Het Corn 08-14-15b

Show & $ell

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This 2013 female Striped Corn is now 33″ long, eating frozen/thawed small adult mice.  She is het Striped Fire (Striped Amel Bloodred) and possibly-het Ghost.  Her $195.00 price includes     

SUPER Salmon Snow 2015

SUPER Coral Snow (aka: SUPER Salmon Snow) 

Most Commonly Used Name: SUPER Coral or SUPER Salmon Snow
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive & Dominant
Morph Type: Mutation Compound ( Anery & Amel) + Dominant Red Mask Mutation (Strawberry?)

Eye color:  RED pupils

 

The Coral Snow-types featured here are general in nature.  That is to say, when we cannot denote heritage to respective Salmon, Neon, Bubblegum, or Champagne lines, we generically call them Coral Snows. 

 
Before describing Coral Snow Corns, first, a brief history of the Coral Snow.
Back in the 1980s when corn snake herpetoculture was in its infancy, Snow corns that had a pink or coral cast were called Coral Snows. Back then, Snow corns were not as variable in color as they are toDAY.  At the time when pink/coral ones were dubbed Coral Snows, it was only common to see snows in two tones of white; crisp white (aka: bone white Snows), or Coral.  Back then, prediction of the coral coloration was hit-or-miss (some would start out with a blush of pink, but mature to be white on white) so in the absence of genetic test data to explain the origin of the pink and/or coral colors, the name Coral became somewhat obscure from the hobby for many years.  After that era, Jim Stelpflug at Southwest Wisconsin Reptiles was one of the first to predictably reproduce coral-colored Snows, and even though pinkish Snows were still seen in the hobby, Jim was reliably reproducing them–and was even able to intensify the coral coloration in most. At that time, we mistakenly believed the gene mutation responsible for pink or coral colored Snows was the result of Snow corns also possessing both copies of the Hypo A mutation.  While some pink or coral colored Snows that were also Hypo mutants DID show a blush of pink, their pink cast rarely intensified to be remarkable in appearance, as is the case with Coral Snow Mutants of toDAY.  Pink and Green Snows were not rare back then, and some of those demonstrated deeply saturated pink coloration.  Again, the origin of that phenotype was (and to an extent, still is) poorly understood.  In so much as most of the early Coral Snows originated from Jim Stelpflug at SWR (Southwest Wisconsin Reptiles), it appeared obvious that some mutation he had in his genetic inventory was causing his to be more colorful than others.  The exaggerated pink/coral coloration is now believed by some to be the demonstration of the dominant-type mutation (Strawberry) that was also discovered/developed by Jim Stelpflug.  This is believed to be THE color mutation responsible for the rich colors, if not ONE OF such mutations.  I have not personally had reproductive results to validate this theory, and in a hobby that has so very many hidden mutations, perhaps Strawberry is just one of such mutations to cause such colors? Breeding trials are still ongoing toward discovering more about this interesting (if not mysterious) mutation.  It is not mysterious in terms of inheritance, but in that some non-Strawberry corns can exhibit similar colors – without being Coral/Strawberry mutants.  It is not a given that every corn snake displaying inordinate amounts of pink or coral is a Strawberry mutant, but so far, breeding trials between the three most notable Coral Snow types (Salmon, Champagne, and Neon) have demonstrated that they are all at least elementally allelic (breeding any combintion of the three morphs renders Snow corns that have extreme saturation of pink, coral, or both).  Hence, there may be other gene mutations or gene modifiers involved in one or all of those morphs, but they at least share the same mutational foundation that causes them to look remarkably pink/coral – unlike classic white-on-white Snows.

The general conclusion in the corn snake industry at this time is that any Snow corn that is also a Strawberry Mutant (thereby exhibiting a color predominance of pink and/or coral) is a Coral Snow.  Any additional refrence to familial origins (i.e. Salmon, Champagne, or Neon) is merely a lineage descriptor that may prove valuable if and when it is determined that one or more of those bloodlines actually possesses additional mutations, or strongly influencing polygenic traits.

Therefore, here at SMR, we consider any Snow (or ghost) that exhibits exaggerated/remarkable pink or coral colors to be one of several different family lines of the general group we call CORAL SNOWS.  Below are those popular lines;
  • Salmon
  • Champagne
  • Neon (a refinement of Lloyd Lemke’s Bubblegum Snow)

Pairing any two of these popular lines (and other similar lines) will render snows that demonstrate exaggeration of the pink or coral colors.  Instead of Strawberry (because enough evidence points to more than one gene causing this coloration) we generally call the gene Red Mask or Red Factor.  Therefore, you could call any of these lines simply, Coral Snows.  

