Ultramel aka ultramelanistic

[m00kfu]

Is “ultramel” really short for “ultramelanistic”? I guess I never thought where the name came from but "ultamelanistic" would make me think of a very dark snake not a reduced/”hypomelanistic” like snake.

Also, is it true that the snakes Ernie Wagner had years and years ago that where the original caramels (and different than what later got the name caramel) where actually ultramels but took too long to become an established morph so lost the name? Pretty trippy that ...

If I remember right, they were thought to not be genetic? I remember Vin Russo talking about it on Reptile Radio. Apparently he's had the genes running around in his collection for quite a while without realizing it.

[West Coast Jungle]

I have seen an ultramel and a caramel side by side and there is no comparison. The ultramel is a million times more colorful and brighter.

The caramel looks like a normal next to the ultramel. There is no mistaking one for the other. Pictures can be decieving but seeing them live there is no way to confuse the two IMO.