Snow Tessera 12-07-12

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All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.
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toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Fri., Dec. 7, 2012)

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#120712
27″ long on Dec, 1, 2012
Snow Tessera
Female
d.o.h. 2011
$900.00 shipped

Comments:  Feeding on frozen/thawed fuzzy mice
 

The inherent Value of the Snow Tessera in addition to the fact that breeding it to ANY other corn snake color or pattern you will get approximately 50% Tesseras – is that if you breed this snake to a Snow corn snake (or any compound of the Snow mutation), approximately 50% will be Snows and 50% will be Snow Tesseras.  By pairing this snake to a common corn that is Het for Snow, in the first brood of their progeny you can get:

  1. Common corns
  2. Amel corns
  3. Anery corns
  4. Snow corns
  5. Tessera corns
  6. Amel Tessera corns
  7. Anery Tessera corns
  8. Snow Tessera corns

~~~~~~~~>
 
Snow Tessera (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Snow Tessera
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Dominant + recessive (Amel + Anery = Snow)

Morph Type: Single Dominant Mutation + recessive color mutations
Eye Color: RED pupil
 
 

FIRST, what makes Tesseras so expensive? Other than appearance, the primary (and inherent) value of Tessera-type Corns is their mode of inheritance.  Since they are dominant to wild type, pairing any Ultra Type that is a Visual Het to ANY corn snake (other than a Tessera-type) will render 50% Tessera mutants in the F1 (first) out-crossed generation.  The results of pairing an Tessera homozygote with ANY corn snake (other than a Tessera-type) will render 100% Tessera mutants.

Snow Tessera is the combination of Amelanistic + Anerythristic = Snow & Tessera.

 
History of the Tessera Mutation:
In 2007, Graham Criglow asked KJ Lodrigue to order a 1.2 trio of Striped Motleys that were advertised on one of the popular Online Classified sites – since Graham’s job prevented him from personally receiving them at that time.  When they arrived, KJ discovered that they constituted a 2.1 reverse trio (two males and one female) instead of the advertised 1.2 trio (one male and two females).  KJ and Kasi recommended that Graham gift the extra male to me, and that’s what Graham did.  Profound thanks to Graham, KJ, and Kasi for that gracious and fortuitous gift.  In 2008, both the Lodrigues and I independently bred our males (Graham’s and mine) to novel (unrelated) corns. I produced about 24 TESSERAS (so named by the Lodrigues for the tessellated lateral markings) from over 50 fertile eggs, but since the Lodrigues were in the middle of a career move to another State, they were less fortunate, producing just four non-mutant Okeetee-looking corns.  My Tesseras were produced by the pairing of the male Tessera to three novel female corns (two F1 Locality Okeetees from Chip Bridges Rhett Butler Line and one Okeetee-ish female, Het for Stripe and Amel).  Imagine my surprise in seeing what we thought were nearly flawless Striped Motleys from three different females, only one of which was Het for a recessive pattern mutation?  After the first brood of 50% Tesseras hatched from the female that was het for Stripe and Amel, except for the perfection of pattern, I was not thinking new dominant mutation, but when both wild-type Okeetees produced the same results, it was obvious that a new mutation was discovered.

 

Upon receiving the reverse trio from the seller, we all commented on the mutual peculiarity of the phenotypes.  Most appeared to be the most perfectly Striped Motleys ever seen – in so much as their dorsal stripes were nearly contiguous from neck to tail tip (something never before seen in any corn snake pattern mutant) – but that was hardly possible if the admission of the breeder were true – that they were products of pairing a Striped corn with an Okeetee corn.  How could these descendants of a Striped corn bred to an Okeetee be Motley types, instead of Striped?  It is still unclear if those 2.1 Tesseras were F1s (first familial generation) or F2s (the originator of this line is now out of the hobby and difficult to reach – for clarification).  If these three Tesseras are F1s, my deduction is that the striped corn he used in the original pairing was actually Striped AND Tessera.  Even if those three were F2s, the likelihood of the mutant patriarch being a Striped Tessera is strong.


What to expect:
At this early period in the Tessera’s resume, we still don’t know what phenotypic potentials exist.  So far, the only behavior that is atypical for a corn snake mutation is that many of the non-mutant siblings of Tessera types seem to have enhanced pattern and color features.  So far, I don’t see any hybrid markers, since the collateral sibling features to which I refer are – so far – in the realm of improving existing corn snake features (i.e. some non-Tesseras have better, brighter, cleaner, and/or more consistent colors and markings).
 



In the 100+ Tessera mutants produced by me as of Fall, 2010, I’m seeing the following features:

 
The most obvious advantage of having Tesseras in your breeding inventory (aside from their inherent beauty) is that because the mutation is dominantly inherited, 50% of every brood of corns from them will be Tessera mutants. With most other corn snake mutations, one must raise all the Het F1 progeny, and won’t receive any mutants until F2 reproduction (a task that can take four to six years).  In the course of adding Tessera to the myriad current patterns and colors of corns, an entirely new market is now in the making.
 

Predominantly contiguous dorsal striping is the most unique feature of most Tesseras.  Even when the stripe is broken, it resumes immediately thereafter (unlike Striped and Motley mutants whose dorsal striping never resumes with any degree of renewal). Roughly 1/3 of all that have been produced so far have no stripe breaks.  Another 1/3 or so have two to four stripe breaks, and the other 1/3 can have five to 20+ stripe breaks, but those breaks are merely interruptions of the stripe.  Not unlike very good Striped Motleys, many Tesseras have an interruption of stripe at the girdle (anatomical location – polar to the cloaca), but unlike Striped and Motley mutants, the dorsal stripe almost always continues to the tail tip.  Thus far, fully striped Tesseras have been produced from parents with some-to-many dorsal stripe breaks.  Hence, broken-striped Tesseras can produce fully striped striped Tesseras, even though their stripe is broken.  Incidentally, none of the original 2.1 original Tesseras in this line have complete dorsal striping, but many of their progeny and grand progeny do.

 

More than 2/3 of the Tesseras produced by me so far have atypically large amounts of black pigment in their non-ventral pattern — a feature roughly 1% of all Striped and Motley mutants have demonstrated to date.  Less than 1/4 of all Tesseras produced by me have little to no black in their markings, and these are mostly Striped Tesseras.

 

te01110953-042411v
The belly patterns are all over the charts.  A precious few have enough belly checkering to qualify them as wild-type common corns — until you flip them over to see their mutant pattern elsewhere.  About 1/3 of them have roughly 15% to 30% of the volume of checkering se

Creamsicle 12-08-12

Each DAY at 11:00 am. ct (GMT – 5) we will post a different SMR snake being offered at a special price.

All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.

FREE U.S. SHIPPING for each Snake-of-the-Day.

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toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Sat., Dec. 8, 2012)

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#120812
28″ long on Dec, 1, 2012
Creamsicle
Female
d.o.h. 2011
$125.00 shipped

Comments:  Feeding on frozen/thawed fuzzy or small hopper mice.

 

