Jason,

No, if both parents are amels, there is no way to get any normals out of that clutch. That is true, regardless of what the previous generations held, because the only way for the parent snakes to be amels is if they both have two mutated genes for amelanism at the approriate DNA location. If they had anything else, they would not be amels, and since they are, we know they do not.

So...since they ONLY have the amel genes to offer their offspring from that DNA location (locus), we know that the offspring have a 100% chance of being amels themselves. That's how it all works.

____________________

As to the other questions you were asking in this thread about cutting open eggs, I have to say that I have a different view than many, but mine has never caused me problems. I'm no big-time breeder by any means, but I have had hundreds of hatchlings over the years, and this is my perspective on hatching help:

Any animal that cannot extricate itself from its own egg is probably one that will not thrive, or even survive long, and it will probably be much more trouble to me than it is worth in the long run.

Now, the only real exception to that basic rule for me, is if I am dealing with really high end morphs. If I have a pied-sided bloodred baby struggling to get out of its egg, you better believe I'm helping that little guy out, because his genetics are just too precious to risk. But if I have a snow in the same predicament, well...he better get himself out of that egg.

I know that sounds cruel to some, but I view it as a culling technique as much as a financial necessity. Quite frankly, in most instances, an animal that cannot get out of the egg is probably going to be one that shouldn't breed on when it matures, if for no other reason than it is more likely to produce similarly helpless offspring.

Anyway...like I said, my view is different from other folk'. But after you breed them for a while, you get to where you see certain traits going hand in glove, and not being able to hatch is a big red flag for me.

Hope that helps a bit...
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Darin Chappell
Hillbilly Herps
PO Box 254
Rogersville, MO 65742

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