Well, by now it's hard to know exactly which snakes we're talking about any more from all the different pics that were posted, but to be an amelanistic animal, there has to be ZERO melanin anywhere on the body, including the eyes, they must be

pink/red. Otherwise, if there are any traces of dark pigment(melanin) in the animal, it would be a "hypomelanistic" animal.

with the exception of the "blotchless" trait.



I say this ONLY because this trait is expressed VERY differently from the typical hypos in the fact that it starts out from the egg as a homozygous(exhibiting trait) animal without the normal wild-type blotching, although in addition to this, it really is TECHNICALLY a "hypo" animal too, only it shows the trait with an absents/reduction in dark pattern(blotches when young)instead of a reduced amount of melanin within the cell itself(melanophore/melanocyte). Many people are under the impression that a "hypo" animal has to be a faded lighter "gray" coloration, when actually hypomelanism can also be expressed in many snakes by exhibiting a great reduction in the pattern, AND/OR coloration.

In other words, they CAN exhibit very DARK coloration, as long as THAT pattern of dark pigment(melanin) is greatly deminished. A good example would be say,....a cornsnake that was normally colored, but only had a few scales of dark pigment(melanin) on the entire animal that bordered the blotches on the dorsum(back).



I also hope this isn't misunderstood as me saying the "blotchless" Everglades is a regular hypo, because it definitely is NOT!. That is a different type of trait(s)Much of this is pertaining to ALL snake genetics, not just a specific species of snake.



hope this helps some, ~Doug
-----
"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

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