Hi,

Please say Hi to Bill for me. Its been a while.

I was the first to produce Speckleds, as I called them, back in the seventies. So I know the history of THOSE animals. Which I have no idea if that is the genetic line or part of the lines being bred now.

AT that time, both Bern and I produced striped blairs. Which I modified to granites.

The original gene came from a wc gravid blairs phase, from the flats on pandale rd. She laid 8 eggs, of which one individual had odd color and elongated blotches. I bred that animal back to the mother and produced striped blairs phase.

I then bred a striped blairs to christmas mt. Alterna and produced that, one it eight ratio, only speckled(granite)instead of striped.

Then breeding granite back to granite, I did recieve mostly granite of varying types. Like different colored speckles, or hollows where red would be, etc.

Again, each time the original gene was 1 in 8(aprox) then became more dominate with inbreeding.

Also I think you should consider that this type of patterning, is not a exact genetic control, but includes a degree of randomness. That is, theres a range that the genetics considers the same. My theory is, phenotypic pressures work with this. I have other examples of this if you are interested.

Which is very different from genetics that are completely lacking a gene or ability, like albinism.

Consider, its this ramdon ability that keeps these animals exsisting through short term weather variations, which cause radical variations in ground cover.(just an example)

Ramdon color and pattern is known in other animals. To a degree.

I had this exampled to me a few times. By folks not envolved with reptiles, sometimes we get to close. Best wishes

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