~~~~~~~~~~>

INTERSPECIES  HYBRID !

Creamsicle (no aka)

Most Commonly Used Name:  Creamsicle

Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive corn snake Amel + Emory’s Rat Snake

Morph Type: Single recessive HYBRID Mutation

Eye Color:  Red pupil

 

 

Formerly considered an intergrade of what used to be two corn snake subspecies (Elaphe guttatus guttatus X Elaphe guttatus emoryi), Creamsicles are the final product of crossing an Emory’s Rat (aka: Great Plains Rat Snake) with an Amel corn. Since the new taxonomic classification assigns distinct species to each (Pantherophis emoryi and Pantherophis guttatus), in herpetocultural vernacular, Creamsicles are now officially considered hybrids.  ANY progeny from Creamsicles or any corn snake that has any degree of Emory’s Rat Snake in it, is considered a HYBRID.  The albinos are called Creamsicles and the non-albinos are often called Root Beers.

 

 
What to expect:
Hatchling Creamsicles are orange hybrid versions of Amel corns, so they can have any pattern you see in corn snakes.  I’ve seen Creamsicles that were yellow on yellow, some that were orange on orange, and some that were red on orange – demonstrating the polygenic variability seen in all animals.  Not unlike some hybrid snakes that can be selectively bred to eventually hide all visual traces of their alien ancestor, some Creamsicles are virtually identical to Amel corns.  Creamsicles (and Root Beers) usually have what we call Hybrid Vigor (robust size and propensities for hardy appetites and rapid growth) from being out-crossed to unrelated snakes.  We all hope that breeders will always reveal the genetic background of all their snakes, but I know people that have purchased obvious Creamsicles in pet stores and reptile expos, but were never advised of their hybrid origins.
 

