Yeah, I very much dig what you were saying there. By the same token, many breeders (including me) also think of "quality" snakes as being totally un-compromised with any other species or subspecies and like to see them key-out in all of their meristic features as absolutely textbook as possible (unless of course it's an authentic aberrant animal). Traceable locality data is often a huge plus as well if this can be obtained or shared. Don't get me wrong though, generic snakes are great too, and I have plenty of them as well as long as they are exactly what they are said to be (hobby Hondo disclaimer..LOL!).



This definitely isn't so important to a large percentage of the hobby though, and as long as the snakes are healthy and nice looking, that is what counts and all is good.



All the above are exactly the reasons that I have these authentic L.t.abnorma and love working with other real-deal stuff as well. Most people in the herp hobby would definitely think these are simply "Honduran" milksnakes. VERY few Hondurans are actually the real-deal in the hobby either, but there are many legitimate reasons for this and they cannot be recalled and started all over again. I like them a great deal and enjoy working with them, but accept them as what they are. Subspecific authenticity is extremely important to me and many others. Some snakes are very obvious, while others definitely aren't, and snakes that have been crossed somewhere along the line don't really cut it unless they are a naturally occurring intergrade that represent a specific locale. Man-made crosses have no appeal to me at all, even though many certainly do look nice and pleasing to the eye. Others feel the very same way, and others of course don't feel real strongly about it.



I know this might sound ridiculous to some folks, and that's okay too, but it's no different than many hardcore car buffs or gun collector aficionado's that want to see all the different part numbers match up perfectly and the item is all totally original and as genuine as possible with no added on parts from other sources. that is where a good portion of the real value lies for me and others, that's all. I just wanted to explain how important this side of it is with some hobbyists.





cheers, ~Doug











old Calvert County, Maryland L.t.temporalis from the mid 90's







Outer Banks kingsnake







old school 50-50 Desert phase Cal. king from the 90's







a true L.t.hondurensis with no polyzona, stuarti, abnorma, oligozona, or any other Latin milk in it's lineage.







Scarlet kingsnake (L.t. elapsoides)







One of the nicest Nelson's milksnakes anyone could ever HOPE to see!







Anyway,..yeah, this stuff is very important to me and others..
-----
"a snake in the grass is a GOOD thing"



serpentinespecialties.webs.com







"some are just born to troll and roll"

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