So to "DNA test" our snakes we would first have to isolate the genes that are responsible for the color morphs, which probably aren't straight forward for the really cool looking morphs (eg. linked, multiple loci, etc.). THAT is where the money comes in, it could take a few years of research to figure out exactly what makes a Pied...pied. The good thing is there are lots of great geneticists out there who probably have a good idea as to exactly where to start looking, 1-5 years max. The problem is getting them to work on snakes, and that is our biggest obstacle.

As far as I can tell they have only gotten the Anolis genome sequenced (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/sites/entrez?db=genomeprj), but the point is it's on the way, a lot faster than you might suspect. Yes it took 3 billion to sequence our genome but that was already years ago, and in the field of molecular genetics that is ancient history (the pricetag is down to a few million already, which is still a lot of money but getting cheaper fast http://www.genengnews.com/articles/c...aid=939&chid=1 ...that's a great article, just a little out of date). Advances have vastly increased productivity, there is technology in development now that will streamline whole genome sequences in a matter of an afternoon (5-15 years away). So once we have identified our morph-genes, then a simple test is needed which could probably be done on a single computer chip sized machine (in development as well, computer-chip-sized sequencers). And by the time anyone DECIDES to figure out our morphs, then the technology will be there and will be super cheap. I have the feeling that with the high pricetag on some of these morphs there will be an incentive within the next 10-15 years for someone to pony up and get everything figured out.

The point is...it WILL happen in our lifetimes, and it may happen in some of our snakes lifetimes.