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.

 

 

 

 

 

Charcoal 12-05-12

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All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.
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toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Wed., Dec. 5, 2012)

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#120512
32″ long on Dec, 1, 2012
Charcoal
Male
d.o.h. 2011
$100.00 shipped

Comments:  Feeding on frozen/thawed fuzzy mice
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~>
 
Charcoal (aka: anery B, Pine Island Anery)
Most Commonly Used Name: Charcoal
Mode of Genetic Inheritance:
Recessive
Morph Type: Single Recessive Mutation

Eye Color:  Black pupil & body ground colored iris

 

The second anerythristic-type mutation discovered in corn snakes (Anery A was the first), Charcoal corns were originally named for the origin of the first one to be discovered; Pine Island – off the Florida Coast.  Originally mis-perceived to be a variant of the Anery A mutation, the first one was bred to a Snow corn, in a presumed effort to use this new-looking anery type to alter the appearance of typical Anerys and Snows.  Subsequent generational results demonstrated that this was not an allele of the first anerythristic-type corn; Anery A.

Many of the original Charcoal corns lacked yellow.  Yellow was not common in the first generations of this morph, since early specimens apparently lacked the dietary carotenoid yellow trait/mutation common in most Anery corns.  Even toDAY, some Charcoal and Blizzard corns are devoid of yellow as adults, but in so much as that original specimen was quickly bred to a Snow corn, the carotenoid retention trait/gene is annoyingly persistent in most family lines of Charcoals and Blizzards.  Breeding trials to identify the mechanics and inheritance of the carotenoid retention trait/gene are on-going.

 

What to expect:

Possibly one of the most unchanging of all corns in the realm of appearance from hatchling to adult, neonates have an overall gray or bluish appearance.  Neonates often have a blush of pink or lavender around the sides of the face and neck, and some of those carry that color to adulthood.  Whether the one you get will mature to have yellow (or won’t), never expect to see yellow on neonates.  One obvious distinction between Anery and Charcoal corns (neonate or adult) is eye color.  In Anery corns, there is an obvious contrast between the iris and pupil of the eyes.  Most Charcoal corns show little or no contrast, having the same jet black pupils of Anery corns, but a much darker and sometimes equally black iris.  Throughout maturity, the eyes of both Anerys and Charcoals may change slightly, but and adults, the distinction between hatchlings remains the same.  Most of my corn snakes that are genetically both Anery and Charcoal are phenotypically Charcoal.  I’ve spoken to other breeders that say some of their double mutants more closely resembled Anery types.
 

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.

Blue Motley 12-03-12

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All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.
FREE U.S. SHIPPING for each Snake-of-the-Day.

 

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toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Wed Dec. 3, 2012)

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#120312
Blue Motley (aka: Dilute Anery Motley)
Male
d.o.h. 2011
30/ long on Dec. 2, 2012
$225.00 SHIPPED

Comments: Age, color, breeding potential in toDAY’s marketplace.
 
 

30″ long, eating frozen/thawed large fuzzy or small hopper mice, he will surely be ready for breeding in 2013.

 

More about Blue Motleys

 
 

Tessera HET snow 12-02-12

DAY120212

toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Sun Dec. 2, 2012)

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# 120212
Tessera Het Snow
Male
d.o.h. 2011
27″ long on Dec. 2, 2012
$600.00 SHIPPED

Comments:  Potential 2013 breeder, and triple color het.


Tessera (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Tessera
Mode of Genetic Inheritance:Dominant
MorphType: Dominant to Wild-Type
Eye Color: BLACK pupil and ground-color matching iris


FIRST, what makes Tesseras so expensive? Other than appearance, the primary (and inherent) value of Tessera-type Corns is their mode of inheritance.  Since they are dominant to wild type, pairing any Ultra Type that is a Visual Het to ANY corn snake (other than a Tessera-type) will render 50% Tessera mutants in the F1 (first) out-crossed generation.  The results of pairing an Tessera homozygote with ANY corn snake (other than a Tessera-type) will render 100% Tessera mutants.
When you breed a Tessera to any other corn snake (approximately 50/50) will comprise the F1s (First Generation Progeny).  No waiting one more generation to get pattern mutants, since Tessera is dominant to wild type. 


