Genetic Limits??????

Is there a limit to the number of genetic traits a ball python can have? how many co dom or recessive traits can one snake have? and how do breeders get triple co dom recessive snakes? this just blows my mind.

There doesn't seem to be any limiting factor unless the two (or more!) of the traits have a synergistic/epistatic effect on one another that causes a condition that's incompatible with life. For example, according to one post I've read the sable x spider seems to consistently fail to thrive, so anything with both sable and spider shouldn't survive (in theory ........).

Aside from that, it's limited only by probability (hitting on a octuple co-dom, for example, would have astronomically small odds) and the amount of time necessary to breed these many-multi gene combos ...

Also, as we breed more and more I suspect that we'll find that there are some genes whose loci are very close together on the same chromosome, so it will be highly improbable for crossing over to occur and both morphs show up in the same offspring ... I haven't yet heard of anything like that, though, oddly enough.

Anyone know what morph has the highest number of genetic traits?

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Originally Posted by WFReptiles

Anyone know what morph has the highest number of genetic traits?

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I think NERD has the most prolific "mega combos", although I know some others are also working on such things. Which has the most? I have no idea...but maybe someone does.

The trouble when you get into these "mega combos" is that it gets harder and harder to identify with certainty exactly which traits have been passed along. Someone with an eye like Kevin's can pick out minute details of each one...but even he doesn't know what, exactly, some of his combos are.

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Originally Posted by WFReptiles

Anyone know what morph has the highest number of genetic traits?

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Im gonna ask the same thing. As of this date, whom or what bp have the most number of morphs/traits on it? And how many morphs/traits have been squeezed into that bp? :)

There has to be limits.... Where I dont know, but there are only a certain amount of genes to mutate.....

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Originally Posted by jopay

Im gonna ask the same thing. As of this date, whom or what bp have the most number of morphs/traits on it? And how many morphs/traits have been squeezed into that bp? :)

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Kevin has several combos that he believes to have five and six genes at play. He's not going to say what they all are yet, of course - and some he doesn't really KNOW what all they are until he breeds them some more. I have a four banger in my collection currently (enchi-pin-bengal-het pied) from Kevin.

Robin, I've heard you mention the Bengal morph a couple times, but Google doesn't turn much up on it -- do you mind elaborating or is it still a "quiet project" at the moment? ;) Thanks!

queen-spin is pastel+lesser+spider+pinstripe

I think that at a certain point it will be impossiable to tell what traits are showing.

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Originally Posted by Serpent_Nirvana

Robin, I've heard you mention the Bengal morph a couple times, but Google doesn't turn much up on it -- do you mind elaborating or is it still a "quiet project" at the moment? ;) Thanks!

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Bengal is Kevin's line of genetic reduced patterns. It looks sort of like a dirty enchi to me. He had a Bengal/Pastel that I thought was an enchi pastel. It adds warm gold tones to mixes. I know that he's working on getting a genetics page up on it. Actually, I think it's done, it's just a matter of reformatting the page that lists all the mutations, and is more involved than just adding it. I know that he wanted to wait to ship my boy until he got a chance to take some more pictures of him for the page.

When I get a chance, I'll try to load some of my pictures that I took of the bengal. I happened to love the bengals that I saw, but it's so hard to capture how cool they look in person. It's a very subtle morphs, but I've always been a fan of the subtle morphs.

I also got a picture of one of his combo's that included the bengal that really cleaned up the combo.