I'm Wondering if Someone Can Shed Some Light For Me...

[paulh]

Homozygous and heterozygous refer to gene pairs.

Homozygous = the two genes in a gene pair are the same.
Heterozygous (het) = the two genes in a gene pair are NOT the same.

Heterozygous and homozygous are most commonly used with recessive mutant genes. They can be used with codominant mutant genes and should be used with dominant mutant genes.

Het albino means that the animal has a gene pair made up of a normal gene and an albino gene. As the albino gene is recessive to the normal gene, the animal looks normal. Het albino and normal (AKA homozygous normal) distinguish two animals that look alike.

Het lesser means that the animal has a gene pair made up of a normal gene and a lesser gene. As lesser is codominant to the normal gene, the animal does not look normal. Super lesser = homozygous lesser and means that the animal has a gene pair made up of two lesser genes. As lesser is codominant to the normal gene, the super lesser ball python does not look normal and does not look like a lesser ball python.

Pinstripe means a ball python with the pinstripe appearance and at least one pinstripe gene. Het pinstripe means that the animal has a gene pair made up of a normal gene and a pinstripe gene. As pinstripe is dominant to the normal gene, the animal does not look normal. Super pinstripe = homozygous pinstripe and means that the animal has a gene pair made up of two pinstripe genes and does not look normal. A pinstripe and a super pinstripe ball python look alike, so het pinstripe and homozygous pinstripe distinguish the two. Using super pinstripe tends to make people think a homozygous pinstripe looks different from a het pinstripe.

[Carrie Beth]

Thanks for explaining that. I'm going to save it so I can look back when I get confused!!

[Merriah]

I think you are lucky to have a handsome little man with a cool little curl on his tail. As long as he's healthy, I wouldn't worry. He's like one of those cute dogs with their tongue hanging out!

[Carrie Beth]

I think you are lucky to have a handsome little man with a cool little curl on his tail. As long as he's healthy, I wouldn't worry. He's like one of those cute dogs with their tongue hanging out!

Oh, I know how lucky I am!! I've had him almost two weeks and I still do a little "SQUEE" every time I see him and his little Cinnabon. I got him at last month's herp society meeting and all the women were looking at him and doing the same thing. I even have friends that don't like snakes that think he is cute. And I feel in love the first time I saw him...him, not so much. He musked me.

The friend who found him kept him for two weeks. He does a lot of breeding of reptiles in general, is a biologist, and had worked as one of the curators of the Reptile House at Bronx Zoo. And if anything was wrong, he would've known. The Cinnabon clears his cloaca, and he poops just fine. My friend said that he offered several pinkies and he killed them all before eating one. He also had a great shed while there. He's eaten great for me, only turning up his nose at prekilled/thawed pinkies, and I've seen him drinking and exploring too. I will switch him over to that eventually, but right now I just want him to eat. And he is a feisty little one. Besides musking, he seems to enjoy random air biting. I've just started holding him for 10 minutes at a time.

The only precaution I'm taking is putting mineral oil on his Cinnabon to help when he sheds.

[Kibbleswhites]

Do not put oil on the tail, the scales will all fall off! The tail may end up being more of a problem than you may think. He will not be able to shed in that area correctly and it may eventually cause strangulation of the tail that is curled. No oil, and watch for sores or discoloration. Try to get as much shed from between the crevices as you can using warm water after he sheds the rest of the body. As he grows, the coils may become tighter and more of an issue, or maybe not. You will just have to wait and see.

[Carrie Beth]

Do not put oil on the tail, the scales will all fall off! The tail may end up being more of a problem than you may think. He will not be able to shed in that area correctly and it may eventually cause strangulation of the tail that is curled. No oil, and watch for sores or discoloration. Try to get as much shed from between the crevices as you can using warm water after he sheds the rest of the body. As he grows, the coils may become tighter and more of an issue, or maybe not. You will just have to wait and see.

I'm going to avoid that at all costs. He has already had a healthy shed with no shed remaining on his tail and I'm taking him out every day except when he eats, and I'm watching him like a hawk! Thanks for telling me about the mineral oil.

[Ball2Drop]

Homozygous and heterozygous refer to gene pairs.

Homozygous = the two genes in a gene pair are the same.
Heterozygous (het) = the two genes in a gene pair are NOT the same.

Heterozygous and homozygous are most commonly used with recessive mutant genes. They can be used with codominant mutant genes and should be used with dominant mutant genes.

Het albino means that the animal has a gene pair made up of a normal gene and an albino gene. As the albino gene is recessive to the normal gene, the animal looks normal. Het albino and normal (AKA homozygous normal) distinguish two animals that look alike.

Het lesser means that the animal has a gene pair made up of a normal gene and a lesser gene. As lesser is codominant to the normal gene, the animal does not look normal. Super lesser = homozygous lesser and means that the animal has a gene pair made up of two lesser genes. As lesser is codominant to the normal gene, the super lesser ball python does not look normal and does not look like a lesser ball python.

Pinstripe means a ball python with the pinstripe appearance and at least one pinstripe gene. Het pinstripe means that the animal has a gene pair made up of a normal gene and a pinstripe gene. As pinstripe is dominant to the normal gene, the animal does not look normal. Super pinstripe = homozygous pinstripe and means that the animal has a gene pair made up of two pinstripe genes and does not look normal. A pinstripe and a super pinstripe ball python look alike, so het pinstripe and homozygous pinstripe distinguish the two. Using super pinstripe tends to make people think a homozygous pinstripe looks different from a het pinstripe.

So you CAN refer to dominant and co-dominant genes at het? (They will obviously look like the het gene however, i.e. Het Pastel we would normally refer to as just Pastel?). So het can be used with any combo not just recessive? Thanks.


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[Eric Alan]

So you CAN refer to dominant and co-dominant genes at het? (They will obviously look like the het gene however, i.e. Het Pastel we would normally refer to as just Pastel?). So het can be used with any combo not just recessive? Thanks.

You'd be technically correct, but not "hobby correct". If you use the term Het outside of recessives, people will look at you like you have a third leg.

[paulh]

So you CAN refer to dominant and co-dominant genes at het? (They will obviously look like the het gene however, i.e. Het Pastel we would normally refer to as just Pastel?). So het can be used with any combo not just recessive? Thanks.


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100% correct.

Remember that we are referring to a comparison between two genes. Take the albino mutant gene and the corresponding normal gene. Saying that albino is a recessive mutant gene automatically means that the normal gene is also dominant to the albino mutant gene.

I've had people react as if I had a third leg when I write about a "het hypo" boa constrictor. Hypo is a dominant gene in boa constrictors. Goes to show how ignorant about genetics many people are in the hobby. So I usually dumb it down to "my snake has a hypo gene paired with a normal gene." It takes a little longer to write, but there is less room for misunderstanding.

For codominant mutant genes, what the animal looks like indicates the genes present. But if someone doesn't know that pastel is codominant to its corresponding normal gene, then "het pastel" indicates what the genes are.

If you want to get really complicated, try some cases of multiple alleles in mice or fruit flies. You can have one gene be dominant to a second gene, codominant to a third, and recessive to a fourth. The a locus in mice is like that, only more complicated because there are more mutant genes there.