What to expect:
At this early period in the Tessera’s resume, we still don’t know what phenotypic potentials exist.  So far, the only behavior that is atypical for a corn snake mutation is that many of the non-mutant siblings of Tessera types seem to have enhanced pattern and color features.  So far, I don’t see any hybrid markers, since the collateral sibling features to which I refer are – so far – in the realm of improving existing corn snake features (i.e. some non-Tesseras have better, brighter, cleaner, and/or more consistent colors and markings).

As hatchlings, Anery Tesseras look virtually identical to exceptionally patterned Striped Anery Motley.  Of course, the primary distinction is not visible.  It is that of the dominant inheritance. We’re still not quite sure what to tell you about the adult appearance of Snow Tesseras, as 2010 was the first year they were produced here.  Updated pictures will be made available as they mature.

History of the Tessera Mutation:
In 2007, Graham Criglow asked KJ Lodrigue to order a 1.2 trio of Striped Motleys that were advertised on one of the popular Online Classified sites – since Graham’s job prevented him from personally receiving them at that time.  When they arrived, KJ discovered that they constituted a 2.1 reverse trio (two males and one female) instead of the advertised 1.2 trio (one male and two females).  KJ and Kasi recommended that Graham gift the extra male to me, and that’s what Graham did.  Profound thanks to Graham, KJ, and Kasi for that gracious and fortuitous gift.  In 2008, both the Lodrigues and I independently bred our males (Graham’s and mine) to novel (unrelated) corns. I produced about 24 TESSERAS (so named by the Lodrigues for the tessellated lateral markings) from over 50 fertile eggs, but since the Lodrigues were in the middle of a career move to another State, they were less fortunate, producing just four non-mutant Okeetee-looking corns.  My Tesseras were produced by the pairing of the male Tessera to three novel female corns (two F1 Locality Okeetees from Chip Bridges Rhett Butler Line and one Okeetee-ish female, Het for Stripe and Amel).  Imagine my surprise in seeing what we thought were nearly flawless Striped Motleys from three different females, only one of which was Het for a recessive pattern mutation?  After the first brood of 50% Tesseras hatched from the female that was het for Stripe and Amel, except for the perfection of pattern, I was not thinking new dominant mutation, but when both wild-type Okeetees produced the same results, it was obvious that a new mutation was discovered.

Upon receiving the reverse trio from the seller, we all commented on the mutual peculiarity of the phenotypes.  Most appeared to be the most perfectly Striped Motleys ever seen – in so much as their dorsal stripes were nearly contiguous from neck to tail tip (something never before seen in any corn snake pattern mutant) – but that was hardly possible if the admission of the breeder were true – that they were products of pairing a Striped corn with an Okeetee corn.  How could these descendants of a Striped corn bred to an Okeetee be Motley types, instead of Striped?  It is still unclear if those 2.1 Tesseras were F1s (first familial generation) or F2s (the originator of this line is now out of the hobby and difficult to reach – for clarification).  If these three Tesseras are F1s, my deduction is that the striped corn he used in the original pairing was actually Striped AND Tessera.  Even if those three were F2s, the likelihood of the mutant patriarch being a Striped Tessera is strong.

In the 100+ Tessera mutants produced by me as of Fall, 2010, I’m seeing the following features:The most obvious advantage of having Tesseras in your breeding inventory (aside from their inherent beauty) is that because the mutation is dominantly inherited, 50% of every brood of corns from them will be Tessera mutants. With most other corn snake mutations, one must raise all the Het F1 progeny, and won’t receive any mutants until F2 reproduction (a task that can take four to six years).  In the course of adding Tessera to the myriad current patterns and colors of corns, an entirely new market is now in the making.

