show obvious yellow which is the result of carotenoid retention from diet – which slowly manifests throughout maturity.  Early in corn snake herpetoculture, the majority of Blizzard corns lacked most (or all) such yellow, but through subsequent breeding to change the patterns of Blizzards, the trait for manifesting yellow was infused into many genetic families.  Breeding trials are ongoing — in an effort to create family lines that are devoid of this color feature.  This should result in the general appearance of white and pattern-less corns.

 

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.

 

 

Bloodred 2014

Bloodred (aka: blood)
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:Single recessive mutation & selective variation
Eye Color:  Black pupil & body ground colored iris

 

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 – to Diffused.  The mechanics of this gene mutation barely diffuse the F1 homozygotesthrough 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 mutation homozygotes.  It is extremely rare for simple recessive F1 heterozygotes to exhibit ANY features of their recessively inherited genetic mutation.  For example, F1heterozygous 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 genetic anomalies 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 the Diffused (new mutation name) gene mutation PLUS polygenetic traits promoted by selectively breeding toward the highest expressions of melanin reduction, diffusion, and red color saturation.
 

 

What to expect:
As neonates, Bloodred corns are often heavily patterned (sides are generally faded or lacking typical lateral markings). Some exhibit black (or partially black) scales bordering some of the pattern blotches, and most of them have 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 Bloodreds are among the best feeders of our corn snake neonates.
 

 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Striped Bloodred 2014

Striped Bloodred (aka: blood)
Note:  Expect DIFFUSED and BLOODRED to be incorrectly but synonymously used
Most Commonly used Name: Striped Bloodred
Mode of Genetic Inheritance:Selective Variation + Recessive
Morph Type:Single recessive mutations STRIPE and BLOODRED & selective diffusion variation
Eye Color:  Black pupil & body ground colored iris
 
Striped Bloodreds are–naturally–the result of adding the pattern mutation STRIPE to the color and pattern mutation BLOODRED.  
 
What to expect:
As neonates, Striped Bloodred corns are often heavily patterned (sides are generally faded or lacking typical lateral markings). Some exhibit black (or partially black) scales bordering some of the pattern blotches/stripes, and most of them have head patterns that are notably unlike those of typical corns. Most SMR Striped Bloodreds diffuse dramatically through maturity, thereby rendering adults that are nearly devoid of head markings, dorsal and side markings, (any visible dorsal markings will be very faint or absent).  There will be NO belly checkering, but ventral coloration can be all red, all white, or red and white (no black).  Hatchlings have strong but broken–and partially missing–stripes (including “tweener” markings that sometimes resemble bow-ties or hour glasses), but as adults, those broken stripes and tweener mrakings are virtually invisible, due to the diffusion that occurs during maturity.  As adults, Striped Bloodreds look virtually patternless. 
 

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 – to Diffused.  The mechanics of this gene mutation barely diffuse the F1 homozygotesthrough 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 mutation homozygotes.  It is extremely rare for simple recessive F1 heterozygotes to exhibit ANY features of their recessively inherited genetic mutation.  For example, F1heterozygous 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 genetic anomalies 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 the Diffused (new mutation name) gene mutation PLUS polygenetic traits promoted by selectively breeding toward the highest expressions of melanin reduction, diffusion, and red color saturation.
 

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 Bloodreds are among the best feeders of our corn snake neonates.

 

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.

Extreme Okeetee14

NOW READY FOR SHIPPING
 
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.  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.

 

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.

 

 

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.

 

Butter 2014

Butter (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Butter
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: recessive
Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Amel + Caramel)
Eye Color:  Red pupil

 

The genetic product of combining the Amel and Caramel recessive mutations render the ultimate expression of yellow in corns. Both color and pattern are variable in hue and shades, but all adults demonstrate what is left when the Amel mutation removes melanin from the Caramel mutation; YELLOW.

 

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 throughout maturity, so be patient.  In six to 18 months, all other colors should transform to yellow. Some will demonstrate slightly obvious white blotch margins.  The base color mutation yellow is spectacular, and therefore popular in corn snake herpetoculture.
 
 

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.

 

 

 

Sunkissed 05-28-14

Show & $ell

{product id=722}

This 2013 male Sunkissed Corn Snake is a sibling of Sunkissed Kastanies, therefore, possibly het for Caramel and/or Kastanie.  He is now 27″ long, eating frozen/thawed small hopper mice.  His $165.00 price includes  

Coral Snow 05-30-14

Show & $ell  (thanks, Amber)

{product id=721}

This 2013 male Coral Snow Corn is now 27″ long, eating frozen/thawed large fuzzy mice.  His $225.00 price includes