An adult Male Coral Ghost Corn Snake. Thank you again, Graham Criglow.
Snake of the Day 10-17-13
Adult Caramel Tessera Corn Snake.
Snake of the Day 10-16-13
A typical Striped Caramel Corn Snake.
Snake of the Day 10-15-13
I’m working on a new and potentially dynamic Cayenne Fire line. In the realm of red-mask, this one shows the fastest saturation of red of any
Cayenne Fires I’ve worked with in the past. These two are 7 weeks-old and already demonstrate richer red than most Fires do at a year of age.
Snake of the Day 10-14-13
Part of the non-Honey Motley siblings–of broods that include Honey Motleys–have a head that demonstrates less color (and often different colors) than the rest of their bodies. Since not all of the non-Honey siblings exhibit this head color distinction, it begs the question, “is a gene mutation causing this?”. Breeding trials are under way to hopefully answer this question. I’ll need to review past data to see if I got some of these from non-Honey Sunkissed Motleys in the past also. Then, have I ever seen this with any Sunkissed mutants or their non-mutant siblings, and so on? Only by evaluation of Punnet Square results can we unravel such genetic mysteries. I’m convinced it’s not color-paradoxical in genetic origin.
Snake of the Day 10-13-13
Note the differences between Ultramel Anery and Ultramel Charcoal. The eye of the Ultramel Charcoal almost appears not to have an iris, and while both Anery and Charcoal can have a blush of pink on their faces, it’s much more pronounced on Charcoal-types. The origins of the Ultra mutation in corn snakes derives from the initial pairing of a Gray Rat Snake to a Corn. Therefore, Ultra (and Ultramel) types are technically inter-speciesl hybrids.
Snake of the Day 10-12-13
Have you any idea how difficult it is not to grab my camera every time I open the cage of a Scaleless Extreme Okeetee?
Another reason I love shooting the Scaleless corns is that the only reflection from the camera flashes is on their eyes.
Snake of the Day 10-11-13
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.
Snake of the Day 10-10-13
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 10-09-13
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.