Predominantly contiguous dorsal striping is the most unique feature of most Tesseras.  Even when the stripe is broken, it resumes immediately thereafter (unlike Striped and Motley mutants whose dorsal striping never resumes with any degree of renewal). Roughly 1/3 of all that have been produced so far have no stripe breaks.  Another 1/3 or so have two to four stripe breaks, and the other 1/3 can have five to 20+ stripe breaks, but those breaks are merely interruptions of the stripe.  Not unlike very good Striped Motleys, many Tesseras have an interruption of stripe at the girdle (anatomical location – polar to the cloaca), but unlike Striped and Motley mutants, the dorsal stripe almost always continues to the tail tip.  Thus far, fully striped Tesseras have been produced from parents with some-to-many dorsal stripe breaks.  Hence, broken-striped Tesseras can produce fully striped striped Tesseras, even though their stripe is broken.  Incidentally, none of the original 2.1 original Tesseras in this line have complete dorsal striping, but many of their progeny and grand progeny do.

More than 2/3 of the Tesseras produced by me so far have atypically large amounts of black pigment in their non-ventral pattern — a feature roughly 1% of all Striped and Motley mutants have demonstrated to date.  Less than 1/4 of all Tesseras produced by me have little to no black in their markings, and these are mostly Striped Tesseras.

te01110953-042411v
The belly patterns are all over the charts.  A precious few have enough belly checkering to qualify them as wild-type common corns — until you flip them over to see their mutant pattern elsewhere.  About 1/3 of them have roughly 15% to 30% of the volume of checkering seen in wild-types, and about 1/3 or more have virtually no belly checkering at all.  Some of the ones with NO belly checkering have organized strings of black markings running the length of both sides of the belly, along the ventral keel.

Posted on Categories Old Shop

Striped Anery ?Dilute? 12-01-12

DAY120112a

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All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.
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toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Wed Nov 21, 2012)


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toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Sat. Dec.01, 2012)

#120112
Striped Anery (possibly also Tessera and Dilute)
Male
d.o.h. 2011
24/ long on Nov. 30, 2012
$200.00 SHIPPED

Comments:
From the Scratch and Dent department, this 2011 male Striped Anery has a dorsal spinal enlargement.  His parents were both het for the Dilute mutation, so he is possibly a Blue Striped corn and I even believe him to be a Tessera since his father is a Tessera het Dulute Anery Motley (aka: Blue Motley).  Obviously, were I certain of that genotype, he would be much more expensive, so this is a rare opportunity to pick up a potentially rare corn at a very low price.

He eats normally and has never been ill a DAY in his life.  The spinal anomaly is the same proportional size it was when he hatched, so I don’t expect it to become any more obvious than it currently is.  In fact, most spinal anomalies like this actually appear smaller with the dorso-lateral growth of musculature in that part of the body, nor do I expect this anomaly to have any deletarious impact on his life.  He eats large frozen/thawed fuzzy mice and has never had a lapse of appetite or ability to digest.  His temperament is typically corn snake, in that he is curious and has never demonstrated the slightest repulsion to being handled.

The bubble view in the upper-right corner of the above picture demonstrates the geographic location of the spinal anomaly and in the upper-left corner, the extent of the spinal protrustion.  If nobody buys him, we’re going to breed him to a Blue Motley (Dilute Anery Motley) in 2013 to find out if he’s a Tessera.  He had several Tessera siblings and from the perfetion of shape and contiguity of his striping, I stop just short of declaring that his is actually a Striped Blue Tessera.  His father is a Tessera Het Striped Blue Motley and his mother was het for Striped Blue Motley.




Striped Champagne 11-30-12

 

DAY113012

$165.00

Former SNAKE of the DAY from Fri. Nov  30, 2012
 

#113012
Striped Champagne
Male
d.o.h. 2010
36″ long on Nov. 29, 2012


Comments:  Superior color and size maturity

 

In so much as no two computer monitors render colors the same, the colors, shades, tones, and hues of the snakes pictured on our site have been maticulously evaluated and declared to match those of the respective snake for sale.

This snake is in good health (not under or over-weight, no parasites or diseases that we are aware, no injuries or defects, and routinely feeding on unaltered frozen/thawed mice).

If we have noticed that the snake listed has any temperament or behavioral issues other than human-friendly, it will be detailed in Comments above.
 

 

 

 

 

2012-Pied-sided HYPO Bloodred – low

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ToDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY Sat, Dec. 22, 2012)

#122212
Low-White Pied-sided Bloodred
Female
d.o.h. 20102
15″ long on Dec. 211, 2012
$100.00 Shipped

 

This 2012 female Low-White P/S Bloodred shows little white, but is capable of producing lows, mediums, and highs in the realm of the degree of white – when bred to other SMR Line P/S Bloodreds.  She is eating frozen/thawed pinky mice every five to seven DAYs.  The picture inset shows the location of the dorsal spinal kink.