What to expect:
As hatchlings, any CORAL-type Snow corn exhibits some degree of pink or coral (compared to snows without the gene mutation being just two shades of white).  Throughout ontogeny (maturity) all corns dramatically change from usually drab coloration to spectacular coloration.  Even if a Coral-type Snow only has a little of the pink or coral expression as a hatchling, it’s guaranteed that such colors will be at least doubled in color saturation and intensity.  
 
Some will demonstrate extremely saturated pink or coral as hatchlings.  Those individuals also super-saturate colors through maturity and are guaranteed to be more colorful than average Coral-type Snows.  The scheme of colors is highly variable from Coral markings on a barely pink ground color, Pink on Coral, Coral on white, Coral markings with greenish margins-on a white ground zone, greenish ground coloration with pink markings, some of which are bounded by white blotch margins, and every conceivable and inconceivable combinations thereof.  It is generally expected that several genes comprise the variety of pink/coral color schemes demonstrated in Coral Snow-types toDAY.  
 
SUPER SALMON/CORAL SNOWS have both copies of the Red Mask gene mutation, making them much more colorful than standard Coral Snows.  I estimate Super Form Coral/Salmon Snows to have easily twice the color intensity as their Visual Het counterparts (advertised as Coral Snows).  Expect Super Corals to be much more colorful as hatchlings and exponentially more-so as adults.  They’re not twice the price of the generic Coral Snows for no reason. They’re twice the snake.  
 

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.

Sunglow Motley 2015AAA

Sunglow Motley (aka: Sun Motley)
Most Commonly Used Name: Sunglow Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive + Selective Variant
Morph Type: Selective Variant of Recessive Compound (Amel + Motley) 
Eye Color: RED pupil
 

Many generations were spent in refining the beauty of the Sunglow Motley, but when we first introduced this mutation compound back in the 1990s, we didn’t realize what made Sun Motleys so much more colorful than all other Amel Motleys in the hobby.  At first, we believed that they owed their deeply colorful distinction to only two mutations; Amel and Motley and that they have been selectively-bred toward the goal of deeply saturated red coloration and classically orderly Motley pattern.  For years, we were helpless to explain why the colors in this line were so deeply saturated and why they were redder than other genetic lines.  In 2009, one of our friends that wondered the same thing–and conducted breeding trials to determine what caused the intense colors–came to the conclusion that SMR Sunglow Motleys possess the added mutation of what is sometimes referred to as Red Mask or Red Factor.  It is thought to be inherited in dominant fashion. 

If an animal receives just one DNA copy of mutation that is dominant to wild-type, it usually demonstrates a degree of that mutation; in this case, enhanced overall red/orange coloration that is much more pronounced than Amel Motleys without one (or both) copies of the Red Mask mutation.  These are called Visual Hets and that’s what 95% of all the Sun Motleys we’ve sold over the past two decades have been.  Then, in the second successive familial generation, (F2) some of the progeny have essentially twice the color saturation as the others.  Those are homozygotes (sometimes referred to as the SUPER FORM of the mutation) and we’ve only recently recognized those.  Therefore, whether the SMR Sun Motley you acquire is a Visual Het or a Super Form, expect deeply red/orange coloration with few (if any) white scales showing.  

Some people mistakenly think that if a Motley has orderly and consistent circles down the back (as most Sun Motleys do), it’s a Hurricane Motley.  Below is a demonstration of distinction between a Hurricane Amel Motley and a Sunglow Motley.

hurricane112e-300

 
What to expect:
Sunglow Motley are one of a handful of corn snake morphs that change their appearance very little from hatchling to adult.  Expect neonate Sunglow Motleys to be intensely colored, and though the color transition from neonate to adult is fractionally that of other mutations, some saturation of color will occur through maturation.

 

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 Tessera 2015

Striped Tessera (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Striped Tessera
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Dominant
Morph Type: Both Dominant & Recessive Gene Mutations
Eye Color:  Black pupil with ground zone-colored 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 Tessera Type that is a Visual Het to ANY corn (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.

