RCReptiles.com

[reptilehunter]

With the tremendous number of imported snakes, that come into the country on an annual basis and with the ever-increasing number of captive bred snakes that are being produced it seems that there is a new “morph” appearing at least once a month.

When the question, “What makes a snake a morph?” was asked of several different breeders the answers given consistently contained two main points. The first requirement was that the snake’s appearance must be distinctly and significantly different than normal (wild type), and secondly the appearance must be an inheritable trait.

Requirement 1 - The appearance of the snake must be significantly and distinctly different than wild type, or normal color and pattern.

Snakes are tremendously variable. Some are brightly colored and will immediately catch your eye. Others may have markings on the face and top of the head that will seem to set them apart from the rest, but many times these markings are only a part of the wide variation seen in normal snakes.

Each of the above snakes has some nice characteristics that set it apart from a portion of the general snake population, but the characteristics are still widely found on hundreds of snakes. A person only needs to look at the widely accepted genetically proven morphs to understand the full meaning of distinctly and significantly different than wild type.

Requirement 2 – The appearance must be an inheritable trait.

Simple recessive mutations can only be produced if both the male and female carry at least one gene for the specific trait that is being bred for.

There are several types of inheritable traits, simple recessive, codominant, dominant and those that are attained through the process of artificial selection.

Codominant mutations can be produced when only one of the parents is the gene carrier. A mutation is codominant when the phenotype in the heterozygous form has a different appearance than in the homozygous form and both appearances are different from normal. In other words, the homozygous snake looks different from the heterozygous form and both look different from a normal snake.

Dominant mutations can also be produced when only one of the parents is the gene carrier. A mutation is dominant when the phenotype in the heterozygous form has the same appearance as in the homozygous form. This appearance is also different from normal. In other words, the two look the same. The only way to tell which is the homozygous is through breeding efforts.

The last type of inheritance is more complex. It involves the process of selectively breeding similar animals over several generations to enhance the traits that they display. This process is known as artificial selection. An excellent example of artificial selection was the creation of the “Banana California Kingsnake”. California Kingsnakes, in some areas, are dark brown and yellow. Some specimens were found that had more yellow than most. These were bred together and some of their offspring had increased yellow. Those with the most yellow were bred together and so on and so on. After many generations, the “Banana California Kingsnake” became a reality. With this type of genetic variation, there are no heterozygous snakes and it is neither a dominant nor a codominant trait.

There are many examples of this type of inheritance in the snake. When two similar snakes are bred together it is not unusual for some of the hatchlings to look like one or both of the parents. Through the process of artificial selection it may become possible to consistently produce snakes with the desired traits that the original parent or parents exhibited. Black backed snakes, banded snakes and many others have markings or colors that are commonly found through out the general snake population. These snakes when bred together, or bred to a normal, (wild type individual) will produce some hatchlings that will have some of the parent(s) markings and or coloring. Through the process of artificial selection the desired traits can be refined until they are expressed to the breeders satisfaction. These traits will still not be inherited as simple recessive, dominant or codominant. They will always remain traits that will need to be pursued through the process of artificial selection the desired traits can be refined until they are expressed to the breeders satisfaction. These traits will still not be inherited as simple recessive, dominant or codominant. They will always remain traits that will need to be pursued through the process of artificial selection.

[nicks2112]

omg is that reptile hunter from yahoo answers ?u give long posts on here to lol

[reptilehunter]

Yes its me. I try to give an accurate and detailed information so there is no guessing for the user. I guess sometimes it gets kind of long. I think its better than a short cheap answer that has no merit.

[deborahbroadus]

[nicks2112]

[slitheringin]

I like your posts, reptilehunter. They're very informative and thorough.

Debbie