I do not know whether orange tail is the result of a single dominant gene, like salmon, or the result of selection. But for the sake of argument, let's say that orange tail is the result of a single dominant gene.

As far as I know, nobody knows whether the orange tail and salmon mutant genes have the same locus. I've seen claims on this forum that breeding the two together can produce an extreme effect, but that doesn't prove anything about whether they have the same locus.

Here's how to be as certain as possible that a snake has both genes. Take a boa that by breeding test has a 99% (or greater) probability of having two salmon mutant genes and mate it to a boa that by breeding test has a 99% (or greater) probability of having two orange tail mutant genes.

To prove whether the two genes have the same locus, a snake with both genes is bred to a normal snake. If any of their babies is normally colored, then the two genes do not have the same locus. If they have 17 babies, and none is normally colored, then there is a 99% probability that the two genes have the same locus. In my opinion, for greater confidence, the breeding should be repeated until the probability is 99.99% that the two genes have the same locus. And if the two genes do have the same locus, then my guess would be that they are the same gene, with differences in the strains due to different criteria for selection.

Paul Hollander

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