Pied-sided Bloodred (aka: p/s bloodreds)

Low White Expression
Note:  Expect DIFFUSED and BLOODRED to be incorrectly but synonymously used in the hobby
Most Commonly used Name: Hypo Pied-sided Bloodred
Mode of Genetic Inheritance:
Selective Variation + Recessive
Morph Type: Single recessive mutation & selective variation
Eye Color:  Black pupil & body ground colored iris.  Sometimes they exhibit dark red pupils, as does this one.

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

At this time, this author suspects that P/S Bloodreds owe their atypical white lateral and facial markings to polygenetic traits versus simple recessive mutation. It is sometimes difficult to determine the inheritance of a trait or mutation when expression of the atypical feature is highly variable.  In other words, are the Bloodred siblings of P/S Bloodreds not P/S Bloodreds OR are they P/S Bloodred mutants that are at the lowest end of the 0-to-10 scale for white expression?  When proving the mode of inheritance via evaluation of Mendelian Phenotype Proportions in a single brood of snakes, visual expression is crucial.  Hence, if the expression of white in this morph can be so extremely variable, when citing the ratio of visual mutants compared to visual non mutants, the very description of inheritance can be in doubt.  I therefore honestly don’t know if P/S Bloodreds owe their distinctive pied-sided white appearance to a recessive mutation OR polygenic trait modifications.

Aside from the random lateral white feature that is obvious in most members of this morph – compared to standard Bloodreds – is the extreme diffusion – even if they don’t demonstrate any of the randomly distributed white patches on the sides.  On most – even in the absence of lateral white patches – there is an obvious line of demarcation between the dorsal and lateral pattern fields – just above the half-way point on the sides (dorsolaterally).  This stark break line between dorsal and lateral markings also begs questions about the lateral white being a mutation OR variable expression of polygenetics.

UltramelHETcaramel 02-17-13

Each DAY at 11:00 am. ct (GMT – 5) we will post a different SMR snake being offered at a special price.
All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.
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DAY021713

#111713
Ultramel Het Caramel  
d.o.h. 2010
50″ long on Feb. 16, 2013
$200.00 shipped


Comments:  Superior color and genetic potential

50″ long 2010 female Ultramel is HET for Caramel is eating frozen/thawed adult mice.  She brumated from October 10th, to January 31st so she will soon want to be married.  

 

 

INTERSPECIES  HYBRID

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 (or impure) 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 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 Butter 11-29-12

 Each DAY at 11:00 am. ct (GMT – 5) we will post a different SMR snake being offered at a special price.
All snakes will be chosen for their rarity and/or unique beauty.
FREE U.S. SHIPPING for each Snake-of-the-Day.

DAY112912

toDAY’s SNAKE of the DAY (Thu. Nov 29, 2012)
 

#112912

Striped Butter
Male
d.o.h. 2011
24″ long on Nov. 29, 2012
$150.00 shipped

 
 

 
 

 

Click here for more information

In so much as no two computer monitors render colors the same, the colors, shades, tones, and hues of the snakes pictured on our site have been maticulously evaluated and declared to match those of the respective snake for sale.

This snake is in good health (not under or over-weight, no parasites or diseases that we are aware, no injuries or defects, and routinely feeding on unaltered frozen/thawed mice).

If we have noticed that the snake listed has any temperament or behavioral issues other than human-friendly, it will be detailed in Comments above.
 
 

To purchase this snake, click on the Buy this icon.  You will be launched to our shopping cart to submit your payment information and choose which TuesDAY or ThursDAY you prefer delivery.

 
 
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Striped Butter (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Butter
Mode of Genetic Inheritance:
Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation compound (Butter & Stripe)
Eye Color: Red pupil & body ground-colored iris
 

 

 

 

This compound morph results from combining the color mutations Amel + Caramel = Butter and the pattern mutation, Stripe. Color hues and shades & pattern are variable, but it is apparent that the Striped mutation has a 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 that was not more deeply yellow than Butter mutants without a pattern mutation.