 
Striped Tesseras are at least homozygotes of the recessively-inherited STRIPE mutation and the dominantly-inherited TESSERA mutation. At this time, there appears to be no direct mutational relationship between those two mutations (when in genetic union), except for the seemingly collateral features that distinguish virtually all Striped Tesseras from simple Striped mutants. The features that are demonstrated in most Striped Tesseras that distinguish them from simple Striped corn mutants are:
 

  • Contiguity of pattern. Striped Tesseras have remarkably continuous striping and if it does break – unlike simple mutant Striped corns – it resumes in the same form – without fading to broken striping and eventually no striped pattern at all, as we see in ALL simple mutant Striped corns.
  • Stripe that extends to the tail and beyond.  I have never seen a simple mutant Striped corn that had a stripe that continued to the tail tip.  I’ve seen nearly full striping in some lines of Striped Motleys, but never in Striped mutants.  When one corn possesses both the STRIPE and the TESSERA mutations, most of these corns have striping that continues to the tip of the tail, regardless of how many stripe breaks there are between the neck and tail tip.  When the striped pattern of Striped corn mutants begins to break up and/or fade, it does not resume in recognizable form.  My reference to “tail pattern” is the dorsal location that is the polar opposite of the cloaca (polar as opposing points on the same vertical plane).
  • Variable stripe width. It is not common, but some of the Striped Tesseras we’ve produced have varying stripe width, which is something seldom observed on simple Striped mutants.  Generally speaking, the striping of Striped Tesseras widens as it extends tail-ward.  Some have intermittent and abrupt changes of width from the neck to the tail, but except for gradual widening of stripe, some have remarkably clean stripes.  The question that can’t help but be asked is, “In STRIPED TESSERAS, is the striped pattern the result of the Striped mutation, the striped version of the Motley mutation; Striped Motley. OR the striped version of the Tessera mutation?”  I don’t know the answer at this time. 

Note the comparison of a Striped Amel (Het Caramel) and a Striped Tessera in this image.

stvsstte4792my11

 
 
 
What to expect:
Striped Tesseras are still fairly rare. So far, the only feature that is atypical – compared to typical corn snake mutations – is that many of the non-mutant siblings of Tessera types seem to have enhanced pattern and color features.  So far, I don’t recognize any traditional markers that are unique to hybrid colubrids, 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).  I’m intrigued by the collateral nature of some of the non-Tessera siblings co-incidentally having improved characteristics without changing standard features of the species (i.e. body shape, belly checkering, head pattern, shape and number of markings).
 
As hatchlings, Striped Tesseras generally look like Striped corns, except for the precision of striping and retention of black pigment seen in most Striped Tesseras. Other than the obviously better quality of striping in Striped Tesseras, the primary difference between the closest corn snake phenotype (Striped Motley) and Striped Tesseras  is that of the dominant genetic inheritance of the Tessera.  Naturally, the Stripe and Motley mutations (which are alleles of the Motley locus) are inherited in recessive fashion. Just like all corns, Striped Tesseras gain improved color saturation 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.

The belly patterns of most Tesseras that are not also homozygous for other pattern mutations (i.e. Stripe) are all over the charts, but so far, all the bellies on Striped Tesseras have had no pattern at all.  Apparently, the STRIPE mutation trumps what normally occurs on the bellies of Tessera mutants, thereby not allowing belly pattern.

Having grafted another entire branch on the already sprawling corn snake family tree, we think the Tessera mutation will offer genetic flexibility never before possible; mainly in the realm of making Stripe and Motley types without losing the black (white in albinos).  Imagine all the current colors of corns infused with the Tessera, Striped Tessera, and Motley Tessera patterns?

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.

 

Snow Motley 2015

Snow Motley (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Snow Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Type: Triple mutation compound (Motley + Amel + Anery)
Eye Color:  RED pupil

Combining the three recessive gene mutations; Motley and (Anery & Amel = Snow) combine to render this beautiful Snow compound mutation. Typically, they have many subtle colors found throughout the spectrum of the Snow compound mutation.

What to expect:
Both male and female hatchlings look alike (essentially white snakes with some tainted shade of what Motley markings).  

 

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.

