Yeah Joe,.......I'd have to agree on that as well. The fact that an animal is displaying hypomelanism to any degree, doesn't "necessarily" mean they must not, or cannot display a certain amount of tipping, as we all know, even some "extremes"......we as herpetoculturists are just much more ""USED" to seeing the the more advanced cases of hypomelanism without any, or much tipping. After all, if the pigmented pattern of the animal is substantially reduced, it quite literally fits the "hypo" definition, even if moderately/heavily tipped.



Don's posted snake doesn't "seem" to be what most might classify as a "typical" hypo(in the tricolor's case).But also, as most of us have become accustomed to these(and ghosts) to have no visible pattern in the shed, I don't quite think that it absolutely "HAS" to be a "prerequisite" for them to be classified as a hypo, we are just used to seeing the vast majority of these two types of mutation(s) not exhibiting ANY melanin in their sheds. It seems to me from seeing many other "iffy" types of hypo snakes as well, that it can sometimes be very dificult to distinguish as to where one phenotypic "look" for a certain trait stops, and another continues. Where EXACTLY is that very thin line?........that can sometimes be an almost 50/50 call. Later test breeding of those will certainly prove some traits later on though.



This is just my opinion of things based on many contributing factors.





best regards, ~Doug
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"Better to be silent and thought a fool, than to open mouth and remove any doubt!"

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