Note: When talking about leucistic before, I was talking about it specifically in BLACK rat snakes. I don't think the strain that was introduced through Texas rats works the same way, because there is no rusty gene in Texas rats, as far as I know.

Leucistic appears to work as a simple recessive trait MOST of the time, but not always. Somehow or another, it's linked with the rusty gene.

Maybe the leucistic gene in Texas rats can be predicted as simple recessive, but in black rats, it can't.

I've heard of people doing several different breeding experiments with leucistic and rusty black rats, and never coming up with anything conclusive. I've heard of rusties being bred together, and never producing a leucistic baby, and then after 10 years of breeding, one leucistic pops up. I've heard of people breeding two leucistics, and getting rusty babies (which shouldn't be possible!). I've heard of people breeding a rusty to a leucistic, and getting rusty/normal babies, then breeding that same rusty to another leucistic, and getting leucistic babies.

It's kind of a crapshoot, even if most of the time it works like a simple recessive trait.


Ronnie Nocera




>>Only if the normal is a carrier of the gene for leucistic, a het.
>>
>>I am not too sure of where this gene is carried but if it is a simple recessive trait then you should get about half the babies to be leucistic and half to be heterozygous for leucistic, BUT ONLY if the normal looking parent is heterozygous for leucistic.
>>
>>If the normal parent is not a carrier of the gene you will not get any leucistic offspring, but all should be carriers of the gene. You would then have to breed one of the offspring back to the leucistic parent to get leucistic offspring.
>>
>> L L
>>l Ll Ll
>>l Ll Ll
>>
>>Below is how it would work if these genetics are straight forward. LL is homozygous Leucistic and Ll is a heterozygous snake carrying the gene for Leucisism.
>>
>> L L
>>L LL LL
>>l Ll Ll
>>
>>Again, I am not a genetic expert on Leucistic Texas ratsnakes, but if it is not linked to other genes to be turned on this is the basics. Someone else may have much more information on this.
>>
>>Good luck!
>>Chris

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