Update: My second clutch by my so-called Pastel/Blade/Het Clown male is in the process of hatching.
I recently spent hours looking at photos and watching the latest videos about the 'Blade' gene.
I have now developed 'Blade Vision' and I can tell you that NONE of my offspring in either clutch have Blade. My original male I purchased AS Blade is NOT Blade.
If you are an optimist: My male Pastel/Blade/Het Clown could have been 'accidentally' labeled as Blade by the breeder even though he said it was from a Super Blade cross-because he may have been unknowingly been working with a different pattern reduction gene.
If you are a pessimist: My male Pastel/Blade/Het Clown was deliberately mislabeled as Blade because the breeder thought there was not enough information to prove it one way or the other at the time and he wanted to make a sale.
Given the breeders hesitant reaction when I deliberately asked him if he was certain that the snake was 'Blade' and he said 'Yes'--I have to go with the more pessimistic option.
Even though the snake does not possess Blade...it was produced from a different Clown bloodline, and I can still use this diversity to strengthen my gene pool.
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