Snow 2015

Snow (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Snow
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Mutation Compound (Amel&Anery)
Eye Color: Red pupil

 

The first compound mutation in corns, Snow corns (genetically, Anery Amels) are the F2 finished product of pairing an Amel with an Anery.  Both base mutation phenotypes are obviously supplanted with different shades of white (no Amel or Anery traits showing). Pairing an Amel with an Anery yields 100% wild phenotypes (common corns) that are of course all Heterozygous (abbr. Het) for both Amel and Anery. In so much as both base gene mutations are inherited in simple recession fashion, approximately one out of 16 of the F2 progeny will be a Snow.  Of course, there will be NO black on any snow corn that lacks the genetic impacts of other mutations.  Sometimes, black is visible in parts of the eye, but this is not melanin.  It is eye tissue whose density defies light reflection, so it appears to us to be black.  At this time, many breeders are changing the colors of Snow corns through the addition of other gene mutations that alter the mature phenotype.

 

 

What to expect:
Since they have been commonly bred for so long, there is a wide variety of different color schemes in Snow corns.  As hatchlings, most are some shade of white with contrasting white or pink markings, but most end up being off-white with dirty white markings.  Pink can show through on adults and yellow is becoming a fairly common color in adult snows (not the carotenoid yellow that manifests through maturity from retention of carotenoids in their diets).  Such non-carotenoid retained yellow is sometimes mixed in the ground color, sometimes only in the markings, sometimes only in the boundaries of the blotches, and any combination thereof.

 

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.

 

 

Rootbeer Bloodred 2015

INTERSPECIES  HYBRID !

Rootbeer Bloodred (aka: Diffused Rootbeers, Rootbeer Bloods)
Most Commonly Used Name:  Rootbeer Bloodreds
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive corn snake Emory’s Rat Snake + recessive Diffused
Morph Type: Single recessive HYBRID Mutation + recessive Diffused
Eye Color:  Black pupil

 

 

The HYBRID element of this morph compound was 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. Their non-Amel counterparts without red pupils are called Rootbeers.  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 Rootbeers.

 

 

Combination of the Diffused/Bloodred mutation (see Diffused VS Bloodred history) and the Emory’s Rat Snake ancestry render these beautifully pale wild-type colored corn snake morph.

 

 

 
What to expect:
Hatchling Rootbeers have any pattern you see in corn snakes.  I’ve seen Rootbeers that were as dark as Chocolate, but most look like their namesake drink, Root Beer.  Not unlike some hybrid snakes that can be selectively bred to eventually hide all visual traces of their alien ancestor, some Creamsicles and Rootbeers can be respectively identical to Amel and wild-type common corns .  Root Beers (and their creamsicle cousins) 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 and Rootbeers in pet stores and reptile expos, but were never advised of their hybrid origins.

 

 

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.

 

 

Glossary Term Hyperlinks:

Motley 2015

Motley (no aka)
Most Commonly Used Name: Motley
Mode of Genetic Inheritance: Recessive
Morph Type: Single Recessive Mutation
Eye Color: Black pupil & body ground colored iris
 

The first description of this corn snake pattern mutation was published by the late Dr. H. Bernard Bechtel in the 1980s.  His breeding trials demonstrated the heritability of this mutation to be simple recessive.  The distinguishing feature of those is belly checkering.  Good Motleys have an orderly and contiguous pattern of spots down the dorsum that represent spaces in what appears to be a continuous, wide stripe of color running from the neck tail-ward.  The size, shape, location, organization, and number of circular pattern interruptions on the back define the grade of individuals, but until recently, the one pattern distinction we could rely upon was that of having no checkers on their belly.  Lately, we’re seeing Motleys with some black checkering, but it’s random and sparse.  I suspect that one DAY we’ll see Motleys with quite a bit of belly checkering.  In fact, certain genetic compounds of Motley have somewhat reliable belly markings (i.e. Sunglow Motley and Lavender Motley).

 
 
What to expect:
Thankfully, there is little change (if any) in the markings from hatchling to adult, but one characteristic impossible not to notice is that of diffusion of pattern and color throughout maturity.  This essentially does change the pattern appearance, and it certainly does have interesting impacts on color compounds of Motley.  Not unlike the “Diffused” mutation (aka: Bloodred) that diffuses color and pattern, Motleys virtually always enhance any other color or pattern mutation with which they have genetic union.  Do not expect contiguous and orderly dorsal patterning, as Motleys with the best patterns are still in a minority in this morph.  BTW, they are rare, but some non-mutant corns have dorsal pattern that is very similar to Motleys, but still a dependable distinguishing feature is the belly.  If a Motley-looking corn has a busily checkered belly, it should not be a Motley mutant.
 
 

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.