Snakes and Stones Pr. 2

[Lord Sorril]

My first hatchling from clutch #11 has came out.

Cross: Leopard/Pastel/100% Het VPI Axanthic/100% Het Orange Ghost x Spider/Orange Ghost/100% Het VPI Axanthic



Wow! This doesn't seem right at all. This looks like an Ivory. Grrrrrr...
I checked the egg box and I have confirmed the breed scheme as accurate.

So....this must mean that both of the parents must be Yellowbelly-which is a bit of a surprise to me as both the parents should have a below 25% probability of YB.
Unless of course this is not an Ivory, but, it sure looks like one to me...except for that weird ringer mark.

I know I have a mystery gene floating around in my VPI Axanthic line...It could be I've had Yellowbelly in there for the last 10 years and never proved it out until now.

[Lord Sorril]

My second hatchling from Clutch #11 is starting to come out:

No No No No No No--This is wrong!

Even *IF* the two parents were both Het for Yellowbelly, the chances of getting two Ivories in a row are (1/4*1/4) = 1/16.

I know I didn't mislabel the clutch because I took photos when I collected the eggs.
The female was in a 1:1 mating this year and the lone male I used last year was a Pastel/Axanthic/100% Het Orange Ghost.

There has to be something else going on here...I will have to think about this one.

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #538

BP = Orange Ghost/Het VPI Axanthic
Tiger Eye from South Africa-unlike other batches I've tumbled...my latest batch of rough was very unstable and it has taken a lot more effort than expected.
Fun Fact: Tiger Eye is a type of silicified asbestos in quartz...so don't powder it and breathe it in.

Breeders Note: My second hatchling from Clutch #11 is out of the egg. Prior to first shed-it is entirely white with no defining marks anywhere.
The first hatchling had a bit of a yellow Ivory stripe, a light ringer, and slight Spider head marks. The second hatchling has no marks-it is just pure white.
I have to assume they are both Ivory. I will use my UV torch on them when they are a bit older and see if any pattern shows. I'm not sure whether to save these two for proof breeding or just vend them.
Since I had to hold back so many adult females that did not breed this season-my snake collection is at 97% housing capacity and I don't need 2 Ivories at 66% Het VPI Axanthic/100% Het Orange Ghost.

[Bogertophis]

But clearly you love the frustration or you wouldn't be breeding snakes?

[Lord Sorril]

But clearly you love the frustration or you wouldn't be breeding snakes?

I wouldn't say I enjoy frustration. I enjoy a pleasant surprise if it is an upgrade to what I expected. I do not enjoy a surprise if it is a downgrade or an error.

The two snakes from Clutch #11: What if one of them is a Pastel/Leopard/Spider/VPI Axanthic/Orange Ghost and its pattern is completely obliterated by two unexpected copies of Yellowbelly-so it looks completely white. I find that pretty annoying!

[Lord Sorril]

Photo #539

BP = Pastel/Het VPI Axanthic/Het Piebald/50% Het Orange Ghost/+Probable Yellowbelly
Stone is a local piece of granite-y style stone. It took a very high shine, I wish they all did...


Breeders Note: My Clutch #12 hatched out. The mother was a Super Lesser (solid-white, blue eyes).
I had used a UV light on her previously to try and figure out if she was carrying Hidden Gene Woma, but, I saw no patterning or indication...
She was in-fact carrying the gene and produced several Soul-Suckers from the cross.

[Homebody]

Breeders Note: My Clutch #12 hatched out. The mother was a Super Lesser (solid-white, blue eyes).
I had used a UV light on her previously to try and figure out if she was carrying Hidden Gene Woma, but, I saw no patterning or indication...
She was in-fact carrying the gene and produced several Soul-Suckers from the cross.

And a Soul-Sucker is a good thing?

[Lord Sorril]

And a Soul-Sucker is a good thing?

Lol, I wouldn't say bad. I would say unusual because I used a Pastel/Lavender Albino x Super Lesser/HGW to produce Pastel/Lesser/HGW's (Pastel Soul Suckers/Het for Lav Albino).

I don't think I've seen a Lavender Albino Soul Sucker yet...while not my intent...gonna run with this one...

[Lord Sorril]

Before the prices on Ebay became ridiculously high-I used to buy peoples rock collections (so that I could tumble them).
I was rummaging around through an old box of random stuff (mostly petrified wood) one guy had collected and I found a neat quartz crystal in matrix.

I took the photo below, I thought the image would look prety cool, but I guess it looks nicer in person.

I know Quartz crystals in matrix like this are pretty common in a lot of areas, but I've personally never found one in decent shape.