SMR Archive – Page 207 – Posts from old SMR Website

Striped Ultramel Motley

Striped Ultramel Motley (no aka)

Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Ultramel Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Codominant (Ultramel) & Recessive (Motley)
Morph Type: Mutation Compound – recessive & codominant

Eye Color: Dark red pupil & body ground colored iris

See ULTRamel for an explanation of the genetic mechanics of the ULTRA codominant mutation.

Note: Ultramel is the 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 containing 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 appearance, it was known that even if peoples’ snakes had the Ultra gene mutation, they would either be unaware or could avoid mentioning it. Those of you out there that are boycotting HYBRID corns are advised to avoid acquisition of suspicious-looking corns with the word ULTRA in the morph description. Likewise, purists that admirably endeavor to promote only the genetically purest of corns are urged to question corns that have suspiciously abnormal features that have been historically identified 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 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.

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 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.

Combining the Striped Motley pattern mutation with Ultramel results in this deeply hypomelanistic corn.

What to expect:

As hatchlings, they resemble some of the best Hypomelanistic corns on the market. Some have traces of white on parts of some scales (a trait almost never seen in other Hypo mutants), and of course, they have about the same number of black scales seen in most Hypo types. Being Striped Motley, most of the black scales will fade to dark gray or silver. The eye pupils of neonates are between red and dark red in color, but throughout maturity, they darken to a very dark red — almost black.

Eye comparison between

Hatchling and Adult Ultramels

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.

Striped Miami Motley

Striped Miami Motley (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Miami Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Selective Variation + Recessive Mutation

Morph Type: Selective Variant of Single Recessive Motley

Eye Color: Black pupil & body ground colored iris

OUR Striped Miami Motleys are just what the name suggests; Striped Motley corns in the brick red and gray Miami color scheme. The amount of striping can vary, but some of the Motley markings will be connected in striped fashion. These are selective variations of Motleys so the colors are products of selective breeding.

What to expect:

As with most corn snake neonates, expect young Striped Miami Motleys to be lackluster in color for at least one year, and considerably darker than their adult parents. All markings will be half (or less) what they will be as adults, but they do resemble the Miami Phase coloration scheme. None of them have the infamous bad appetites of wild caught Miami Locality corns, so stock up on pinky mice prior to receiving yours. The amount of striping is variable from dorsal Motley-striping between one or two markings TO dorsal Motley-striping nearly all the way.

Striped Pastel Motley

Striped Pastel Motley (aka: Striped Ghost Motley)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Pastel Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation compound (+)

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

Striped Amel Motley

Striped Amel Motley (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Amel Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive

Type: Mutation compound ( Amel + Striped Motley)

Combining the recessive gene mutations; Amel, and Striped Motley combine to render these beautiful Striped Motleys. Motley and Stripe are alleles of the same gene (Motley chromosomal locus) and it is widely believed that all Striped Motleys are heterozygous (abbr. het) for Stripe. Motley is dominant to Stripe and it is true that most (if not all) Striped Motleys are actually het for stripe (ALL the Striped Motleys ever bred here at SMR were indeed het for Stripe), but I stop short of saying that all such phenotypes are actually het for Stripe.

A comparison photograph of a Striped Amel corn and a Striped Amel Motley corn are shown below, so you can see the main distinction between stripes. In this image, you can see that the pattern schemes are essentially reversed. The Striped corn on the left has relatively little pattern zones (striping) relative to overall color and pattern, compared to the striped motley on the right that has very little ground color zone. The Striped Motley on the right essentially has a linear zone of ground coloration between contiguous dorso–lateral striped markings. The width of ground color zone between the dorso-lateral pattern stripes is the basic way to distinguish between Striped corns and Striped Motley corns. BTW, Stripe and Motley are alleles of the same Chromosomal locus, but Motley is demonstrated as dominant over Stripe.

What to expect:
Both male and females have the same general appearance as hatchlings and adults. There is huge variety in the degree and/or quality of striping (from one or two connected markings forming a stripe TO nearly complete striping – and everything between). Some Striped Motleys have a dozen or more breaks in their dorsal striping, while some may have only two or three striped-type connected dorsal markings. Belly is typically Motley, with very little color and no organized pattern (never checkering).

Striped Lavender

Striped Lavender (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Lavender
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive

Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Stripe and Lavender)

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

Other than looking like the expected striped version of the Lavender color mutation, Striped Lavenders have the most subdued colors of virtually all other Striped corns. Add to that the reality that most Striped Lavenders lose much of their striping during maturity, and the result is often an almost pattern-less Lavender corn.

What to expect:
Hatchlings often have less striping than most striped mutants of other colors. Those that do have considerable striping often lose much of it through maturity (especially in the males). Some lose almost all their striping from hatchling to adult. Colors pale dramatically through the aging process. Most actually look like Striped Ghosts or some Striped Aneries. Most Striped Lavenders lose much of the striping they have as neonates.

Hypo Striped Lavender

Hypo Striped Lavender (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Hypo Striped Lavender
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Triple Compound Mutation

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

This triple recessive mutation is the product of Lavender, Hypo, and Stripe. Many hatch with partial striping, and some lose whatever little stripe they once had as neonates (especially males). Eye pupils can be black or some shade of red/pink.

