Color mutations

Color mutations

The simple color mutations are as follows. If you want to know how they get the names for these mutations, there’s a brief explanation in “Naming Explanation.” For a more complete guide to the morphology and genetics of cornsnakes, check out my Cornsnake Morph Guide.
· Amelanistic - lacking the black pigment, and has pink eyes. The Candycane, Sunglow, and Reverse Okeetee morphs are based on this trait.
· Anerythristic - lacking the red pigment. Often abbreviated as “Anery.”
· Charcoal - Also called “Anerythristic Type B.” Charcoals are similar in appearance to Anerythristics, sometimes so much so that it is difficult to tell Anery adults from Charcoal adults.
· Hypomelanism - A reduction of the black pigment. Belly checkers are noticably lighter, and the black outlines around the blotches are very thin or gone.
· Sunkissed -This is a hypo-like trait--which looks similar to but is not compatible with the ‘standard’ hypo gene--which first appeared in Kathy Love's collection in her Okeetee lines.
· Lava -This is a hypo-like trait which has a more severe expression than the other hypos. Hatchlings look almost amelanistic. These are very bright snakes, and it is currently unknown whether this is simply a result of them coming from Okeetee lines.
· Ultra -This is a hypo-like trait which looks similar to but is not compatible with the ‘standard’ hypo gene. It is an allele to amel, and a new phenotype of extreme hypo (almost amelanistic) is produced when the amel and ultra allele are paired together. This phenotype is currently referred to as "ultramel."
· Caramel - If you were to divert all red pigment production into yellow production, this is the phenotype that would result. The snake is colored in yellows, grays, and browns. There is no "red" or "orange" apparent on these snakes.
· Lavender - Red is gone, black is reduced a little, the snake has a lavender tinge to its overall color. Hatchlings and juveniles usually have orange/pink/purple ground color which brightens as they grow, and then fades out after maturity. Many Lavenders have some amount of Aztec patterning on them.
Cornsnakes can have more than one color mutation in the same animal. For a listing of the combinations, refer to the Combos page.
Some color mutations haven’t been found yet, at least to my knowledge. Here’s my list of what could be found at some point, and what I think they might look like:
· Hypermelanistic - Hopefully it would look similar to a mexican black Kingsnake and be almost solid black, or sepia colored as it gets older.
· Hypererythristic - Having way too much red pigment.
· Hyperxanthic - Having gratly increased yellow pigment.
· Hypoerythristic - Add a dull reddish-orange wash to an Anery and this is the look to be expected.
· Hypoxanthic - A reduction of the yellow pigment. (Might already exist and just be undetectable.)
· Axanthic - A complete lack of the yellow pigment. This may be visually indistinguishable from hypoxanthism, since yellow pigments play a much more subtle role than red and black.

Hey mate, you mention a cornsnake morph guide, where can i get hold of a copy?

Try Basic Reptile Genetics 101
http://www.ballpython.ca/genetics_101.html

OR

"Genetics Wizard"

If I wanted to determine the outcome of a het albino to an albino breeding here's what I would do:

1. Go to www.geneticswizard.com

2. Click "Click here to start the genetics wizard"

3. Choose the number of abnormal traits - In this example we are only working with one mutation - albino. So choose one then click "build query form".

4. Under the genetics trait column, do not check codominant or dominant, we will leave those unmarked because albino is a recessive trait. Type in "Albino" in the box.

5. Under the column titled "the male is", choose homozygous. This tells genetics wizard that the male is an albino boa.

6. Under the column titled "the female is", choose heterozygous. This tells genetics wizard the the female is a het albino.

7. Click "Ask The Wizard!"

The statistical probabilities of this pairing will then be displayed:

"50% Het. Albino,
50% Homozygous Albino"

This tells us that we wil get half a litter of het albino boas and half a litter of albinos.

Lets do another example with hypomelanism, an (incomplete) dominant trait. (Regular) hypo x normal:

1. Go to www.geneticswizard.com

2. Click "Click here to start the genetics wizard"

3. Choose the number of abnormal traits - in this example we are again working with only one morph so we choose 1 then click "build query form".

4. Under the genetics trait column, choose dominant, because the hypo gene is dominant. Then type "Hypo" in the box.

5. Under the column titled "the male is" choose heterozygous. This indicates that the male is a "regular" hypo. Had the male been a "super" hypo, we would have checked homozygous.

6. Under the column titled "the female is" choose WT. This indicates that the female is a normal.

7. Click "Ask The Wizard!"

The statistical probabilities of this pairing will then be displayed:

"50% WT
50% Het. Hypod,"

This tells us that we will get half a litter of normal boas ("WT" or "Wild Type") and half a litter of regular hypos.

Another example: Hypo het albino and het anery (a.k.a. "Triple Het") x Sunglow

1. Go to www.geneticswizard.com

2. Click "Click here to start the genetics wizard"

3. Choose the number of abnormal traits - In this example we are working with three morphs total - albino, anery, and hypo. So choose three then click "build query form".

4. Under the genetics trait column you will see three boxes this time. In the first box type "hypo" and check dominant. In the second box type anery and leave codominant/dominant unchecked because it is a recessive trait. In the third box type albino and leave codominant/dominant unchecked because it is a recessive trait.

5. We will assume the male is the hypo triple het. Under the column titled "the male is" and in the hypo row, choose het. This signifies that the male is a regular hypo, and not a "super" hypo. In the anery row choose het, because he is a het anery. In the albino row choose het, because he is a het hypo.

6. We will assume the female is a sunglow. Under the column titled "the female is" and in the hypo row, choose het. This signifies she is a regular sunglow and not a "super" sunglow. In the anery row choose WT. This signifies she is not anery nor is she a het anery. In the albino row choose homozygous, because she is an albino.

7. Click "Ask The Wizard!"

The statistical probabilities of this pairing will then be displayed:

"6.25% Het. albino,
6.25% Homozygous albino,
6.25% Het. anery, Het. albino,
6.25% Het. anery, Homozygous albino,
12.5% Het. hypod, Het. albino,
12.5% Het. hypod, Homozygous albino,
12.5% Het. hypod, Het. anery, Het. albino,
12.5% Het. hypod, Het. anery, Homozygous albino,
6.25% Homozygous hypod, Het. albino,
6.25% Homozygous hypod, Homozygous albino,
6.25% Homozygous hypod, Het. anery, Het. albino,
6.25% Homozygous hypod, Het. anery, Homozygous albino,"

That can look confusing to those who arent totally familiar with A. the way the mutations work (recessive or dominant) and B. The terminology. Here are the results reworded with what we are familiar with:

6.25% Het. albino
6.25% albino
6.25% Het anery Het albino
6.25% albino het anery
12.5% hypo Het albino
12.5% sunglow
12.5% hypo Het anery Het albino
12.5% sunglow Het anery
6.25% super hypo het albino
6.25% super sunglow
6.25% super hypo Het anery Het albino
6.25% super sunglow Het anery

Cheers mate thanks for the links, still learning about genetics of corns (started about 2-3 years ago and getting their slowley, lol).

It's good to have a boa wizzard to as i have a pair that will be (hopefully) breeding next year (end of 08-09) as my female was just a tad small this time round.