ANERYTHRISTIC means lacking all red pigment. Proven to be a simple recessive trait that is easily reproducible in Boas.

AXANTHIC means lacking all yellow pigment. Not proven to exist in any Boa Constrictor. Some speculate they have something that is Axanthic simply becuase the animal is quite dark. However they fail to understand how the layering of color works in Reptiles. Of course an animal with tons of black may not reveal the underlying yellow, but strip away that black and those animals have always shown plenty of yellow. ie. all the Albinos and Snow Boas ever produced, regardless of how black the parents or grandparents, produce offspring with plenty of yellow.

I do think some day we will find an axanthic line, but the give away will not be the black that completely masks the underlying yellow. It will be a light colored animal that due to the total lack of yellow, will glow with the remaining primary color that is red. Blue is also a primary color but very limited in the vast majority of animals including Boas.

The yellow is what makes Hypos orangish vs. reddish. The less yellow influence, the more red is revealed without being polluted by the yellow. Selective breeding can reduce that yellow, but only a true mutation will make a true axanthic... Someday.



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