What to expect:

Most hatchlings are some shade of pale lavender or gray. Most Striped Lavender-types have typically broken stripes beyond the dorsal half-way point, but some hatch with very little striping – which some lose throughout maturity. Unlike the single recessive mutants Lavenders, most compound Lavender mutants have black pupils, but expect to see either red or black pupils. Most adult Striped Hypo Lavenders have an overall pink or coral overwash that does not appear to be the result of other mutations. Uncommon to most Striped mutants, when the mutations Lavender and Stripe are possessed by the same snake, it is more common for the striping to be of the vanishing variety (having little or no stripe present at birth – and without the usual partial markings beyond the stripe – OR having considerable striping, but losing it through maturity). Ordinarily – in non-Lavender Striped mutants – the loss of – or vanishment of – striping is considered polygenic, but since there are more Striped Lavender-types that display one or both forms of the Vanishing “trait” than other color mutations, this pattern modifier may be the result of another mutation in these color mutants?

Striped Hypo

Striped Hypo (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Hypo
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive

Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Stripe and Hypo)

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

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The Stripe mutation has its usual enhanced impact in this double recessive mutation compound, but since the primary role of the Hypo mutation is in the realm of melanin reduction (not unlike that of the Stripe mutation), the effect is amplified in this aggregate. Striped Hypos are usually paler than either of their cousins, Hypo or Stripe. If not for the black pupils of the Striped Hypo in this image comparative, one would be tempted to say these two corns have virtually identical color.

What to expect:
Hatchlings often look like their non Hypo cousin, Striped Corns. Throughout maturity, the color and contrast in both pattern and ground zones diminishes to the point of most adult Striped Hypos being extremely faded in appearance. They are essentially lightened versions of the wild type color, since they are modified by both the Stripe and Hypo mutations. Striping can change in this morph, but always in reduction. They never gain striping or any other pattern, but some pattern can fade to the point of almost being impossible to see in their adult form.

Striped Ghost

Striped Ghost (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Ghost
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive

Type: Triple mutation compound (Stripe + Anery + Hypo)

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

Combining the three recessive gene mutations; Stripe and (Anery & Hypo = Ghost) combine to render these beautiful striped anery types. Adult males tend to have earth tones and adult females usually stay two shades or gray. Stripes tend to fade more in males than females throughout maturity.

What to expect:
Both male and female hatchlings look alike (essentially gray or silver snakes with black or dark gray striping), but many of our males lose a noticeable amount of their stripes through maturity. Some females will lose SOME of their stripe with maturity, but some do not lose any. As with most Motley or Striped mutants, eliminating of black color zones is common, so through maturity, you will notice a softening of dark coloration. Belly should have virtually no color, but some can have gray or black mixed, but there will never be orderly pattern of any color and never checkering.

Striped Gold Dust

INTERSPECIES HYBRID

Striped Gold Dust (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Gold Dust
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Codominant (Ultramel) & Recessive (Caramel) & Recessive (Stripe)

Type: Triple mutation compound

Eye Color: Dark Red pupil & body ground colored iris

See ULTRamel for an explanation of the genetic mechanics of the ULTRA codominant mutation.

Note: Ultramel is the heterozygote of the the mutation, Ultra.

INTERSPECIES HYBRID

Striped Gold Dust corns are beautifully yellow as adults. They are the genetic product of the recessively inherited Stripe and Caramel mutation and the co-dominantly inherited Ultra mutation. As a general rule the heterozygous (abbr. het) version of the Ultra mutation (Ultramel) is more colorful than the homozygous (abbr. homo) version, but among most Ultra type pattern mutants there is little difference between the two adult versions. Generally speaking,

What to expect:

As neonates, both Striped Ultra Caramels and Striped Gold Dusts are very similar, but unlike their Ultramel cousins, distinction via eye pupil color is fairly revealing in the first weeks following hatching. The eye pupils of most Gold Dust types are ruby or wine-colored, but like Ultramel types, the pupils darken with maturity, and are virtually black in most adults. The iris should be a close match to the general ground coloration of the snake. The pattern mutations, Motley and Striped (both sharing the same chromosomal locus) have impact beyond their patterns. Aside from the obvious pattern diffusion that manifests throughout maturity, when in concert with mutations that ordinarily exhibit melanin (black color pigment) is reduced in volume and intensity. This can not only be demonstrated by pattern zones that are less black, but also in overall coloration — that is lightened by the reduced melanin.

Neonates are more gold colored than their adult counterparts, that often have the intensely yellow color of their Butter cousins. Except for dark pupils, I have some adult Striped Gold Dusts that are virtually identical to most Butter or Amber corns. Some adults retain the black blotch margins, while others are devoid of any black scales.

Striped Creamsicle

INTERSPECIES HYBRID

Striped Creamsicle (no aka)

Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Creamsicle

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

Morph Type: Recessive HYBRID mutation

Eye Color: Red pupil & body ground colored iris

Except for the Striped mutation, this morph is just a pattern variant of the Creamsicle HYBRID mutation.

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 the Emory’s Rat (aka: Great Plains Rat Snake) snake with an Amel corn. Since the new taxonomic classification assigns distinct species to each (Pantherophis emoryi and Pantherophis guttatus), 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 called Root Beers.

What to expect:

The Striped mutation slightly enhances the saturation of the Creamsicle coloration, but otherwise, they’re just what you’d expect; a striped version of the basic Creamsicle hybrid. There is very little change in appearance from hatchling to adult.