Corn Snakes
are my specialty. They are very easy and you
should catch on quick. First of all, they are not like the bearded dragons,
where you breed a red and a yellow and get orange. You need to breed two
with the same trait to express the trait in the offspring. Secondly I'll
cover the morphs:
Anery A =
anerythrisistic type A. This means
there is no red pigmentation, just mostly black and a little yellow.
Anery B = anerythrisistic type B. These lack both red and
yellow pigment, so they show only shades of black.
Amel =
Amelanistic. This means it lacks the
black pigment and displays red and yellow, and has red eyes.
This is a widely used morph - the candy cane, reverse okeetee,
and creamsicle are all examples of the amelanistic gene. Also called Red
Albino, or just Albino.
Hypo =
Hypomelanistic. These just lack most of
the black pigment, so they almost look normal but have a little more orange and a little less black.
There are also other types of the Hypo gene, like Sunkissed and Lava.
Sunkissed is Hypo B and Lava is Hypo C.
Snow = These are a mix between Amel and Anery
A. They are white with some pink or yellow and red eyes.
Blizzard = This is a mix between Amel and Anery B. They are all completely
with with red eyes.
Ghost = Anery A X Hypo. These are light to
dark grey on light grey and may have yellow.
Phantom = Anery B X Hypo. Also called Hypo Ghost. Light grey on lighter
grey.
Butter = Amel X Caramel. Just a yellow version of a Snow. White with Yellow
patterns.
Amber = Hypo X Caramel. Orange and brown. has mostly a gold tint to it.
Motley = Top and side patches are attached and underside is all white.
Striped = Stripes extending the snake lengthwise and usually a whiter
underside.
Bloodred = This pattern morph does not pertain to color as much as pattern,
but it does tend to bring out better color. Babies look a lot like motleys
but as they get older the pattern fades into a mostly solid color.
Ok, now that that's covered, I can give an
example of what you would get if you breed so-and-so with a bla-bla.
Amel X Amel = 100% Amel
Amel X Het Amel = 50% Amel, 50% Het Amel
Het Amel X Het Amel = 25% Amel, 50% Het Amel, 25% Normal - This is when we
say normals are 66% possible Het Amel, because you cannot tell the genotype of a
heterozygous
recessive trait just by looking at it. Remember Het means the trait is not expressed.
Amel X Hypo = 100% Het for Amel and Hypo - This would be called a
"double het"
Amel X Het Hypo = 50% Het Amel and Hypo, 50% Het Amel
Amel Het Hypo X Hypo Het Amel = 25% Amel Hypo, 25% Amel Het Hypo, 25%
Hypo Het Amel, 25% Double het Hypo and Amel
Ok
see how the last one had a 25% chance of making a snake that shows both
traits? That's how a lot of morphs are made. Here's a list of
those: Snow, Blizzard, Ghost, Phantom, Butter, and Amber. And this is how to
make them:
Snow: Anery A Het Amel X
Amel Het Anery A = 25% Amel Anery A (Snow)
Blizzard: Anery B Het Amel X Amel Het Anery B = 25% Amel Anery B (Blizzard)
Ghost: Anery A Het Hypo X Hypo Het Anery A = 25% Hypo Anery A (Ghost)
Phantom: Anery B Het Hypo X Hypo Het Anery B = 25% Hypo Anery B (Phantom)
Butter:
Amel Het Caramel X Caramel Het Amel = 25% Amel Caramel (Butter)
Amber: Hypo Het Caramel X Caramel Het Hypo = 25% Hypo Caramel (Amber)
Motley and Stripe are both co-dominant with
each other. If you breed a Motley with a Stripe, they are
predicted to be 100% Motley Stripe. This is kind of fun because if you
cross:
Anery A Het Motley Hypo X Hypo Het Striped Anery A, there is a 6.25% chance
you get a Motley Striped Ghost. Although this is very unlikely, it would be
worth a great amount. Besides, the other 93.75% would be pretty interesting
anyway.
If you are still confused I'd be happy to help if you
want to call or email me.
Also, you may find the Ball Python Genetics page easier to understand.
