Best way to get started

[TheAudOne]

deleted

[Shaun J]

So, then, what if *you* are the breeder?? For instance, when you breed your new hets in a few years....how will you know which offspring are 100% hets, and which are "normal" (only 66% hets according to Joe). Seems it would be very nice to know the difference...especially if you plan to sell the offspring. How does any breeder know they are selling a 100% het and not, say, a 66% het.

If there is no way to tell the difference....it seems the uncertainty would continue to carry over if you start breeding the offspring, too...

Forgive my curiousity, but my wife is quite interested in getting into this so I am trying to learn as much as I can. I would hate to invest in 2 het pied snakes (for example) and have them produce offspring that look normal, and have absolutely no idea which are 100% hets and which aren't.

Thanks for all the helpful responses!

-BT

Well thats the thing with hets.

You never know which is normal, and which is het pied.THUS, all of the normal looking ones have a 66% chance of being het pied.

If you breed two Definate (100%) het pieds, you will still make some pieds.

[bjthomps]

So, then, what if *you* are the breeder?? For instance, when you breed your new hets in a few years....how will you know which offspring are 100% hets, and which are "normal" (only 66% hets according to Joe). Seems it would be very nice to know the difference...especially if you plan to sell the offspring. How does any breeder know they are selling a 100% het and not, say, a 66% het.

If there is no way to tell the difference....it seems the uncertainty would continue to carry over if you start breeding the offspring, too...

Forgive my curiousity, but my wife is quite interested in getting into this so I am trying to learn as much as I can. I would hate to invest in 2 het pied snakes (for example) and have them produce offspring that look normal, and have absolutely no idea which are 100% hets and which aren't.

Thanks for all the helpful responses!

-BT

(Accidently posted this under my wife's account - TheAudOne. That is why I deleted and reposted....sorry!)

[bjthomps]

So Shaun - If you breed 2 100% hets - what do you do with the offspring that look normal?? You can't say for sure which are 100% het and which aren't?


-BT

[Shaun J]

No way to tell unless you breed them.

That's why you breed ALL the females back to the father, so you can find out which one is het.

[ddbjdealer]

How does any breeder know they are selling a 100% het and not, say, a 66% het.

The only possible way to have a 100% het is to breed a homozygous animal to either a normal or heterozygous. The different percentages come from the following:

Het x Normal = 50% Possible Het (All normal looking)
Het x Het = 66% Possible Het (in a 4 egg example, 1 Homozygous, 2 Hets, 1 Normal - thus... the 3 that look normal, are 66% possible hets.. and that is how they're marketed)

Homo x Normal = 100% Het (ALL Normal looking)
Homo x Het = 100% Het (1/2 Homo, 1/2 Het)

You can't have an animal that has a percentage "chance" of having the gene... they either DO or DO NOT, but because all of the offspring are normal looking, the percentages come in when deciding to sell or market the animals, or to breed them to prove them out.

Confused now? We all were at some point!