"I'd really like to know the genetics behind this...I've seen albino, chocolate and and hypo emoryis but never anery...so snow is interesting...of course I haven't been keeping up very well either"

Yes, I know exactly what you mean Jimmy. Those were the only true emoryi morphs I knew about until just recently too. The original amel "chocolate" (hypermelanistic) I know of that KJ produced one of only two in probably 2007 had lots of underlying yellow pigment(xanthin).

What I think those snow emoryi actually are is amel x chocolate (hypermelanistic). The very same gene combination of hypermelanistic x amel in Cal. kings will produce totally patternless snows known as "blizzards" as well.

KJ Lodrigue had one of only two known amel chocolates back in 2008 and was a subadult at the time, only it was patternless with a solid light yellow/orange coloration. I am guessing that not all amel chocolates since then were patternless OR yellow, and when their hypermelanistic trait is cancelled out with the additional amel gene, a snow phenotype is produced, even though it isn't the standard amel x anery, or amel x axanthic as in Florida kings and a few other colubrids.

The "snow emoryi being a colorless amel x hypermel seems to make the best sense, since other hypermels x amels can also produce neutral snow phenotypes as well.

BTW, best of luck with your hatching season too!..


cheers, ~Doug
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"

serpentinespecialties.webs.com

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