I'm not usually the type to ask 'OMG wut do I have?', but this animal is just so unusual. I try to stay away from the big chain pet stores, but I needed a couple wheels today for some new ASF colony setups and a good friend of mine was working so I stopped in at our local pet store. I browsed the critters as I usually do, then stopped to peek at the BPs. They had the usual little CH babies, then 2 in another tank labeled adults that were quite a bit bigger and looked very similar. I pulled this one out to look it over, and can't get over how dark it is. There's also quite a bit of burn scarring in places so I assume it's WC. I couldn't help it, I brought it home.

But. What IS it? Is it something special, or just an extra-crispy normal? The darkness is pretty even, the alien heads are outlined in a faint gold along with the back markings, and the belly is pretty clear. Very little yellow/brown pigment at all. The eyes are jet black (no visible pupil that I could see), and there is a head spot and faint pattern.

He/she has an appointment with my vet as soon as I can get a fecal sample for parasite testing, and I have it quietly sitting in a quarantine tub treated with PAM.











Thoughts?