Tony,

If you are defining this as a hypo trait, how is it the blotches keep their dark, black pigment and yet the bands as you say lose much/most of theirs? I have yet to see a hypo trait that will reduce black pigment in one area but not another. The blotches on AKs naturally lighten to varying degrees as they age so how could this be determined to be due to a hypo trait?

One thing I have seen with the wild caught AKs is that they have a half light/half black coloration on the bands. Why is it many of the blaze do not have this? And if you are saying it is because of the hypo gene, then why on those same snakes are the blotches keeping their normal dark pigment?

The lack of this half light/half black coloration on the bands is one thing that leads me to believe these are not real AKs but also look at that head pattern. Spankenstyne posted two below but look at the head on the first one. It screams to me that there is something else mixed in with that line. I have seen that with many of the blaze and no wild caught AK I have seen from myself or anyone else has ever even come close to having a head pattern with almost no black in it whatsoever. Are you saying this is also due to the hypo gene in the blaze? If so, why are the blotches on Spankenstyne's photo also dark as they should be?

One last question, do you know or have any possible idea where the original animals that produced the blaze came from? I know the McQuades produced the so called blaze but where did they get the parents from?

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